Mixed and deciduous forests. The climate is mixed and broad-leaved forests. Lesson outline. Zone of mixed broad-leaved-coniferous forests
In the eastern part of the mainland, coniferous forests gradually turn into mixed and broad-leaved forests, common in the Great Lakes region and in the St. Lawrence River basin.
AT mixed forests North America along with conifers grows a lot broadleaf trees. Of the conifers, the most characteristic are white, or Weymouth, pine (Pinus strobus), reaching a height of 50 m, red pine (Pinus resinosa) and eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis). Of the deciduous, yellow birch (Betula lutea) with hard yellowish wood, sugar maple (Acer saccharum) - national symbol Canada (Figure 2), american ash(Fraxinus americana), American elm (Ulmus americana), beech, linden (Tilia americana). These forests grow on gray forest and soddy-podzolic soils, more fertile than those of the taiga.
Figure 2 - Sugar maple (Acer saccharum)
gray forest soils formed in the inland region. Soils are wetted by rainfall great depth, but since the groundwater in this zone is deep, the flushing water regime here it is not typical, only in the most humid areas there is a continuous wetting of the soil stratum to groundwater.
Podzolic soils - soils of broad-leaved and mixed forests. are formed in the conditions of a continental and temperate continental climate with excessive moisture and constant washing with seeping water, contain little humus (1-4%), are infertile, require fertilization. The podzolic horizon (A-2) is well expressed, from which particles of humus, clay particles, iron oxides, etc. are washed out, which are deposited in the lower, illuvial horizon, dense, brown in color. In mixed forests, where there are more grasses in the forest litter, the humus horizon is better developed (soddy-podzolic soils).
The climate of mixed forests is characterized by warmer and longer summers (average July temperature from 16 to 24 °C) and warmer winters (average January temperature from 0 to minus 16 °C) compared to the taiga forest zone. The annual amount of precipitation is from 500 to 1000 mm. The amount of precipitation everywhere exceeds evaporation, which leads to a well-defined flushing water regime.
characteristic feature mixed forests is a more or less developed grass cover. The biomass of mixed forests is greater than in the taiga and amounts to 2000-3000 q/ha. The mass of litter also exceeds the biomass of taiga forests, but due to more intensive microbiological activity, the processes of destruction of dead organic matter proceed more vigorously, therefore, in mixed forests, the litter has less power than in the taiga, and more decomposed.
Fauna of North American mixed and deciduous forests very similar to the taiga fauna. However, in these forests there are such animals that are not in the taiga forests. For example, in the wild fauna of deciduous forests there is a black bear - baribal. The same animal is also found in taiga forests. But in the wild fauna of the taiga there are American badger, mink, raccoons, wolves, skunks; the same animals are found in deciduous forests. The symbol of the North American broadleaf forests is the Virginian deer (Odocoileus virginianus) (Figure 3), which is a relative of the red deer living in Europe. The Virginia (white-tailed) deer is a beautiful animal with huge branched antlers, feeds on the shoots of various trees, and also eats young crops, which makes it an undesirable neighbor settlements. Previously, Virginian deer were very valued in the human economy, however, due to poaching, their number has decreased.
forest taiga north america
Figure 3 - Virginian deer (Odocoileus virginianus)
In natural habitats, hunting for them is prohibited; hunting for them is possible only in reserves in southeastern Canada. Another typical representative of this fauna is found in the forests - this is the opossum (Didelphis marsupialis) or marsupial rat. Reptiles such as the Mississippi alligator tortoise and the Mississippian alligator are found in the waters of this area. Among amphibians there is a bullfrog, which has a length of about 20 cm. North American broad-leaved forests are very rich in birds. Typical representatives of this North American flora include wild turkeys and fork-tailed harriers. Some species of hummingbirds are also found here, but these are not the owners of the forest, they penetrate here from the southern part of the continent, from the Neotropical region.
Mixed forests have long been subjected to severe extermination and are now preserved mainly in the upper parts of the slopes of the Appalachians. They suffer equally from deforestation and fires.
The belt of deciduous forests of North America stretches along the Atlantic coast in the meridional direction. This extension, caused primarily by sufficient moisture and mild winters, leads to a number of biogeographic features.
