Chapter 11. Chapter 11: Forests

In general what are the characteristics of a forest biome?

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Guiding Question 11.1

In general, what are the characteristics of a forest biome? What are the three main types of forests and what influences which forest type is found in a given area?

Why You Should Care

We have already seen many reasons that intact forests are important sources of biodiversity and ecosystem services. Although the eastern half of temperate North America was almost entirely covered in forest before European settlement, most people who live there now live miles away from actual forests. Many people only see trees in parks or back yards, if they’re lucky, and therefore have little basis for recognizing healthy forests or understanding the processes that maintain forest food webs. Knowing what factors influence forest distribution and therefore whether your neighborhood was originally forested is important if you are to make informed decisions about your local environment.

Question 11.1

Most of the world's tropical forests are in: s/8WhyLP4y7qlhxrNNJMaoKdxT30dpunNtRG0VAddLIm/vmwozwUBA==

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Correct.
Incorrect.

Question 11.2

The word "boreal" actually refers to a compass direction and is the opposite of "austral." Judging by that information and the forest biome map, "boreal" most likely means: RzyOj8V8Aa4peJR329xLXAJLT6AZoQoK5Qy0eJ+hK5axc1z3APt5+gUk+1w=.

Correct. Boreal means northern and austral southern (hence the Land Down Under being called Australia). The famous Northern Lights, also known as the Aurora Borealis, have a southern hemisphere counterpart, the Aurora Australis. These lights are not as commonly seen because there isn’t nearly as much habitable land mass in the far southern latitudes. Because of this, the cold climate coniferous forests of the north have no counterpart in the south.
Incorrect. Boreal means northern and austral means southern (hence the "Land Down Under" being called "Australia"). The famous Northern Lights, also known as the Aurora Borealis, have a southern hemisphere counterpart, the Aurora Australis. These lights are not as commonly seen because there isn’t nearly as much habitable land mass in the far southern latitudes. Because of this, the cold climate coniferous forests of the north have no counterpart in the south.

Question 11.3

Most of the world’s temperate forests are in the: 6aK1uVMe7Q9jHJbj9yYy8G/PIOrBon5K Hemisphere.

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Correct. There is more land supporting biomes in the Northern Hemisphere, so there is more temperate forest there, including all of the boreal forest.
Incorrect. There is more land supporting biomes in the Northern Hemisphere, so there is more temperate forest there, including all of the boreal forest.

Question 11.4

The largest portion of human immigrants to North America came from Europe, and a large number of invasive species (such as starlings and dandelions) in North America are those they brought, intentionally or not, from Europe. Perhaps an equal number of invasive species and definitely some of the most problematic species come from a different continent. It is hypothesized that the most notorious invasive species in the eastern United States come from this continent because it is the only other one with an extensive range of temperate forest on an eastern seaboard. This continent would be: gOpfRr7dWRzK98kcDJNKp/3blNSm2BdmrT19CLrHW+E1RP5i.

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Correct. Most of the invasive species in the eastern United States and Canada originated in Asia—mostly eastern China and Japan. Those are the regions of the world most similar in latitude, climate, and geography.
Incorrect. Most of the invasive species in the eastern United States and Canada originated in Asia—mostly eastern China and Japan. Those are the regions of the world most similar in latitude, climate, and geography.

Question 11.5

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Soils are thin in both biomes for similar reasons: decomposition and the types of vegetation in the forests. When conifer needles decompose, the resulting organic matter is acidic, which reduces decomposition rates. The soils in tropical rainforests are usually acidic because high nutrient uptake by plants and decomposers, together with rainfall, either remove or wash out mineral nutrients from the soil, leaving only hydrogen ions (the ions that make a solution acidic). This is where the similarities dissolve.