Types of Forests

Different Types of Forests in the World

There are three types of forests that are explained briefly below:

Evergreen Forests :

• An evergreen forest is a forest consisting entirely or mainly of evergreen trees that retain green foliage all year round.
• Evergreen forests are usually found in areas receiving more than 200 cm of rainfall and having a temperature of 15 °C to 30 °C.
• They occupy about seven per cent of the Earth’s surface and harbour more than half of the world’s plants and animals. They are found mostly near the equator
• These forests are dense, mulch-layered and harbour many types of plants and animals. The trees in an evergreen forest have broad leaves that release excess water through transpiration.
• In India, evergreen forests are found in the Western Ghats in the states of Maharashtra, Kerala and Karnataka. They are also found in Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Tripura, West Bengal and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

Deciduous Forests :

• Forests where a majority of the trees lose their foliage at the end of the typical growing season are called deciduous forests.
• Deciduous forests are found in several parts of the world including North America, Europe, New- Zealand, Australia, and Asia. These forests go through a lot of seasonal changes and are specially adapted to withstand these environmental changes throughout the year.
• Trees found in a deciduous forest vary by region, but generally include species such as oak, beech,walnut, maple, chestnut and hickory. Deciduous forests grow in areas where rainfall is sufficient to support tree growth.
• Deciduous forests are well suited to deal with extremes in temperatures. After losing leaves in winter, the trees enter a period of dormancy until the warmer weather returns and the growing season is once again underway.

Coniferous Forests :

• Coniferous forests are made up mainly of cone-bearing or coniferous trees, such as spruces, hemlocks, pines and firs. The leaves of these trees are either small and needle-like or scale-like and most stay green all year around.
• Coniferous forests are found mainly in the northern hemisphere, although some are found in the southern hemisphere.
• Coniferous trees thrive where summers are short and cool and winters long and harsh. The needle-like leaves have a waxy outer coat which prevents water loss in freezing weather and the branches are soft and flexible and usually point downwards, so that snow slides off them.
• The temperate coniferous rain forests sustain the highest levels of biomass in any terrestrial ecosystem and are notable for trees of massive proportions

PROJECT

1. Name a few animals that you would find in an evergreen forest.
2. Do a little research about the Hickory tree and find out about its benefits.
3. Find out about 5 more trees which grow in each of these forests.

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