To the south of the mixed forests in the eastern part of the mainland, broad-leaved, so-called Appalachian forests appear, which are one of the most remarkable types of vegetation in North America. In the past, broad-leaved forests spread over almost the entire Appalachian mountain system and the plains to its east and south of the Great Lakes. They grow in mild conditions. humid climate on gray forest soils rich in iron oxides.
The Appalachian forests are dominated by broad-leaved tree species shared with some European or East Asian genera, and many ancient relict endemic species are also found. In terms of species composition, the Appalachian forests are one of the richest on Earth. Most of them american species oaks (Quercus macrocarpa, Q. alba, etc.), along with them are common chestnut (Castanea dentata), beech (Fagus grandifolia), ash, linden, plane tree (Platanus occidentalis). Tall trees with a powerful spreading crown predominate, often entwined with climbing plants - grapes or ivy. In the southern part of the zone, there are such ancient heat-loving species as hickory (Carya alba), magnolia (Magnolia acuminata), tulip tree (Liriodendron tulipifera) and liquidambar (Liquidambar orientalis).
The Appalachian forest has not been preserved in its original form. It has been badly damaged by logging and clearing for arable land, heavily modified: forest vegetation is either completely destroyed or replaced by secondary vegetation. Even where forests still exist, species composition their very changed.
There are two types of soils formed in these landscapes:
1 Gray forest soils formed in inland regions. The vegetation under which gray forest soils have formed is represented mainly by broad-leaved forests with a rich grass cover.
The mass of litter of these forests significantly exceeds the mass of litter of taiga forests and amounts to 70-90 c/ha.
The litter is rich in ash elements, especially calcium. The soil-forming rocks are mainly cover loess-like loams. Favorable climatic conditions determine the development of soil fauna and microbial population. As a result of their activity, a more vigorous transformation of plant residues occurs than in soddy-podzolic soils. This causes a more powerful humus horizon. However, part of the litter is still not destroyed, but accumulates in the forest litter, the thickness of which is less than the thickness of the litter in soddy-podzolic soils.
The type of gray forest soils is divided into three subtypes - light gray, gray and dark gray, whose names are associated with the color intensity of the humus horizon. With the darkening of the humus horizon, the thickness of the humus horizon somewhat increases and the degree of leaching of these soils decreases. The A2 eluvial horizon is present only in light gray and gray forest soils; dark gray soils do not have it, although the lower part of the A1 humus horizon has a whitish tint. The formation of subtypes of gray forest soils is determined by bioclimatic conditions; therefore, light gray forest soils gravitate towards the northern regions of the gray soil belt, gray ones towards the middle ones, and dark gray ones towards the southern ones.
Gray forest soils are much more fertile than soddy-podzolic soils; they are favorable for growing grain, fodder, horticultural and some industrial crops. The main disadvantage is greatly reduced fertility as a result of their centuries-old use and significant destruction as a result of erosion.
2 Brown forest soils were formed in areas with a mild and humid oceanic climate, in North America - the Atlantic part of the continent.
The annual amount of precipitation is significant (600-650 mm), but most of it falls in the summer, so the leaching regime operates for short periods of time. At the same time, mild climatic conditions and significant atmospheric moisture intensify the processes of transformation of organic matter. A significant amount of litter is processed and mixed by numerous invertebrates, contributing to the formation of a humus horizon. With the destruction of humic substances, the slow movement of clay particles into the intrusion horizon begins.
The profile of brown forest soils is characterized by a weakly differentiated and thin, not very dark humus horizon.
At in large numbers applied fertilizers and rational agricultural technology, these soils give very high yields of various agricultural crops, in particular, the highest yields of grain crops are obtained on these soils.
The fauna of broad-leaved temperate and coniferous-broad-leaved subtropical forests of North America has the same features as vegetable world, rich species diversity with the inclusion of ancient elements, southern influence even at the northern borders of the zone (for example, hummingbirds are found up to Alaska). However, there are also many common features with other continents, especially in the ratio of biological groups and in the appearance of many species close in lifestyle. Most groups of animals typical of deciduous forests also live in forest prairies, and partly in northern taiga forests.
