Massachusetts’ Temperate Deciduous Forest Biome

Alyssa Nucci

AP Biology-4

Temperate Deciduous Forest:
Representative Ecosystem Description

A Temperate Deciduous Forest is a biome found in eastern United States and Canada, most of Europe, and areas of China and Japan. This biome has four distinct seasons: fall, winter, spring, and summer. Here, winters are cold and summers are hot. Precipitation happens year-round, its levels per year between 30 and 60 inches. Changes within the Temperate Deciduous Forest biome include changing colors of the leaves in fall and winter versus spring and summer, as well as falling of leaves in the fall and winter. Temperate Deciduous Forests contain some of the largest populations due to its fertile soil and biotic factors (ex: hardwood trees) that allow for a thriving civilization.

Biotic factors within the Temperate Deciduous Forest include, but are not limited to, plant life such as lichen, moss, and fur on the forest floor, shrubs, and conifers and hardwood trees such as maple oak, and birch. Animal life is very diverse in this biome. In order to live here, animals must be able to adapt to change, some migrating or hibernating in the winter. Most common are insects, spiders, slugs, frogs, turtles, and salamanders. This biome is home to birds such as hawks, cardinals, and owls, and mammals like deer, raccoons, porcupines, and foxes.

Abiotic factors are nonliving features of the environment such as sunlight, temperature, and water. In regards to sunlight, winter days are short with little sunlight, and summer days are long and sunny. The average annual temperature in this biome is 50 degrees Fahrenheit, although a range of temperature is found throughout the year as the seasons change. In the Temperate Deciduous Forest, one important abiotic factor is soil. The soil found in this biome is rich in nutrients as a result of decaying material that has broken down into rich organic material called humus. This humus-rich soil is also great at holding water, making it available for plant use, and then able to support the food web. This process allows for the Temperate Deciduous Forest to be very biodiverse.

“CLIMATE REGION Deciduous Forest.” FOSS Weather: Climate Region: Deciduous Forest, www.fossweb.com/delegate/ssi-foss-ucm/Contribution Folders/FOSS/multimedia_ms_1E/WeatherandWater/climatefactors/regions/deciduous_forest/index.html.

“Part 1: The Temperate Deciduous Forest Biome.” Brown.edu , www.brown.edu/Research/Sax_Research_Lab/Education/Michigan/Biology/Ecosystems/ECOSpart1key.docx.

“Temperate Deciduous Forests - NatureWorks.” Temperate Deciduous Forests - NatureWorks, www.nhptv.org/natureworks/nwep8c.htm/redfox.htm.

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Assignment 5: Biome/Ecosystem Project

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