Temperate Forest

Did you know that the Temperate Forest cycles through all four seasons? (According to www.study.com). The temperate forest is full of coniferous trees and many plants and animals. On the website www.britannica.com, it says, “about 3.9 million square miles of Earth’s land area.” The temperate forest is located in many places, such as North America, Western Europe, Asia, and Australia (According to www.britannica.com). On The website earthobservatory.nasa.gov it says, “a yearly average of 10°C (50°F).”

The temperatures there are quite cool. Surprisingly, there aren’t an extreme amount of geological features in the Temperate forest but, according to www.treehugger.com, there is a large variety of deciduous trees. I think the best fact about the Temperate Forest is that the average rainfall ranges from 30-60 inches, which is quite a lot (According to www.ducksters.com).

Isn’t it amazing that there are many different types of temperate forests!? The  website www.sciencing.com, it says, “Perhaps more well-known are the large mammal woodland carnivores: bears, cougars, and wolves.” This shows that larger animals in the temperate forest are mainly carnivores/predators, but it also shows that these are more common animals in the biome. The prey in the temperate forest is quite large as the animals include; birds, reptiles, but also amphibians. (www.sciencing.com)

Adaptations in the temperate forest are key considering there are 4 seasons, and how some are harsh for specific animals. Adaptations animals need in the temperate forest consist of hibernation and migration. (www.vtaide.com) The temperate forest provides many benefits to humans as humans need many resources to survive. Humans mainly collect firewood from this biome, agriculture, but also settlement, the temperate forest is a key biome for humans. (www.study.com)

The temperate forest is special mainly because it goes through four seasons, but the plants there are known to have many adaptations, this biome also isn’t like the desert (never gets too hot) or the taiga (never gets too cold). On the website www.usgs.gov it says, “Chronic stress from drought and warming temperatures also expose temperate forests to insect and disease outbreaks. And as temperatures rise in many regions, fires grow in frequency and severity causing losses in…natural resources and lives.”  If this biome dissipates the nature of the biome would also have a negative impact, there would be a big loss of biodiversity, and water quality would dissipate. ( www.forestsforever.org)  According to www.study.com, human society would also have a huge negative impact as farming would become increasingly difficult, while many other things like having enough wood resources would decrease. It would feel heartbreaking to lose the temperate forest as some of our everyday things would be taken from the loss of this unique biome.

Thankfully, www.drawdown.org is trying to prevent terrible things from happening to this special biome. Websites like this are allowing as much regrowth and restoration as possible, they want to make sure that there is much of the temperate forest left untouched. This is helpful because the more we let the temperate forest regrow, the more likely we can save the biome, it’s also helpful because this biome helps produce many environmental outputs, they have some of the largest and oldest organisms in the world! (www.sciencedirect.com) Donating is key for this restoration process, donating to The Kenauk Institute (www.environmental america.org)on their website it says, “ have already secured $20 million…” You can either make monthly donations to this institute OR you can make a one-time donation, if you donate to the Kenauk Institute, it helps to go to their cause of helping temperate forests in different areas.

There are many different ways you can help the Temperate Forest, most of these things are very easy to do, for example; you can pick up trash if you live near a temperate forest, or if you are visiting one. One of the many things you can do to help is ride a bike for short distance travels instead of being dropped off, according to www.rainforestfoundation.org it says, “ There are many things you as an individual can do to reduce your carbon footprint: Drive less.” This means even though you’re a 5th grader, you could ride your bike more often for short-distance travels or just to get around (maybe instead of driving to your friends house that is not far, you could ride a bike). The main reason this is helpful is because gas from cars is messing up biomes like the temperate forest, so if you were to ride a bike, that would be a small step to helping. Another thing that’s extremely easy to do is just to inform others. By doing this, others can be aware of what they can do, and maybe you can show them. If we all helped by doing these things, it would be fantastic as less gasses ruin beautiful biomes like the temperate forest.