The Temperate Deciduous Forest: Biodiversity

Alyssa Nucci
AP Biology-4

The Temperate Deciduous Forest:

Biodiversity

The Temperate Deciduous Forest is very rich in its biodiversity. To begin with, this biome has four seasons, meaning its weather patterns and temperature levels are very diverse, allowing various distinct elements to thrive within this biotic environment. Animals in the Temperate Deciduous Forest range from ants, flies, bees, and dragonflies, reptiles such as frogs, toads, snakes, various types of birds, to mammals such as rabbits, beavers, raccoons, squirrels, and larger mammals like bears, deer, and moose.

In this biome, there is a food web consisting of three trophic levels. The bottom level is home to earthworms, bacteria, and fungi within the soil. These organisms provide the nutrients for the organisms in the next trophic level. The second level is made up of primary producers. These organisms use the nutrients provided by these detritivores as well as sunlight to produce energy through photosynthesis. Primary consumers make up the third level, mostly herbivores sustaining themselves with these primary producers. Primary consumers provide energy for secondary consumers (carnivores and omnivores) in the fourth trophic level. The uppermost level is made up of the top carnivores, called tertiary consumers.

Plant life in the Temperate Deciduous Forest is also very diverse in that there are multiple layers within the environment. The bottom layer is the forest floor. Here, earthworms, bacteria, fungi, and insects live, using their physical and metabolic processes along with the rich soil (from decayed leaves, twigs, moss, and animal waste) to maintain the carbon levels of the Temperate Deciduous Forest. The herb layer consists of shade-tolerant and soft-stemmed plants such as wildflowers, ferns, and grasses. Next is the shrub layer, where woody vegetation grows in enough sunlight. After comes the forest canopy, where trees such as oak, birch, and maple grow. Younger trees make up the understory of the canopy and taller trees above the canopy make up the emergent layer of the environment.

“Temperate Deciduous Forest (Biome) - Climate, Location, Animals, Plants.” Biology Dictionary, 19 May 2017, biologydictionary.net/temperate-deciduous-forest/.

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