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In this lesson we are going to discuss The Temperate Deciduous and Coniferous Forests

Answer Text:
Temperate Deciduous Forests
- Found in areas experiencing cool temperate western marginal climate.

Location
1. C. and W. Europe.
2. Most of E. states of U.S.A.
3. Chile in S. America.

Characteristics
• Trees are deciduous and shed leaves in autumn and become green in summer.
• Individual species of trees are scattered and their density per unit area is small.
• Trees are smaller in size.
• Trees are broad leaved.
• Most of the trees are hardwoods
• There is rich undergrowth because of being fairly open.
• Trees grow in pure stands in some regions and at others they are mixed.
• Trees are easier to exploit than tropical hardwoods.

Uses
(a) Hardwoods such as oak and birch are used for timber, wood fuel and charcoal.
(b) Chestnut and walnut nuts are edible.
(c) Oak tree fruits are used for feeding pigs.
(d) Tung tree yields oil for making paint and furnish.
(e) Maple sap is used for making maple syrup.
Trees include eucalyptus (blue gum), olive, birch, walnut, elm and ash.

Coniferous Forests
It’s dominant in cool climates.
It’s known as Taiga and Boreal in Russia.

Location
1. W. coast of Canada.
2. Scandinavia across Russia to the Pacific coast.

Characteristics/of soft woods in Canada
• Their seeds are cone shaped.
• Most trees are softwoods and are light in weight.
• Trees mature faster than hardwoods of tropical regions.
• Trees have big proportion of stem compared to leaves.
• Most tree species are evergreen with few shedding leaves e.g. larch and fir.
• Tree species occur in big pure stands.
• Very little undergrowth due to acidic humus from leaf fall.
• Trees have straight trunks.
• Trees mature after a long period of time (50-70 years) due to the cold conditions especially in winter.
Species of trees found here are pines, Fir, spruce, larch and Hemlock.

Adaptations
• Needle-like leaves to reduce transpiration.
• Leaves with tough waxy skin to protect them from winter cold.
• Tree crowns are cone shaped and flexible crowns to allow snow to slide off to prevent it from accumulating on the branches.
• Trees are evergreen to have maximum utilization of sunlight during the short summers.
• Flexible tree trunks to allow swaying so as to allow swaying so as not to break during strong winter winds.
• Widely spread root system for maximum utilization of moisture from top soil because sub soil is permanently frozen.

Uses
Soft woods such as spruce, fir, pine and larch are used for construction, wood pulp used in paper manufacture.