Temperate Coniferous Forests

Abstract

Temperate conifer forests are geographically and taxonomically diverse, occurring on five continents (North America, Europe, Asia, South America, and Africa). They contain some of the most iconic forests and tree species on the planet. Superlative examples include the rainforests of Douglas-fir, Sitka spruce, red cedar, and hemlock in the US Pacific Northwest and adjacent Canada, the largest known trees (giant sequoia), and the tallest known trees (Coast redwood) in California, and Fitzroya that live more than three thousand years in Chile. Elsewhere, conifer forests of lesser stature occupy vast tracts of land within the Earth’s temperate climate zones. Much of the forest has been logged, so that very little primary forest remains, and, in some regions, much of the forest has been converted to other land uses such as agriculture and cities. There are interesting biogeographic phenomena, such as physiognomically similar hemlock forests that occur in isolated areas, including the far western United States, northeastern United States, China, and Japan. Pine forests are a very important part of the temperate conifer biome, and they include a large variety of fire dependent forests composed of many pine species throughout much of North America, Europe, and Asia. Artificial conifer forests of Norway spruce and Scots pine occupy much of Europe, including sites that formerly supported deciduous hardwood forests, while plantation forests of loblolly pine occupy much of the southeastern United States, where they replace more complex natural forests that include loblolly along with other pine and hardwood species. Because of the proximity of temperate forests to large metropolitan areas and industrial areas, they provide a large quantity of forest products, such as timber and paper; constitute critical wildlife habitat; and meet the recreational needs of millions of people. Finally, these forests are in regions that will be heavily impacted by climate change. It is likely that the temperate zones will move poleward by several hundred kilometers by the end of the twenty-first century, and conservation issues related to overuse and fragmentation will be exaggerated by the changing climate and need for temperate species to migrate long distances.