- What is the deciduous forest?
- Location of deciduous forests
- Deciduous forest flora
- Deciduous forest fauna
- Deciduous forest climate
- Deciduous forest destruction
We explain what the deciduous forest is, where it is found, its flora, fauna and climate. Also, what factors can destroy it.
What is the deciduous forest?
Temperate deciduous forests or simply deciduous forests, also known as aestisilva or estisilva, are those woods located in the temperate region of planet. They are composed of plant species that lose their leaves during the fall, in order to survive the winter and sprout during the spring.
That's where its name comes from: deciduous, from Latin caducus, "Fall" and folium, "Leaves", as opposed to evergreen or evergreen. This mechanism is nothing more than a biological adaptation that allows trees to maintain their levels of Water stable, since the loss of leaves prevents them from perspiration.
However, the fall of the leaves also has the effect of providing organic material to the I usually and increase the fertility margins of the same, so that these forests are usually found on land very rich in nutrients.
Location of deciduous forests
Deciduous forests are found in different locations in both hemispheres of the planet. The relief in which they usually occur is diverse, both plain What mountainous.
They are found in much of Europe (western, central and eastern), of Asia western, the east coast of North America and fringes of southern Chile and southeastern Australia.
Deciduous forest flora
The species Typical of the deciduous forest are usually broad-leaved and flat trees, such as oak, birch, beech, poplar, elm and maple. Their slender, vaulted crowns tend to reach 30 meters in height with ease, with hard, smooth and brown rinds.
In the undergrowth there are smaller plant species, such as lichens, mosses, ferns, wild flowers and other small plants, with an average level of different types of shrubs.
Deciduous forest fauna
Like plants, deciduous forest animals are adapted to changing climates and seasons. Before the arrival of cold, some species resort to defense mechanisms such as:
- Hibernation. It consists of the isolation in its burrow while waiting for spring to arrive.
- Migration. The massive movement towards warmer areas to return when the cold has passed.
Likewise, the animals of the deciduous forest are distributed throughout the vegetation strata, being able to stay in the undergrowth or at the top of the branches for entire periods.
Thus, while the fallen wood provides shelter for salamanders, toads and others amphibians, migratory birds such as geese, woodpeckers, raptors, hawks, columbids, strigiformes and pheasant remain aloft.
The reptiles they are less common in this forest during the cold season, whereas raccoons, cattle, goats, porcupines, cats, canids and beavers are frequent. There is a good representation of snakes, too.
Deciduous forest climate
They are typical of the humid continental climate, as well as the maritime climate in Western Europe. Are registered temperatures averages always above 0 ° C, abundant and well distributed rains throughout the year, without periods of aridity that affect the development of the plants.
On the contrary, there is an excess of Water that the soil is not capable of absorbing and floods the low areas. East weather it has its four very well defined seasons, with very well differentiated biological activity.
Deciduous forest destruction
Deciduous forest regions are of high interest for human colonization, given their I usually fertile and its valuable wood. Consequently, indiscriminate logging and land reform have reduced entire forests to virtually nothing over the decades.
Trying to repair the damage done, there are programs for the reintegration of fauna and deciduous forest restoration in Europe, the United States, and other regions.