Along with the soil complex of invertebrates as rich as in the tall grass prairies and the grouping of the herbaceous layer, a large place in the animal population is occupied by the inhabitants of the crowns of trees and shrubs. Of these, leaf-eating insects are very plentiful: moths, leafworms, silkworms and other butterflies (or rather, their caterpillars), sawflies, leaf-eating beetles, and beetles. The larvae of barbels and borers settle in the trunks. Numerous groups of suckers, juices from shoots and roots: cycads, aphids, psyllids.
Mixed and broad-leaved forests, located between the steppes and taiga, occupy approximately 28% of the area of the whole of Russia.
They include trees such as pine, spruce, larch, maple, oak. These forests are distinguished by a large number of fauna: predatory, herbivorous animals, birds.
The mild climate, which is characteristic of this area, contributes to the flourishing of various vegetation, so the forests are rich in berry bushes, mushrooms, and medicinal herbs.
What are mixed and broadleaf forests
Mixed forests are natural area coniferous and deciduous trees with an admixture of approximately 7% of plants of another type.
Broad-leaved forests are deciduous (summer green) trees with wide leaf blades. 
Characteristics of mixed forests
There is a scheme of varieties of mixed forests:
It is characteristic that the description of the composition of the forest includes tiers of trees and shrubs of various heights:
Location of the zone of mixed and broadleaf forests
Mixed and broad-leaved forests of Russia have the following geographical position- originate at the western borders and extend to the Ural Mountains.
Due to the openness of the zone to large full-flowing rivers - the Oka, the Volga, the Dnieper, moisture is felt in the forests. Deposits in these zones of clay, sand contribute to the development of lakes, swampy areas. The location of forests near the Atlantic Ocean, which has an impact on climate, is also important.
Climate
Mixed forests are most comfortable growing in a mild, humid, temperate continental climate with a clear alternation of seasons ( heat in summer and low in winter). The southern and western parts account for about 700-800 mm of precipitation. It is this balanced climate that contributes to the cultivation of various crops here: wheat, flax, sugar beets, potatoes.
In broad-leaved forests, the climate changes from temperate continental to temperate, winters become warmer, and summers cooler, but average annual precipitation increases. This atmosphere allows the favorable growth of coniferous and broadleaf trees together.
Animal world
The world of forest dwellers is rich and varied. Deer, moose, hares, hedgehogs live here. The most common predators of the mixed forest are the fox, the wolf, the marten, the forest cat, the lynx, and the brown bear.
Mixed Forest Animals
Rodents live in the forests: mice, squirrels, rats. And in the European part of the forest, such rare inhabitants as the badger and lynx settled.
The forest floor and soil are inhabited by invertebrates that process the layer of fallen leaves. Leaf-eating insects live in the canopy of trees.
Birds of the mixed forest
The forest of this type is perfect for birds: woodpeckers, capercaillie, tits that feed on caterpillars, and owls that are not averse to eating mice.
Plants of mixed forests
The temperate continental climate allows birch, alder, poplar, mountain ash, spruce, and pine to grow in mixed forests.
Willow feels very comfortable here due to sufficient humidity. The pride of this type of forest is oak, in mixed forests it grows tall, powerful and large, so it stands apart from other trees.
Mixed forests largely consist of shrubs: elderberry, wild raspberry, hazel, viburnum, which also loves moisture.
In addition to trees and shrubs, mixed forests are rich in various herbs, mosses and flowers. In the mixed forest, you can see such vegetation as fern, nettle, sedge, clover, horsetail, St. John's wort and many others. Flowers will delight the eye: chamomile, lilies of the valley, buttercups, bluebells, lungwort.
Dominant Soils
There are a lot of fallen leaves and needles in the forests, which, decomposing, form humus. In conditions of moderate humidity, mineral and organic substances accumulate in the upper soil layer.
Humus with organic matter are the main constituents of soddy-podzolic soil. From above, the soil is covered with vegetation, various herbs, mosses. Relief and surface properties rocks can have a significant impact on the internal structure of the vegetation cover.
Ecological problems
In our time, one of the main environmental problems has become the problem of heterogeneity of forests, which is exacerbated by selective felling of trees by humans.
