DECIDUOUS FOREST

by Carmen Moreno Arce 2ºB

Deciduous forests are found in Europe stretching from the British Isles and France through central and eastern Europe as far as the Ural Mountains. In East Asia these forests cover the Russian far East, Manchuria, Korea and Japan and in North America from the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean and south to the Gulf of Mexico.

An average temperature 0⁰C in winter and 25ºC in summer.The temperate deciduous forest gets the second-most amount of rainfall per year. In winter, this is seen as snow.

The soil in the deciduous forests is fertile, enriched with decaying litter (mostly composed of the fallen

leaves).

A tree stratum 15-30 metres high, dominated regionally by various combinations of oak, maple, beech, chestnut, hickory, elm, basswood or linden, walnut, and sweet gum.

Red maple / Acer Rubrum

Elm / Ulmus Minor Mill

Beech / Fagus sylvatica L.

Raccoons are easily identified by their masked faces and ringed tails. They have five toes on both the front and hind feet !They are omnivorous.

FAUNA

Raccoon

Salamander: larval stage salamanders breathe using gills, while adult salamanders use lungs or breathe through the skin. Most salamanders are carnivores.

Whitetail Deer: these deer are extremely cautious and wary animals with highly developed senses of

sight, smell, and hearing

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail - adults eat the nectar of flowers from a variety of plants including wild cherry and lilac.

Northern Cardinal - during courtship feedings, female cardinals assume a posture similar to that of begging fledglings and quiver their wing.

Air pollutants from fuels we burn are destroying forests, killing our wildlife and poisoning the soil.

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Naturally occurring forest fires are part of the overall plan for keeping a forest healthy Some plant species depend on fire

as a seed release mechanism. Without fire the renewal of the forest does not take place. But people have increased the

number of fires and put in danger the forest.