Chapter 5 - Deciduous Forest

Deciduous biomes are located primarily in the eastern half of the United States, Canada, Europe, parts of Russia, China, and Japan.

Climate

The average temperature of the forest is about 50 degrees F. The average amount of rainfall in the forest is 30 to 60 inches a year. As the seasons change, so do the colors of the leaves of the deciduous. During the winter months water is generally not available to keep the leaves of some plants alive. Therefore, the leaves of some plants fall off and grow back in the spring. Those plants, like evergreens, keep their leaves during the winter have special adaptations to stay alive. You can learn more about the vegetation of deciduous biomes.

Animals

Precipitation in the temperate deciduous forest is spread throughout the year. However, during the winter months it is usually frozen and unavailable to animals. Animals living within this biome must adjust to cold winters and hot summers. Leaves generally fall off in the fall, leaving animals with less cover to hide themselves from predators. Also in the deciduous forests are such animals as

Black Bear

Fox

Brown Bear

Other animals found in Temperate Deciduous Forest

Ant Ants are social insects.

Bald Eagle The bald eagle is a large bird of prey. It is the symbol of the USA.

Beaver The beaver is a large rodent that builds dams and dens.

Black Bear A large, black to brown bear.

Brown Bear The Brown Bear is a large bear with a muscular hump on its shoulders.

Cardinal The cardinal is a brilliant red bird with a short, wide bill.

Collared Peccary A pig-like mammal, also known as the javelina, from deserts, chaparrals and forests of North and Central America.

Deer The deer is a shy, fast-moving plant-eater.

Dhole The dhole is a wild dog from Asia.

Earthworm An earthworm is a little animal with a long, soft body and no legs.

Fox The fox is a meat-eating mammal with a long, bushy tail.

Frog Tadpoles grow up to be frogs.

Mallard Duck The Mallard is a common wild duck that is the ancestor of most domestic ducks.

Muskrat Muskrats are rodents that often build dome-shaped houses.

Newt Newts are small, brightly-colored salamanders.

Nightingale A small songird that sings beautiful, complex songs, often at night.

Opossum The Virginia opossum is the only marsupial in North America. Over 64 species of opossum are found in South America.

Porcupine Porcupines are mammals with protective, needle-like quills on their body.

Rabbit A fast-moving mammal with long ears.

Raccoon The raccoon is a mammal with mask-like markings on its face and a ringed tail.

Red Fox The Red Fox is a meat-eating mammal with a long, bushy tail.

Red-Tailed Hawk The Red-Tailed Hawk is a bird of prey, a raptor from North America.

Scorpion A venomous arachnid with a large stinger on its tail.

Skunk Skunks are black and white mammals that can produce a terrible odor.

Squirrel Squirrels are rodents. They live in a variety of biomes, including the taiga.

Turkey Turkeys are large birds that nest on the ground.

Weasel A carnivorous mammal that has a long, slender body and short legs.

White-Tailed Deer The white-tailed deer is a shy, fast-moving plant-eater.

Vegetation

In the deciduous forest there are many flowers like the passion berry and the blue lily. There are many other flowers but those are some of the main ones.

The Deciduous forest does not have much vegetation but there are many trees that contain outrageous amounts of flowers. Animals need these trees because they provide shelter and some use them for food and even water from the leaves. The trees adapt to this forest by having thick bark barriers on the trees to keep the animals out and the trees from dying.