Despite the fact that the broad-leaved tree species differs from others in its rapid growth, the area of \u200b\u200bthe forest has greatly decreased. Entrepreneurs are engaged in cutting down trees on a huge scale, which leads to other environmental issues- the accumulation of harmful gases in the atmosphere of our planet.
Over the past 7 years, forest fires have become more frequent, due to human negligence, entire hectares are burning.
On forest dwellers rare species poachers hunt illegally.
Reserves of mixed and broad-leaved forests of Russia
Russia is filled with more and more nature reserves.
The most famous largest reserve is Bolshekhekhtsirsky (Khabarovsk Territory), which is protected by the state. It grows trees (more than 800 species), shrubs and herbaceous plants.
The specialists of this reserve carried out large-scale work to restore the population of bison, beaver, elk, and deer.
Another well-known large nature reserve is Kedrovaya Pad (Primorsky Territory). Only coniferous trees were supposed to grow here, but later representatives of a broad-leaved forest appeared: linden, maple, birch, oak.
Human economic activity
Forests have long been mastered by people.
The most popular economic activity person:
Features of mixed and broad-leaved forests:
Mixed forests are an independent type of landscape, the main feature of which is the presence of coniferous and broad-leaved forests on soddy-podzolic soils in zonal conditions.
In the northeast, mixed forests border on the taiga along the line: Leningrad - Novgorod - Yaroslavl - Gorky. In the southeast, they are replaced by forest-steppe along the line: Lutsk - Zhytomyr - Kyiv - Kaluga - Ryazan - Gorky. In the west, outside the USSR, mixed forests are gradually turning into European broad-leaved forests.
The position of mixed forests in the south-west of the forest region of Russia, their relative proximity to warm Atlantic Ocean enhance the western features in the landscape of this zone. The western character of the zone of mixed forests affects primarily the climatic conditions. This zone in winter knows neither severe frosts, no deep snow cover. average temperature January in the west of the zone above -5°, in the east about -12°. Frequent thaws in winter prevent the formation of deep snow cover. Therefore, the southwest of the zone, in terms of the duration of the snow cover (less than 100 days) and its height (below 30 cm), resembles the steppes and semi-deserts of the Trans-Volga region. The western features of the climate are further expressed in the abundance precipitation. In most of the zone, their annual number exceeds 600 mm, and in some places (east of Riga) even 800 mm.
Soddy-podzolic soils in the west of the zone already have some features that bring them closer to brown forest soils. Western Europe. So, in the west of Belarus, yellow-yellow color appears in podzolic soils, and in Kaliningrad region more or less typical brown forest soils are described. The western influence on the vegetation of the zone of mixed forests is very noticeable. Western origin are broad-leaved forests, with their characteristic shrub and herbaceous species. In the Baltics, such typical Western Europeans as yew (Taxus baccata) and ivy (Hedera helix) are known. The very composition of conifers in the landscape zone of mixed forests is different than in the taiga: european spruce and pine and no Siberian conifers at all - Siberian spruce, Siberian fir, Sukachev larch.
The location of coniferous and broad-leaved species is subject to a certain pattern: broad-leaved forests prefer to grow on loamy, well-drained soils, most often along the southern slopes and tops of low elevations.
Like vegetation, animal world mixed forests is saturated with western species and depleted in taiga-Siberian. Among the typical western species are the European subspecies of roe deer, wild boar, wild forest cat, several species of dormouse, mink, pine marten; from birds - green and middle woodpecker, chaffinch. Preserved in Belovezhskaya Pushcha ancient inhabitant broad-leaved forests - bison. The heterogeneity of geological and geomorphological conditions introduces great diversity into the landscape of mixed forests. Moving from the northwest to the southeast, in the zone of mixed forests one can find traces of a glacier of the most varied preservation - from fresh terminal moraine ridges of the Valdai glaciation in the west to secondary moraine plains and erosion relief in the area of the Dnieper glaciation in the east. The west of the zone of mixed forests, due to the abundance of moraine lakes, was called the "lake belt". In the east of the zone, watershed lakes occur as a rare exception.
