Deciduous Forest Biome

The weather in the Deciduous Forest varies considerably season to season. Unlike other biomes, the Deciduous Forest has four very clear and different seasons. The average temperature throughout all of the seasons is 50 degrees F. The plants stop growing in late fall or early winter, and start to grow again in spring, giving the plants only 5-6 months of growing time a year.

WINTER: Winter is extremely cold. The soil freezes, killing any plants. This biome receives a lot of snow during winter. The average winter temperature is 30 degrees F.

SPRING: In Spring, plants begin growing again. The snow melts, and temperatures rise. In spring, this biome receives most of it's rain, however it rains throughout the entire year. A temperate biome receives on average 30-60" of rain each year. The average temperature in spring is 55 degrees F.

SUMMER: During summer, the Deciduous Forest gets it's hottest, at an average temperature of 76 degrees F. Along with spring, in summer the Deciduous Forest also receives a lot of moisture.

FALL/AUTUMN: Fall in the Deciduous Forest cools down. Leaves turn colors (red, orange,yellow) and fall off trees in the fall, leaving them bare for the cold winter. The average temperature in fall is 50 degrees F.

There are many organisms in deciduous forests from different kingdoms. Some of the organisms in each kingdoms are:

Plantae: oak tree, a main tree of the oak-hickory forest

Fungi: the sulfur shelf mushroom, which grows on the base of oak trees and can kill them.

Protista: lichen, which is also half fungi.

Animalia: brown bear, black bear, raccoon, opossum, squirrel, gray fox, and many others.

Five of the millions of animals that make their homes in the Deciduous Forest are the Black Bear (Ursus americanus), the Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis), the Common Garter Snake (Thannophis sirtalis), the Carpenter Ant (Camponotus spp.), and the Monarch (Danaus plexippus).

The Black Bear, a carnivore, eats honey, as well as small animals. It lives mostly in swamps, wooded areas, and national parks inside the Deciduous Forest. The Black Bear is a vertebrate.

The Cardinal is a herbivore, feeding mainly on seeds. It lives in woodland edges, as well as in thickets, parks, and in gardens. It is a vertebrate.

The Common Garter Snake is also a vertebrate. They feed on amphibians, making them carnivores. These snakes live is damp areas, such as swamps and marshes.

The Carpenter Ant is an invertebrate living in the Deciduous Forest. They are primary consumers, or herbivores, and eat plants, or occasionally other ants smaller than themselves. They can be found all over this biome.

 

The Monarch, a type of butterfly is another invertebrate found in this biome. They are also primary consumers. Something unusual about butterflies is that they originally are caterpillars, however when they grow, they turn into butterflies. They also can be found almost anywhere in this biome, especially near trees.

  

 

 

Food Web

The usual food web in a deciduous forest is:

 

 

Adaptation

In order to live in the Deciduous Forest, all organisms are adapted in some way to the environment. Two examples of organisms well adapted to this forest are the Black Bear, and the Cardinals, two animals mentioned previously.

THE BEAR HIBERNATES

In winter, it is very hard for animals to find food, since plants do not grow in winter, which sets off the entire food web. It is largely for this reason that bears hibernate in the winter months. For 3-7 months, bears do not ingest any food, urinate, or defecate. Their bodies metabolize 4,000 kcal a day using the protein already consumed by the bear. They are in a light sleep for all of the months.

CARDINALS AND OTHER BIRDS MIGRATE

In the winter, cardinals and other birds also leave due to the difficulty to get food, as well as for the fact that they do not have heavy fur to keep them warm, but they have light feathers. They usually fly south to warmer biomes where it is easier to find food, and warmer, so they do not freeze. They fly back in the spring, once it gets warmer.

One main problem facing the Deciduous Forest is the new housing developments which is taking land away from the forest. With less room for the same amount of animals, there is an overpopulation of predators. This is causing a problem because there are in many cases, too many of one species.

An endangered species from the Deciduous Forest is the Northeastern Beach Tiger Beetle. This beetle, found on the beach, are threatened because of the recreational use of beaches, as well as the "rip rap" collecting.

There are also many endangered plants in the Oak-Hickory forest. The Black locust, Gray Birch, and Eastern Red Cedar are some of the many endangered plants.

An example of symbiosis in the Deciduous Forest is represented in the relationship between squirrels and trees. Squirrels depend on trees to protect them, feed them, and to provide a place to live. Trees protect squirrels because they are tall, so squirrels can climb them quickly to get away from their predators. They feed squirrels by producing nuts, which are eaten by squirrels. Finally, trees provide squirrels with a place to live on their many branches.