Coniferous Forests

1. Coniferous Forests By, Kevin Donnelly and Tayeb Kenzari

2. Where are Coniferous Forests? • Make up 15% of Earth’s surface • Extend mostly over the northern hemisphere across all continents • Exist along the northern areas of North America, Europe, and Asia • Often cover mountainsides • Covered by snow for most of the year • Located south of the Tundra, but north of the Temperate Deciduous forests and Temperate Grasslands • Trees produce seeds in cone form • Only coniferous trees exist because their roots extend along upper levels of ground • Pine needles contain little sap so freezing is not a problem • Rocky, hard soil that roots cannot penetrate

3. Major Producers and Consumers • Producers: • Trees • Shrubs and ferns • Grass and moss • Primary Consumers: • Moose and Elk • Insects • Small birds • Rodents • Secondary Consumers: • Large birds • Small mammals • Owls • Tertiary Consumers: • Wolves and Lynxes

4. Natural Resources • Dense forests (fir, pine, hemlock, spruce, birch) • act as huge carbon reservoirs • support many species of plants and animals • cut for timber and wood products • Large rivers • used for hydro-power • support freshwater life • Oil • drilled and extracted from ground for fuel • Coal • mined and burned to generate electric power • Precious Metals (gold, silver, platinum) • mined for value

5. Environmental Concerns • Environmental Concerns • Clearcut logging • causes loss of biodiversity • causes soil erosion • degrades wildlife • Increasing amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere • burning fossil fuels increase CO2 in atmosphere • cause temperatures to rise in coniferous forests • Mining • chemicals used in mining harm environment • silt released harms environment • Hunting • endangers species • causes species extinction • Acid Rain- due to coal burning and air pollutants • pollutes soil • kills trees and vegetation

6. Santa Cruz Cypress • Santa Cruz Mountains, California • Listed as endangered since 1973 • Can reach 30 feet in height • Able to survive in nutrient-poor, often arid and rocky soils • This allows no other trees to encroach on the cypress • Takes 10 years for cones to mature • Fires allow cones to open and spread seeds • If fires occur too frequently cones don’t mature enough to create seeds

7. Siberian Tiger • Length: 13 feet, Weight: 700 pounds • Top of food chain • Habitat: Russian southeast coniferous forests • Top of food chain • Predominant Prey: Wild Boar, Red Deer • Population in the wild is 350-450 tigers • Endangerment caused by poaching • habitat loss, logging, and over development • Poached for fur and bones • Tiger parts used in Chinese medicine • illegal but still common in China • Species Survival Plan (SSP)-overseeing current program to breed Siberian Tigers in captivity • approximately 160 Siberian Tigers in the SS

8. Sources • http://sis.agr.gc.ca/cansis/taxa/landscape/veget/coniferous_yt.jpg • http://www.inchinapinch.com/hab_pgs/terres/coniferous/c_forest.htm • http://www.vtaide.com/png/foodweb/coniferous-sm.jpg • http://www.world-builders.org/lessons/less/biomes/conifers/conifweb.html • http://www.ehow.com/facts_5860827_endangered-plants-coniferous-forests.html • http://www.ehow.com/about_5299579_endangered-animals-coniferous-forests.html • http://www.wcsrussia.org/Projects/SiberianTigerProject/tabid/1222/language/en-US/Default.aspx • http://www.nrdc.org/land/forests/boreal/intro.asp • http://atlas.nrcan.gc.ca/auth/english/maps/economic/mining/metal_mines/1/#metalmines • http://www.inchinapinch.com/hab_pgs/terres/coniferous/c_forest.htm • http://bss.sfsu.edu/holzman/courses/Fall%2003%20project/SCC_files/image005.JPG • http://bss.sfsu.edu/holzman/courses/Fall%2003%20project/SCC.htm • http://bss.sfsu.edu/holzman/courses/Fall%2003%20project/SCC.ht4.JPG • http://www.inchinapinch.com/hab_pgs/terres/coniferous/images/rain.jpg • http://www.inchinapinch.com/hab_pgs/terres/coniferous/images/pipeline.jpg