The role of the glacier in the formation of the relief of the zone was greatly exaggerated for a long time, considering that all its uplands, such as the Valdai, Smolensk-Moscow, Lithuanian-Belarusian, and others, are of glacial-accumulative origin. In fact, all these hills are composed of bedrock and only from the surface are covered with moraine of relatively small thickness. The origin of the main elevations of the zone is due to tectonics and partly to ancient erosional erosion.
The vertical differentiation of landscapes in the zone of mixed forests is much more pronounced than in the taiga zone. Its sharpness is due not only to large fluctuations in relative heights, but also to two other circumstances: geological differences between uplands and lowlands and the position of the southern boundary of the zone at the main landscape boundary of the Russian Plain. Many lowlands in the zone of mixed forests belong to the "polesian type" - they have passed the stage of a periglacial reservoir and are composed of glacial sands. Poorly drained, they are swamped even on the border with the forest-steppe, covered with pine forests, resembling taiga in their landscape. Polissya and Meshchera are examples of them. The uplands are composed of loamy moraine, which in the south of the zone is covered by mantle and loess-like loams. With good drainage and a moisture balance close to neutral, fertile soddy-podzolic and even gray forest soils form on the loamy soils of the uplands in the south of the zone. Accordingly, the vegetation also acquires a southern character: swamps disappear, the role of broad-leaved species in the forest stand increases, and the first representatives of the northern steppes appear.
Forest consisting of deciduous and coniferous trees. Ecological encyclopedic Dictionary. Chisinau: Main edition of the Moldavian Soviet Encyclopedia. I.I. Grandpa. 1989... Ecological dictionary
mixed forest- A forest with a stand formed by trees of different species: coniferous and deciduous in the temperate zone, tropical zone- evergreen and deciduous... Geography Dictionary
mixed forest- - EN mixed forest A forest composed of several tree species. (Source: FORGOVa) Themes security environment EN mixed… … Technical Translator's Handbook
Dominant coniferous trees in southern Finland, the Sarmatian mixed forest is a typical ecoregion of northern Europe. It consists of mixed temperate and boreal forests, the most famous example of such a forest in the CIS is Belovezhskaya ... ... Wikipedia
FOREST- A large space, abundantly overgrown with trees. The forest occupies 45% of the territory of Russia. Particularly rich in forests middle lane, north western areas and the whole territory from the Urals* to Far East*, Eastern and Western Siberia*. Russian forest often ... ... Linguistic Dictionary
Compact array of trees and shrubs. More than a third of the land surface is covered with forests or suitable for their development. However, the areas occupied by forests are unevenly distributed between the continents and even within each of them. For example, forest cover... Collier Encyclopedia
Algae forests are underwater areas with a high density of algae, usually located near seashores at a depth of 10 25 meters ... Wikipedia
forest- FOREST1, a (y), mn a, s, m A set of deciduous or deciduous and coniferous growing and tall trees growing together in a large area. In these places, a dense mixed forest grows with a predominance of cedar (Ars.). LES2, a (y), preposition. in the forest... Dictionary Russian nouns
forest- mute (Ice); silent (Sologub); fragrant (Chiumina); fragrant (Frug); century (Rukavishnikov, Turgenev); deaf (Radimov, Ratgauz, Serafimovich); leafy (Rosenheim); dormant (Khomyakov); dense (Bzhov, Kozlov, Frug, Koltsov ... Dictionary of epithets
MIXED, oh, oh; an. 1. Formed by mixing something; being a mix. Mixed breeds. 2. Consisting of heterogeneous, different parts, elements, participants. C. forest. | noun confusion, and, wives. Explanatory dictionary of Ozhegov. S.I. Ozhegov, N ... Explanatory dictionary of Ozhegov
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At the southern border of the zone coniferous forests, about 60° N. sh. in the west of Eurasia and in the Great Lakes region of North America, broad-leaved trees join conifers. It is warmer here, humidification is no longer excessive, but sufficient due to greater evaporation. Summers are longer, but winters are cold and covered with snow. In such conditions, oaks, lindens, maples, elms, ash trees, and sometimes beeches can grow. All of them are represented in Eurasia and North America by different species.
In these coniferous-broad-leaved forests, broad herbs appear - plants with wide leaf blades dominate in the grass cover. Large litter of deciduous trees, shrubs and grass cover contributes to the formation of humus, and moderate moisture - to the accumulation of organic and mineral substances in the upper soil horizons.
