BIOL 1108 Lecture Notes - Lecture 44: Temperate Coniferous Forest, Ericaceae, Understory
Document Summary
Chapter 48 - biomes and global ecology (part 2) Occur throughout the world, always just below the snow line (about 10,000 feet at lower latitudes) Thin atmosphere = limited protection from uv radiation. Plants are therefore low and slow growing. Grazers: mountain goats, llamas, yaks, marmots, and seasonally active insects. Occur from 50 degrees to 65 degrees n. Plants are conifers like spruce, fir, larch, and pine, with an understory of shrubs in the blueberry and rose families. Soils are deep with accumulated organic matter. Soils are acidic and poor in nutrients. Grazers include elk, moose, caribou, porcupines, hares, and a diversity of rodents. Predators include bears, lynx, wolverines, weasels, mink, wolves, and foxes. Two broad areas of temperate coniferous forests occur below 50 degrees n in. North america, also in northern japan, and parts of europe and continental asia.
