Biosphere Contents

6. Biomes

Temperate forests are characterised by deciduous trees and abundant secondary flora

Temperate broadleaf and mixed forest, Mischwald

Temperate forest is found in regions where the minimum winter temperature is below freezing, but does not drop below -12°C. Annual rainfall is between 75 and 200 cm and is fairly evenly distributed. In contrast to the tropical rain forest, the canopy of the temperate forest is fairly open, which means that the shrub and herb layers are well developed. The deciduous nature of the trees is also important, since much of the secondary flora will flower early in the spring before the trees develop their leaves and increase the amount of shade. The large annual leaf drop has important implications for soil fertility, and soils that are rich in nutrients provide a good habitat for microbial life. A gram of soil taken from a temperate forest has been found to contain 650,000 algae and many millions of roundworms are found per square metre of soil.

Map of temperate broadleaf and mixed forest biome

There are three main geographical zones of temperate forest: eastern Asia, western Europe and eastern North America. The western European section of this biome is less well endowed floristically than the other two regions owing to the severity of glaciation in the last ice age.

What are the main characteristics of the temperate forest biome?