As a result, soddy-podzolic soils with a well-defined humus horizon are formed. They are usually podzolized. The degree of podzolization depends on the properties of the soil and on the nature of the relief, which affects the drainage of the territory. When the water stagnates, gleying also develops.
As in every transition zone, in mixed forests, the internal structure of the vegetation cover is affected by big influence local conditions: relief, properties of surface rocks.
For example, on moraine loams in southern Sweden, the Baltic countries, in European Russia many forests dominated by spruce or pure spruce forests. Pine forests are widespread on the terminal moraine ridges and outwash plains of Poland, the Baltic States, Belarus, and Russia, composed of rocks of light mechanical composition from the surface. AT Belovezhskaya Pushcha, a large forest area located in the zone of mixed forests, 50% of the plantations are pine forests, and the remaining half are spruce-pine forests, spruce forests, oak-hornbeam massifs, secondary alder and aspen forests.
The heterogeneity of forests is exacerbated by selective logging.
Yes, in central regions In Russia, oak, widely used in the economy, was cut down. It can be guessed that it grew here in mixed forests almost everywhere, based on individual surviving specimens and the presence of shrubs and grasses characteristic of oak forests in coniferous and small-leaved forests. Clearings and fires also contribute to the replacement of polydominant forest communities by monodominant, often secondary birch and aspen forests, sometimes with an admixture of oak or spruce, and sometimes pure. The forests of this zone on both continents were also cut down for agricultural land, since soddy-podzolic soils have a certain fertility.
broadleaf forests
South conifers"fall out" from the tree stand. The forests become purely broad-leaved. In this zone, the average July temperatures are 13-23°C, the average January temperatures are not lower than -10°C. Moisture conditions are different, but at least 500 mm of precipitation falls annually, and the summer is quite humid. Under such conditions, forests grow in the oceanic sectors of the continents and disappear in central parts where it is hotter and dry summer and Cold winter.
Vegetation and soils
In European broad-leaved forests, the main species are pedunculate oak and European beech. They are often joined by maple, linden, ash, elm hornbeam.
These forests, sometimes with an admixture of birch, in the recent past occupied all plains and mountain slopes up to a height of 1000-1200 m in Western and Central Europe. The well-known geobotanist A.P. Ilyinsky called beech forests “the child of the oceanic climate”. On the plains, they do not enter east of Moldova. In the mountains, these forests usually grow on the northern and western more humid and cool slopes or above the oak. Oak forests, less demanding on moisture conditions, but requiring summer heat, reach the easternmost boundary of the zone and also form forest islands in the forest-steppe. The original form of oaks were evergreen species, they became deciduous in conditions of relatively low winter temperatures. Indeed, the leaves from oaks fly around later than from other trees, and sometimes dry foliage keeps on the branches all winter. Peculiar chestnut forests of southwestern Europe with an undergrowth of evergreen shrubs - holly and yew berry. They survived only in the lower mountain belt of southeastern France. There are very few forests left in Europe. Only on the slopes of the mountains there are more or less large forests. The names of some mountain ranges contain the word "forest": Bohemian Forest, Thuringian Forest, Black Forest (translated as "Black Forest"), etc. Relatively fertile brown and gray forest soils form under broad-leaved forests. They have a fairly thick and dark humus horizon with a humus content of 6-7%, a neutral reaction. The influx horizon has a nutty structure and humus films along the edges of structural units. with such soils, they are almost completely plowed up.
Animal world
The animal world is very diverse and rich. Wild boars, roe deer, red deer, hares, badgers, hedgehogs still live in the surviving forests of Europe, there are martens, forest cats, lynxes, brown bears and some other species predatory mammals. In the forest litter and in the soil, there is an abundant fauna of invertebrates that process leaf litter. There are many insects and their caterpillars in the crowns of trees. They eat leaves and shoots, and small birds feed on them: warblers, warblers, tits. etc. There are birds and rodents that eat seeds and fruits: jays, forest mice and voles, dormice.
