Page 114 - Environment: The Science Behind the Stories

(a) Temperate deciduous forest 300 (a) Temperate grassland Dry

40
Mean monthly temperature (ºC) 40 conditions 80 Mean monthly precipitation (mm) Mean monthly temperature (ºC) 30 conditions conditions 60 Mean monthly precipitation (mm)
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Precipitation
Moist
Moist
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40
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Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Time of year (Northern Hemisphere) 0 –10 Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Time of year (Northern Hemisphere)
(b) Washington, D.C., USA (b) Odessa, Ukraine
Figure 4.19 Temperate deciduous forests (a) experience Figure 4.20 Temperate grasslands experience seasonal
relatively stable seasonal precipitation but varied seasonal temperature variation and too little precipitation for many
temperatures. Scientists use climate diagrams (b) to illustrate trees to grow. The climatograph indicates “moist” climate condi-
average monthly precipitation and temperature. In these diagrams, tions (green) as well as “dry” climate conditions (yellow, when the
the curves indicate precipitation (blue) and temperature (red) temperature curve is above the precipitation curve). Climatograph
from month to month. When the precipitation curve lies above adapted from Breckle, S.W., 2002.
the temperature curve (as is the case year-round in the temper-
ate deciduous forest around Washington, D.C., shown here), the How do you expect evaporation rates may relate to the
region experiences relatively “moist” conditions, indicated with temperature and precipitation patterns from July to
green coloration. Climatograph here and in the following figures adapted from September to explain this period’s dry conditions?
Breckle, S.W., and H. Walter, trans. by G. Lawlor. 2002. Walter’s vegetation of the
Earth: The ecological systems of the geo-biosphere, 4th ed. Originally published
by Eugen Ulmer KG, 1999, used by permission.
as in eastern North America—all areas where precipitation is
spread relatively evenly throughout the year.
Soils of the temperate deciduous forest are relatively fer- CHAPTER 4 • S PEC i ES i n TERA CT i on S A nd Co mmuni T y E C ology
bottom). Marine communities are also more clearly delineated tile, but this biome consists of far fewer tree species than are
by their animal life than by their plant life. We will examine found in tropical rainforests. Oaks, beeches, and maples are a
freshwater, marine, and coastal systems in the greater detail few of the most abundant types of trees in these forests. Some
they deserve in Chapters 15 and 16.
typical animals of the temperate deciduous forest of eastern
North America are shown in Figure 4.11 (p. 101).
We can divide the world into
ten terrestrial biomes Temperate grassland Traveling westward from the
Great Lakes, temperature differences between winter and
Temperate deciduous forest The temperate deciduous summer become more extreme, rainfall diminishes, and we
forest (Figure 4.19) that dominates the landscape around the find temperate grasslands (Figure 4.20). This is because the
central and southern Great Lakes is characterized by broad- limited amount of precipitation in the Great Plains region west
leafed trees that are deciduous, meaning that they lose their of the Mississippi River can support grasses more easily than
leaves each fall and remain dormant during winter, when trees. Also known as steppe or prairie, temperate grasslands
hard freezes would endanger leaves. These mid-latitude were once widespread throughout parts of North and South
forests occur in much of Europe and eastern China as well America and much of central Asia. 113

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