- Temperate broadleaf and mixed forest
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Temperate mixed forest in Yunnan, southwest China.
Mixed forests are a temperate and humid biome. The typical structure of these forests includes four layers. The uppermost layer is the canopy composed of tall mature trees ranging from 33 to 66 m (100 to 200 feet) high. Below the canopy is the three-layered, shade-tolerant understory that is roughly 9 to 15 m (30 to 50 feet) shorter than the canopy. The top layer of the understory is the sub-canopy which is composed of smaller mature trees, saplings, and suppressed juvenile canopy layer trees awaiting an opening in the canopy. Below the sub-canopy is the shrub layer, composed of low growing woody plants. Typically the lowest growing (and most diverse) layer is the ground cover or herbaceous layer.
Contents
Trees
Characteristic dominant broadleaf trees in this biome include oaks (Quercus spp.), beeches (Fagus spp.), maples (Acer sap.), and birches (Betula spp.).[1] The term "mixed forest" comes from the inclusion of coniferous trees as a canopy component of these forests. Typical coniferous trees include: Pines (Pinus spp.), firs (Abies spp.), and spruces (Picea spp.). In some areas of this biome the conifers may be a more important canopy species than the broadleaf species.
Climate
Temperate broadleaf and mixed forests occur in areas with distinct warm and cool season, which give it a moderate annual average temperature (3 to 15.6 °C). These forests occur in relatively warm and rainy climates, sometimes also with a distinct dry season. A dry season occurs in the winter in East Asia and in summer on the wet fringe of the Mediterranean climate zones. Other areas have a fairly even distribution of rainfall; annual rainfall is typically over 600 millimetres (24 inches) and often over 1500 millimetres (60 inches). Temperatures are typically moderate except in parts of Asia such as Ussuriland where temperate forests can occur despite very harsh conditions with very cold winters.
Temperate broadleaf and mixed forest ecoregions
Oceania
Chatham Islands temperate forests New Zealand Eastern Australian temperate forests Australia Fiordland temperate forests New Zealand Nelson Coast temperate forests New Zealand Northland temperate forests New Zealand Northland temperate kauri forests New Zealand Stewart Island/Rakiura temperate forests New Zealand Richmond temperate forests New Zealand Southeast Australia temperate forests Australia Southland temperate forests New Zealand Tasmanian Central Highland forests Australia Tasmanian temperate forests Australia Tasmanian temperate rain forests Australia Westland temperate forests New Zealand Eurasia
Indomalaya Temperate broadleaf and mixed forestsBhutan, India, Nepal Northern Triangle temperate forests Burma Western Himalayan broadleaf forests India, Nepal, Pakistan Palearctic Temperate broadleaf and mixed forestsItaly Atlantic mixed forests Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany. Netherlands Azores temperate mixed forests Portugal Balkan mixed forests Bulgaria, Greece, Macedonia, Romania, Serbia (Kosovo), Turkey Baltic mixed forests Denmark, Germany, Poland, Sweden Cantabrian mixed forests Portugal, Spain Caspian Hyrcanian mixed forests Azerbaijan, Iran Caucasus mixed forests Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Russia, Turkey Celtic broadleaf forests Ireland, United Kingdom Central Anatolian deciduous forests Turkey Central China loess plateau mixed forests China Central European mixed forests Austria, Belarus, Czech Republic, Germany, Lithuania, Moldova, Poland Central Korean deciduous forests North Korea, South Korea Changbai Mountains mixed forests China, North Korea Changjiang Plain evergreen forests China Crimean Submediterranean forest complex Russia, Ukraine Daba Mountains evergreen forests China Dinaric Mountains mixed forests Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Italy, Montenegro, Serbia, Slovenia East European forest steppe Bulgaria, Moldova, Romania, Russia, Ukraine Eastern Anatolian deciduous forests Turkey English Lowlands beech forests United Kingdom Euxine-Colchic deciduous forests Georgia, Turkey Hokkaido deciduous forests Japan Huang He Plain mixed forests China Madeira evergreen forests Portugal Manchurian mixed forests China, North Korea, Russia, South Korea Nihonkai evergreen forests Japan Nihonkai montane deciduous forests Japan North Atlantic moist mixed forests Ireland, United Kingdom Northeast China Plain deciduous forests China Pannonian mixed forests Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Ukraine Po Basin mixed forests Italy Pyrenees conifer and mixed forests Andorra, France, Spain Qin Ling Mountains deciduous forests China Rodope montane mixed forests Bulgaria, Greece, Macedonia, Serbia Sarmatic mixed forests Belarus, Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Russia, Sweden Sichuan Basin evergreen broadleaf forests China South Sakhalin-Kurile mixed forests Russia Southern Korea evergreen forests South Korea Taiheiyo evergreen forests Japan Taiheiyo montane deciduous forests Japan Tarim Basin deciduous forests and steppe China Ussuri broadleaf and mixed forests Russia West Siberian broadleaf and mixed forests Russia Western European broadleaf forests Austria, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Switzerland Zagros Mountains forest steppe Iran Americas
Nearctic Temperate broadleaf and mixed forestsUnited States Appalachian mixed mesophytic forests United States Appalachian-Blue Ridge forests United States California mixed evergreen forest United States Central U.S. hardwood forests United States East Central Texas forests United States Eastern forest-boreal transition Canada, United States Eastern Great Lakes lowland forests Canada, United States Gulf of St. Lawrence lowland forests Canada Lac Saint-Jean and Saguenay valley forests Canada Mississippi lowland forests United States New England-Acadian forests Canada, United States Northeastern coastal forests United States Ozark Mountain forests United States Southeastern mixed forests United States Southern Great Lakes forests United States Upper Midwest forest-savanna transition United States Western Great Lakes forests Canada, United States Willamette Valley forests United States Magellanic subpolar forests Argentina, Chile Polylepis forests Bolivia, Peru San Felix-San Ambrosio Islands temperate forests (Desventuradas Islands) Chile Valdivian temperate rain forests Argentina, Chile See also
- Forest
- Kuchler plant association system
- Temperate deciduous forest
- Trees of the world
Biomes and Ecozones Terrestrial
biomesPolar/montaneTemperate(Sub)tropicalDryWetAquatic
biomesOther biomes Ecozones External links
- Temperate forest
- Index of North American Temperate Broadleaf & Mixed Forests ecoregions at bioimages.vanderbilt.edu
- Terraformers Canadian Forest Conservation Foundation
References
Categories:- Temperate broadleaf and mixed forests
- Terrestrial biomes
- Forest ecology
- Ecoregions
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