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Components: Forests) Are More Species-Rich Than Those Dominated

Forests account for 75% of the Earth's gross primary productivity and contain 80% of the planet's plant biomass. Forest ecosystems can be found in most regions capable of sustaining tree growth except where natural disturbances are too frequent or the environment has been altered by humans. Forests vary in their tree species composition from areas with many species within a small region like tropical rainforests, to regions with relatively few species over large areas like taiga and montane forests. Forests consist of various biotic and abiotic components across different layers from the forest floor to the canopy. Forests can be classified in different ways such as by biome, leaf longevity, tree type, or level of human alteration.

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69 views6 pages

Components: Forests) Are More Species-Rich Than Those Dominated

Forests account for 75% of the Earth's gross primary productivity and contain 80% of the planet's plant biomass. Forest ecosystems can be found in most regions capable of sustaining tree growth except where natural disturbances are too frequent or the environment has been altered by humans. Forests vary in their tree species composition from areas with many species within a small region like tropical rainforests, to regions with relatively few species over large areas like taiga and montane forests. Forests consist of various biotic and abiotic components across different layers from the forest floor to the canopy. Forests can be classified in different ways such as by biome, leaf longevity, tree type, or level of human alteration.

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Forests account for 75% of the gross primary productivity of the

Earth's biosphere, and contain 80% of the Earth's plant biomass.[7] Forest
ecosystems can be found in all regions capable of sustaining tree growth, at
altitudes up to the tree line, except where natural fire frequency or other
disturbance is too high, or where the environment has been altered by
human activity.
The latitudes 10° north and south of the equator are mostly covered
in tropical rainforest, and the latitudes between 53°N and 67°N have boreal
forest. As a general rule, forests dominated by angiosperms (broadleaf
forests) are more species-rich than those dominated
by gymnosperms (conifer, montane, or needleleaf forests), although
exceptions exist.
Forests sometimes contain many tree species within a small area (as
in tropical rain and temperate deciduous forests), or relatively few species
over large areas (e.g., taiga and arid montane coniferous forests). Forests are
often home to many animal and plant species, and biomass per unit area is
high compared to other vegetation communities. Much of this biomass
occurs below ground in the root systems and as partially decomposed
plant detritus. The woody component of a forest contains lignin, which is
relatively slow to decompose compared with other organic materials such
as cellulose or carbohydrate.
ComponentsEdit

Even, dense old-growth stand of beech trees (Fagus sylvatica) prepared to be regenerated by
their saplings in the understory, in the Brussels part of the Sonian Forest.

A forest consists of many components that can be broadly divided into two
categories that are biotic (living) and abiotic (non-living) components. The
living parts include trees, shrubs, vines, grasses and other herbaceous (non-
woody)
plants, mosses, algae, fungi, insects, mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians,
and microorganisms living on the plants and animals and in the soil.
LayersEdit

Biogradska forest in Montenegro

Spiny forest at Ifaty, Madagascar, featuring various Adansonia (baobab) species, Alluaudia
procera (Madagascar ocotillo) and other vegetation

A forest is made up of many layers. The main layers of all forest types are
the forest floor, the understory and the canopy. The emergent layer exists in
tropical rainforests. Each layer has a different set of plants and animals
depending upon the availability of sunlight, moisture and food.

 Forest floor contains decomposing leaves, animal droppings, and dead


trees. Decay on the forest floor forms new soil and provides nutrients to the plants.
The forest floor supports ferns, grasses, mushroom and tree seedlings.
 Understory is made up of bushes, shrubs, and young trees that are adapted
to living in the shades of the canopy.
 Canopy is formed by the mass of intertwined branches, twigs and leaves of
the mature trees. The crowns of the dominant trees receive most of the sunlight.
This is the most productive part of the trees where maximum food is produced. The
canopy forms a shady, protective "umbrella" over the rest of the forest.
 Emergent layer exists in the tropical rain forest and is composed of a few
scattered trees that tower over the canopy. [20]
TypesEdit

A dry sclerophyll forest in Sydney, which is dominated by eucalyptus trees.

Forests can be classified in different ways and to different degrees of


specificity. One such way is in terms of the biome in which they exist,
combined with leaf longevity of the dominant species (whether they
are evergreen or deciduous). Another distinction is whether the forests are
composed predominantly of broadleaf trees, coniferous (needle-leaved)
trees, or mixed.
 Boreal forests occupy the subarctic zone and are generally evergreen and
coniferous.
 Temperate zones support both broadleaf deciduous forests (e.g., temperate
deciduous forest) and evergreen coniferous forests (e.g., temperate coniferous
forests and temperate rainforests). Warm temperate zones support broadleaf
evergreen forests, including laurel forests.
 Tropical and subtropical forests include tropical and subtropical moist
forests, tropical and subtropical dry forests, and tropical and subtropical coniferous
forests.
 Physiognomy classifies forests based on their overall physical structure
or developmental stage (e.g. old growth vs. second growth).
 Forests can also be classified more specifically based on the climate and the
dominant tree species present, resulting in numerous different forest types
(e.g., Ponderosa pine/Douglas-fir forest).

