Temperate forest in the Great Smoky Mountains (Tennessee, U.S.)
Click on image for full size
DAAC - Oak Ridge National Laboratory / NASA
Temperate Forests
The temperate forest biome is found in regions where winters are cold and summers are warm. Regions with this climate are common in the mid-latitudes, far from both the equator and the poles. Tropical rainforests are in regions that are consistently warm all year long, close to the equator.
Temperate forests are almost always made of two types of trees, deciduous and evergreen. Deciduous trees are trees that lose their leaves in the winter. Evergreens are trees that keep their leaves all year long, like pine trees. Forests can either have deciduous trees, evergreens, or a combination of both. Another kind of forest is a temperate rain forest. These are found in California, Oregon and Washington in the United States. These forests are made of redwoods and sequoias, the tallest trees in the world.
The amount of rainfall in an area determines if a forest is present. If there is enough rain to support trees, than a forest will usually develop. Otherwise, the region will become grassland.
Shop Windows to the Universe Science Store!
Our
online store includes
issues of NESTA's quarterly journal, The Earth Scientist, full of classroom activities on different topics in Earth and space science, as well as
books on science education!
You might also be interested in:
Tropical rainforests are home to thousands of species of animals, plants, fungi and microbes. Scientists suspect that there are many species living in rainforests have not yet been found or described.
...more
Over one quarter of the Earth's surface is covered by grasslands. Grasslands are found on every continent except Antarctica, and they make up most of Africa and Asia. There are several types of grassland
...more
Biomes are large regions of the world with similar plants, animals, and other living things that are adapted to the climate and other conditions. Explore the links below to learn more about different biomes.
...more
"People outside Brazil know only the Amazon. . . it's a shame because the Pantanal is a very important ecological place." -- Dr. Maria Pádua, Former Director, Brazil's National Parks The Pantanal wetland
...more
Redwood trees are the tallest trees in the world, but even they are at risk of getting the deadly fungus called Sudden Oak Death. The trees grow in Northern California, can reach heights of more than
...more
There are 19 large wildfires burning in the United States (as of June 13, 2002). Most of the fires are within western states such as California, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, Wyoming and Alaska. Small natural
...more
Places located at high latitudes (far from the equator) receive less sunlight than places at low latitudes (close to the equator). The amount of sunlight and the amount of precipitation affects the types
...more
