Temperate RainforestVictoria Neufeld

Location of Temperate Rainforests

Major locations of temperate rainforest include the pacific coast of North America, and parts of southern

South America.

Climate

Temperate rainforests have four distinct seasons. Precipitation is high while temperatures are mild. The minimum winter temperature is -12℃ and the annual precipitation is between 750 and 2000 mm.

Winter

During the winter, plants create a sugar solution so that water does not freeze in the stem, helping the plant survive through the winter. This preserves the plant until spring.

Spring

Spring is when plants get rid of the sugar solution and new leaves grow on trees in order for both to begin the process of photosynthesis again.

Summer

Summer in the temperate rainforest is dry and foggy.

Autumn

The leaves of deciduous trees change colour in autumn because the trees stop producing chlorophyll, the substance that makes tree leaves green.

Benefits of a Mild Climate

The mild weather of the temperate rainforest makes for a longer growing season. This means enough crops can be harvested for food during the colder months.

Soil Type

Decaying matter and fallen leaves and needles from trees on the forest floor break down into humus, releasing nutrients for plant growth. These nutrients create a black or dark brown coloured fertile soil. The type soil that forms in the temperate rainforest is called pedalfer soil.

Biomass

Since the climate of a temperate rainforest is milder than that of a tropical rainforest, it experiences less biodiversity. However, this biome has the most biomass out of all the biomes. Biomass is the total mass of organisms in a given area. 40-60% of the biomass in this biome exists in the decaying matter.

Benefits of Large Biomass

- A large biomass provides good chances of regeneration after clear cutting

Plant Life and Adaptations

Temperate Rainforests contain mainly coniferous trees including western red cedar, douglas fir, and hemlock. However, it is also home to some deciduous trees such as maple, chestnut, poplar, and oak. Trees are able to grow very tall because of high amounts of precipitation.

Cathedral Grove

Cathedral Grove is home to some of the widest and tallest trees in British Columbia.

Plant Life and Adaptations

Trees in this biome grow very large leaves to soak up as much sunlight as possible.

Plant Life and Adaptations

Trees produce sap during the winter to keep their roots from freezing. In the spring the sap can be tapped to make syrup and is then used as energy to start growing again.

Plant Life and Adaptations

Besides the pain it brings you when you touch it, Stinging Nettle has many different uses. It can be used for medicine, young leaves can be eaten raw with caution or cooked (an excellent source of vitamin B, proteins, and iron. It can also be used to maketeas which act as a preventative against allergies.

Plant Life and Adaptations

The outer bark on trees in temperate rainforests protects the tree from insects and insulates the tree from extreme weather conditions.

Plant Life and Adaptations

Indian Paintbrush is a recognized by its bright red, clover-like flowers.

Plant Life and Adaptations

The salmonberry is a relative of the blackberry and raspberry. It produces berries in the spring that appear to be orange raspberries. Both the berry and the shoot are edible.

Plant Life and Adaptations

There are many epiphytes in a temperate rainforest. An epiphyte is a plant that grows on another plant but is not parasitic. Epiphytes grow on higher plants in order to reach more sunlight. Examples of these in a temperate rainforests are mosses, ferns, and lichens.

Vegetation Layers and Seasons

The temperate rainforest has five layers in its structure. They are tree stratum, small tree or sapling, shrub, herb, and forest floor.

1.Tree Stratum

The tree stratum is approximately 18-30 metres high and contains trees such as oak, maple, walnut, and hickory. This zone receives the most sunlight out of all the layers.

2. Small Tree and Sapling

The small tree and sapling zone contains not only young trees of the same species of those in the tree stratum, but also species exclusive to this zone. A few of these are dogwood, sourwood, and shadbush.

3. Shrub

The next layer is called the shrub layer. This zone contains species such as rhododendron, azaleas, and huckleberries.

4. Herb

This layer includes short, herbal plants as well as other small plants.

5. Forest Floor

On the forest floor there are many different species. Some of which include mosses, lichens, mushrooms, nursing logs, fallen leaves, needles, and branches. This layer is always damp and shaded.

Food Web

The food web of temperate rainforests is generalized, this means that one predator can and will eat many different preys.

Wildlife and Adaptations

The banana slug is the second largest slug in the world. It is bright yellow in colour and sometimes has spots that are brown, green, or black spots. The slime on their bellies helps protect them from sharp objects. It helps with the decomposition and the nutrient cycles where it lives by eating decomposing organic matter.

Wildlife and Adaptations

The cougar is the second largest cat in the New World. Its diet is a broad one. They will eat anything they can find from moose to porcupines to snails and even other cougars.

Wildlife and Adaptations

Raccoons have needed to broaden their diet because humans are continuously overtaking their territory. Their hand-like paws give them the ability to grasp various objects such as trash can lids.

Wildlife and Adaptations

Each of a black bears eyes can see the world with two completely separate pictures. This is called monocular vision,it allows the bear more peripheral vision to scan more easily for prey.

Wildlife and Adaptations

White-tailed deer have brown, soft fur to keep them warm during the winter. Their antlers help protect them from other predators. Deer are active at all times of the day.