The number of trees in the world, according to a 2015 estimate, is 3 trillion,


of which 1.4 trillion are in the tropics or sub-tropics, 0.6 trillion in the
temperate zones, and 0.7 trillion in the coniferous boreal forests. The
estimate is about eight times higher than previous estimates, and is based
on tree densities measured on over 400,000 plots. It remains subject to a
wide margin of error, not least because the samples are mainly from Europe
and North America.[21]
Forests can also be classified according to the amount of human
alteration. Old-growth forest contains mainly natural patterns of biodiversity
in established seral patterns, and they contain mainly species native to the
region and habitat. In contrast, secondary forest is regrowing forest following
timber harvest and may contain species originally from other regions or
habitats.[22]
Different global forest classification systems have been proposed, but none
has gained universal acceptance.[23] UNEP-WCMC's forest category
classification system is a simplification of other more complex systems
(e.g. UNESCO's forest and woodland 'subformations'). This system divides
the world's forests into 26 major types, which reflect climatic zones as well
as the principal types of trees. These 26 major types can be reclassified into
6 broader categories: temperate needleleaf; temperate broadleaf and mixed;
tropical moist; tropical dry; sparse trees and parkland; and forest plantations.
[23] Each category is described as a separate section below.
Temperate needleleafEdit

Temperate needleleaf forests mostly occupy the higher latitude regions of


the Northern Hemisphere, as well as high altitude zones and some warm
temperate areas, especially on nutrient-poor or otherwise unfavourable soils.
These forests are composed entirely, or nearly so, of coniferous species
(Coniferophyta). In the Northern Hemisphere pines Pinus, spruces Picea,
larches Larix, firs Abies, Douglas firs Pseudotsuga and hemlocks Tsuga, make
up the canopy, but other taxa are also important. In the Southern
Hemisphere, most coniferous trees (members of
the Araucariaceae and Podocarpaceae) occur in mixtures with broadleaf
species, and are classed as broadleaf and mixed forests.[23]
Temperate broadleaf and mixedEdit

Broadleaf forest in Bhutan

Temperate broadleaf and mixed forests include a substantial component of


trees in the Anthophyta. They are generally characteristic of the warmer
temperate latitudes, but extend to cool temperate ones, particularly in the
southern hemisphere. They include such forest types as the mixed deciduous
forests of the United States and their counterparts in China and Japan, the
broadleaf evergreen rainforests of Japan, Chile and Tasmania,
the sclerophyllous forests of Australia, central Chile, the Mediterranean and
California, and the southern beech Nothofagus forests of Chile and New
Zealand.[23]
Tropical moistEdit

There are many different types of tropical moist forests, with lowland
evergreen broad leaf tropical rainforests, for example váá rzea and igapóá
forests and the terra firma forests of the Amazon Basin; the peat swamp
forests, dipterocarp forests of Southeast Asia; and the high forests of
the Congo Basin. Seasonal tropical forests, perhaps the best description for
the colloquial term "jungle", typically range from the rainforest zone 10
degrees north or south of the equator, to the Tropic of Cancer and Tropic of
Capricorn. Forests located on mountains are also included in this category,
divided largely into upper and lower montane formations on the basis of the
variation of physiognomy corresponding to changes in altitude.[24]
Tropical dryEdit

Tropical dry forests are characteristic of areas in the tropics affected by


seasonal drought. The seasonality of rainfall is usually reflected in the
deciduousness of the forest canopy, with most trees being leafless for
several months of the year. However, under some conditions, e.g. less fertile
soils or less predictable drought regimes, the proportion of evergreen species
increases and the forests are characterised as "sclerophyllous". Thorn forest,
a dense forest of low stature with a high frequency of thorny or spiny
species, is found where drought is prolonged, and especially where grazing
animals are plentiful. On very poor soils, and especially where fire or
herbivory are recurrent phenomena, savannas develop.[23]
Sparse trees and parklandEdit

Taiga forest near Saranpaul in the northeast Ural Mountains, Khanty–Mansia, Russia. Trees
include Picea obovata (dominant on right bank), Larix sibirica, Pinus sibirica, and Betula
pendula.

Sparse trees and savanna are forests with lower canopy cover of trees. They
occur principally in areas of transition from forested to non-forested
landscapes. The two major zones in which these ecosystems occur are in
the boreal region and in the seasonally dry tropics. At high latitudes, north of
the main zone of boreal forest, growing conditions are not adequate to
maintain a continuous closed forest cover, so tree cover is both sparse and
discontinuous. This vegetation is variously called open taiga,
open lichen woodland, and forest tundra. A savanna is a
mixed woodland grassland ecosystem characterized by the trees being
sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open
canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to support an
unbroken herbaceous layer consisting primarily of grasses. Savannas
maintain an open canopy despite a high tree density.[23]
Forest plantationsEdit

Forest plantations are generally intended for the production of timber


and pulpwood. Commonly mono-specific and/or composed of introduced tree
species, these ecosystems are not generally important as habitat for
native biodiversity. However, they can be managed in ways that enhance
their biodiversity protection functions and they can provide ecosystem
services such as maintaining nutrient capital, protecting watersheds and soil
structure, and storing carbon.[22][23]
Societal significanceEdit

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