Coniferous Forest

Climate Info

Summers and Winters

In the coniferous forest it experiences long, snowy winter months and hot wet summer months. The temperatures in the summer range from mild to hot and the precipitation is rain. In the winter, there are freezing temperatures and snow.

Resource Competition

Trees compete with one another for sunlight, water, and nutrients, thus a forest is constantly changing. During succession, different species of trees become dominant as time progresses and the environment changes.

Symbiotic Relationships

Mutualism- An example of mutualism is between a nut cracker bird and a white pine tree. The nut cracker bird takes seeds from the tree and spreads them around. Commensalism- An example of commensalism is the owls. The owl lives in the trees but the trees are not harmed. Parasitism- An example of parasitism is when a tick lives on a deer, the tick may give the deer a disease or cause death.

Limiting Factors and Adaptation

Limiting Factors

As the population increases so does the density dependent factors such as the amount of predation and competition. The independent factors affect the population the same regardless of size. This includes natural disasters such as wild fires and droughts.

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Animal Adaptations

Snowshoe hares prefer to live in dense coniferous forests, and these mammals have developed a unique adaptation: the changing of their fur color from season to season. During the warmer months, snowshoe hares have brown fur that camouflages them within the dead leaves and branches of the forest floor. Wolverines are tenacious predators but will also eat plants and berries in the summer months. They have also been known to drag away carrion for consumption, such as a caribou head or carcass. Wolverines sometimes use downed coniferous trees for stashing food and building dens. Lastly, wood frogs spend the cold months completely dormant. In fact, these frogs get so cold that nearly 75 percent of their body can turn into ice, and the frog will still emerge during the spring thaw, ready to resume normal activities.

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Plant Adaptations

Typical trees include spruce, pine and fir. Coniferous trees have thick bark to protect against the cold. They are cone-shaped, with flexible branches which help them to cope with heavy snow fall. Pine cones protect the seeds during the harsh winter. Their evergreen nature means that the needles can photosynthesise whenever there is sufficient sunlight. The dense forest creates warmth during the harsh winter.

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Food Web and Energy Pyramid

Food Web and Energy Pyramid imageFood Web and Energy Pyramid image
This food web shows the animals and plants in the coniferous forest and how they depend on each other. The energy pyramid shows the flow of energy at each trophic level. 

Human Impact

Human Impact image
Humans have a great impact on coniferous forests. Logging may worsen global warming and destroy the habitat of some animals. Coniferous trees provide habitat for many animals, from squirrels, to woodpeckers. When trees are cut down, animals are sometimes killed in the process, and others are forced to leave their homes. Some of these animals do not have a new home to go to, and their existence may be threatened.

Carbon and Nitrogen Cycle

Carbon Cycle

The carbon cycle is actually a big necessity in the taiga biome because of the large vegetation species. The Carbon cycle creates a steady amount of carbon available in the environment, helping plants when ever photosynthesis is being occurred. Without the Carbon cycle, plants wont be able to perform photosynthesis which is a big necessity for the environment and all of the different species living there who need oxygen to survive.

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Nitrogen Cycle

The nitrogen cycle helps this biome actually convert all the non usable nitrates into usable ones that the plants can actually use themselves. If the nitrogen cycle wasn't available, over time all those nitrates would overflow causing effects to all the plants and animals living there.

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Sources

https://www.eartheclipse.com/ecosystem/coniferous-forest-biome.html https://sciencing.com/animals-adaptations-coniferous-forest-8446490.html https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/zy74ycw/revision/2 https://boandseth.weebly.com/human-impacts.html https://taigaconiferous.weebly.com/nutrient-cycles.html

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