Climate: Annual Precipitation and Average Temperature
Temperate Deciduous Forests have an annual precipitation of 30-60 inches a year. When the precipitation is split into months (graph below left) the precipitation can spike, and decline very suddenly, but when a line of best fit is drawn the peak is usually around any month from March to October, and at about 9 cm for the specific month it peaks at. The average temperature of a Deciduous Forest is around 50 degrees Fahrenheit (10 degrees Celsius). When the temperature is looked at month by month (graph below right), it, unlike precipitation, is a steady incline and decline, peaking during the months of June, July, and August (Summer, in other words).
Plants, Animals, and Soil of Temperate Deciduous Forest
The list of common animals in the deciduous forest can include snake, white-tailed deer, raccoons, squirrels, weasels, and bears. Many animals feed off of the nuts, plants and/or trees so prominent in the deciduous forest like the white-tailed deer, and the squirrel population, while others are carnivore or omnivores like the weasel who dines on small mammals in the deciduous forest or the American Black Bear who eats vegetation and other animals. Plants and trees native to the Deciduous Forest include Oak Trees, Maple Trees, Beech Trees, Shrubs, Herbs, and Mosses. The vegetation listed here is invaluable to the animal life in the Deciduous Forest proving to be an energy source for herbivores/omnivores as well as shelter for some animals. The soil of the Temperate Deciduous Forest is also invaluable because of organic matter decomposing fairly slowly meaning that lots of organic matter and nutrients can be found residing in the soil.
Change of Seasons
In the Deciduous Forest, there are four distinct seasons with dramatic transitions between each one throughout each year. Summer is a warm and relatively rainy season compared to other seasons. Fall is not quite as rainy or warm as Summer, Winter brings heavy snow and the coldest temperatures of the year, while Spring tends to be around the amount of precipitation in Fall as well as around the temperature of Fall.
Bibliography
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"Temperate DeciduousForests." Temperate Deciduous Forests. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Jan. 2013.
"Earth Systems: READ: Temperate Deciduous Forest Biome." Earth Systems: READ: Temperate Deciduous Forest Biome. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Jan. 2013.
"Temperate Deciduous Forest : Mission: Biomes." Temperate Deciduous Forest : Mission: Biomes. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Jan. 2013.
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