Peculiar deciduous forests East Asia. Here the conditions are somewhat different: at very damp heat cold winter season. The history of the development of the modern organic world was also different than in the West. AT ice ages vegetation and animals could retreat south to their usual habitats, since there were no significant sublatitudinal mountain barriers. For the same reason, a free exchange of species between zonal groups is still possible.
Vegetation
Here it is difficult to draw a line between mixed and broad-leaved forests: conifers go far south to the subtropics. Besides deciduous trees more intensively felled, and the proportion of conifers in mixed forests is predominant. But from subtropical latitudes evergreen magnolias, tulip tree, paulownias penetrated into this zone. In the undergrowth, along with honeysuckle and lilac, bamboo and rhododendron are common. There are numerous creepers: actinidia, wild grapes, vineyard, lemongrass. Bamboo and some creepers penetrate far to the north and are found even in the Far Eastern taiga. Lots of endemic plants. In addition to trees common to Europe, represented, however, by their own species, Manchurian walnut, velvet tree, and Chosenia grow here. Araliaceae are widespread. In the grass cover, along with close to European genera and even species, there are endemics: for example, ginseng, one of the Jeffersonia species (other species of this genus are common in North America). Under these forests, as well as under Western European ones, brown forest soils are formed.
In the animal world, the same features are observed as in the plant. The fauna is very rich and unique. It contains animals close to North American and tropical Asian species. Tiger, leopard, marten kharza, some species of birds and insects live from Hindustan to the Far East.
There are few forested areas in East Asia. Within overpopulated China, all serviceable Agriculture The land has long been plowed up. The Far Eastern "Manchurian" flora has survived mainly on the territory of our country, but even here it is under the threat of destruction. There are remnants of these forests in mountainous areas. Better than on the mainland, forests have been preserved on the islands of the Japanese archipelago, where they occupy the lower mountain belt on about. Honshu and in the south about. Hokkaido. Here the participation of evergreen species is great and the degree of endemism in the flora and fauna is high. Forestry has significantly changed the composition and structure of Japanese forests, but the inhabitants of the country carefully treat their forests, especially in numerous national parks and reserves.
Similar reasons determine the originality of the broad-leaved forests of eastern North America. Here, too, there are no sublatitudinal mountain barriers and free migration is possible.
The submeridional strike of the zone has led to the fact that in the north the proportion of broad-leaved species is very large and deciduous forests almost approach the forest-tundra. In the south, the admixture of evergreens increases, which penetrate far to the north. With change climatic conditions from temperate to subtropical latitudes, the participation of evergreen and thermophilic flora in general increases, and forests become humid subtropical.
In terms of diversity and preservation of relict plants, these forests are close to East Asian ones. Both have it and just common elements- tulip tree, magnolias, etc. The forests of the Southern Appalachians are especially rich, similar in structure to tropical rain forests: they are polydominant, multi-tiered, with lianas and epiphytes. In the northeastern United States and Canada, broadleaf forests are more similar to European ones. They are dominated by sugar maple, American ash, large-leaved beech. American broad-leaved forests have survived mainly in mountainous regions, but even there they have been significantly modified.
The fauna of the North American forests has features and similarities, and differences with the Eurasian ones.
There are related species: the wapiti deer is a race of red deer, but the virgin deer lives there - a representative of a subfamily endemic to America. Mice and rats are replaced in the same ecological niches hamster-like. endemic and large water vole- the muskrat, which is often called the water or musky rat. Similar to the East Asian black bear baribal. Endemic are the pecan marten, the raccoon, the gray fox, which can climb trees. In the broad-leaved forests of North America, the only representative of marsupials on the Northern continents lives - the opossum, or marsupial rat. Of the endemic birds, mockingbirds, and Eurasian flycatchers and warblers are replaced by tyrannids and treeworts. In the west, South American hummingbirds penetrate to the northernmost border of the zone.
The productivity of broad-leaved forests is up to 150-200 c/ha, mixed - about 100 c/ha. In large areas of both continents, they are cut down, and the land is occupied by agricultural land. Often, during reforestation, broad-leaved species are replaced by fast-growing conifers and small-leaved species. The animals that inhabited these ecotopes are gradually disappearing, and their ranges are shrinking. The unique richest Appalachian forests and the beautiful chestnut forests of the south of France suffered, among other things. Special measures are required to protect still existing forest areas.