A Coniferous Forest

The location of my biome, the coniferous forest is located on the continent of North America. It can be found in the upper part of Washington State. The annual rainfall is about 45-135 cm. The temperature of the great forest ranges from -40 degrees Celsius to 30 degrees Celsius. The average summer temperature is 10 degrees Celsius.

There are some very special animals in this great biome. The first animal is the North American beaver { Castor Canadensis }. This beaver is an expert engineer. He can cut down whole trees with their sharp teeth to build dams and lodges in which to live and survive. His home has an underwater entrance to keep predators from getting in. Each part of the dam and lodge is built so that there will be no flooding when a big storm comes. The next great animal is the Tawny Owl { Strix Aluco }. Tawny Owls feed on mice and moles, which they catch from the forest floor and surrounding countryside. The Tawny Owls are under a huge threat. Their woodland habitat has been destroyed in many places, forcing them to hunt for food in towns and near busy roads. Sadly they are on the endangered species list. My favorite animal of the coniferous forest is the moose { Alces alces }. The moose feeds off of leaves, tree shoots, twigs and grasses. They have very soft pliable lips and a long muzzle that they use to pick juicy leaves from high branches.

They often bend young trees by pushing their trunks as they reach up for the tender leaves growing at the top. They also eat plants from the bottom of the forest lakes and streams. They prefer to live in swampy woodland areas. I love this next bird. Its name is the cedar waxwing { Bombycilla cedrorum } of North America. Many forest trees and bushes produce fruits and berries, these make good meals for insects and birds such as the cedar waxing of North America. This great animal is being pushed to the boundary line of extinction. People are destroying the habitat for land development and other human reasons.The coniferous forests dominant plants are cone-bearing evergreens. Evergreens are foliage that persists and remain green throughout the year. The evergreen Coniferous forests is also called Tiaga and they begin where tundra gives ways to trees. The trees of this forest are tall and narrow so that the snow will fall off the branches without breaking them. The trees grow close together protecting each other from the wind. The trees make seeds in cones and use the wind for pollination. The scientific name for evergreen is{ Thuja Occidentalis }. In moist areas of the Coniferous forest, shaded areas, there are ferns { Equisetum Scirpolides } and mosses { Phylum Bryoph }. There are also wild flowers and a variety of deciduous bushes. Coniferous forests are very important to the lumber industry.

A coniferous Forest sounds like it would be a great place to take a vacation. You could camp out and look for animals and cool trees. I'm sure the coniferous forest is beautiful.