Welcome to DeciduousForests.net

With a rich history between the forest, the animals and plants that live there, and people, we need to take into consideration the impact of all environmental issues which currently face our forests.  Deciduous forests are described as areas where trees and plants grow that shed (or lose) their foliage annually (typically in the fall) only to be re-grown again (typically in the spring).

Unfortunately, we are depleting many of the resources of our deciduous forests by taking timber, creating recreational areas, and stripping them in their entirety to put up new buildings.  All too often when we build new housing developments in an area that was once all trees and plants little attention is paid to what types of foliage are growing there (or the animals that inhabit the area) and we could potentially be eliminating an entire animal or plant species.

Fortunately, more and more re-forestation is going on, however many feel this isn’t nearly enough.  Ravages of time rot caused by age, insect infestations, and other factors go into destroying our forest land.  Global warming is blamed on the tremendous changes in our weather which also can affect our deciduous forests.  Hurricanes, tornados, extreme cold or extreme draughts all have an impact on how the forest performs in any given year.

Typically found in the eastern half of North America and mid-Europe, deciduous forests can also be found in Asia (Russia, Japan and Eastern China).  There are also significant areas of deciduous forests in Southern Chile and along the Middle East coast of Paraguay.  On a smaller scale you will find deciduous forests in Southeastern Australia and in New Zealand.



Deciduous forests are broken into ‘zones’.  The first zone is the Tree Stratum zone. The Tree Stratum zone includes oak, beech, maple, chestnut-hickory, as well as elm, basswood, linden, walnut, and sweet gum trees. This zone has height ranges between 60 feet and 100 feet. The small tree and sapling zone is the second zone. This zone has young and short trees. The third zone (shrub zone) may contain rhododendrons, azaleas, mountain laurel, and huckleberries. The Herb zone is the fourth zone which contains short plants such as herbal plants. The final and the fifth zone is the Ground zone which contains lichen, club mosses, and true mosses.

The Tree Stratum zone (as well as the small tree and sapling zone) may contain:

Maple Trees, which can grow to between 30 and 130 feet often become canopy trees in a deciduous forest.  Some of the smaller ones will make up other layers of the forest (see below for explanation of layers).  They are characterized by leaves which are divided into 3-9 veins in each ‘lobe’.  Maples are a flowering tree (some of them) and though the flowers (which can be green, orange, yellow or red) are small, the overall effect of a tree in full bloom is breathtaking. In early spring they are a potential source of food for bees, producing sap and pollen.

Oak Trees, have spirally arranged leaves, and will produce vast quantities of acorns.  They may be deciduous or they can also be evergreen.  Acorns which ultimately will help re-seed the ground for additional oaks typically take about 18 months to mature and produce only one seed.  Oaks can be poisonous to various animals because of the high concentration of tannins in their leaves and their bark.

Hickory Trees, which are also a deciduous forest tree, have a number of species, almost a dozen of them in North America alone.  They also produce a very large nut, which splits at maturity as well as a small yellow-green flower known as a ‘catkins’. 

A number of insects use the hickory tree for feeding including butterflies, skippers and moths. The bark of hickory trees is suitable for syrup production being significantly bitterer than maple syrup with a distinct smoky flavor and smell.

Beech Trees (all of which are deciduous) are characterized by their dense canopy of leaves and sparse undergrowth. They also produce a flower called a catkin which is wind pollinated.  The nut from the beech tree is a three angled nut, with a bitter flavor and like the oak is high in tannins.  Beech trees do well in a variety of soils provided they do not become waterlogged.

 

 

Hemlock Trees are a second level deciduous forest tree which has been highly forested and also has suffered serious threats from sap-sucking insects called Hemlock Woolly Adelgid which was accidentally introduced from Asia.  They are also food plants to many forms of moths and especially to the older caterpillars of the gypsy moth.  The hemlock is used and planted for timber in some temperate areas.

Spruce Trees (known as the original Christmas tree), are also a 2nd level tree in the deciduous forest. This evergreen is characterized by their whorled branches and conical form. The spruce sheds all of its needles when they are approximately 4-10 years old, leaving behind a branch rough with a cushion-like swelling where the needles once were which distinguishes them from other evergreen species.

 

 Fir Trees (another evergreen), reach heights between 30 and 260 feet, and have trunk diameters between 2 and 12 feet when fully mature.  Their leaves are needlelike and they produce a cylinder shaped cone which may be 2-10 inches long and disintegrates at maturity to release seeds which are ‘winged’.

The third zone (the shrub zone) may contain:

Rhododendrons – are a hardy species which like other plants and trees in the deciduous forest loses its flowers annually and they re-grow in the spring.  These plants are well known for forming deep roots, and in some instances may replace the natural underlying soil surrounding it.  Rhododendrons can be as small as 4” or as large as 10’. 

 

Azaleas – unlike their hardy cousin the rhododendron, azaleas grow only one flower per stem.  Azaleas are easily recognized by their flowers blooming all at once, in a showy display for a month or two in the spring, although a small group of azaleas which grow their flowers in tight terminal clusters.

Mountain laurel – Mountain laurel is also known by Ivybush, Calico Bush, Spoonwood, Sheep Laurel, Lambkill and Clamoun.  These plants are highly poisonous to horses, goats, cattle, sheep, and deer due to andromedotoxin and arbutin.  The green parts of the plant, the flowers, twigs, and pollen are all toxic, and symptoms of toxicity begin to appear about 6 hours following ingestion. Poisoning typically produces repeated a number of symptoms, and eventually will result in death. A necropsy will show GI irritation and hemorrhage.

Huckleberries - The fruit of the various species of plant called huckleberry is generally edible. The berries are small and round, usually less than 5 mm in diameter, and contain 10 relatively large seeds. Berries range in color according to species from bright red, through dark purple, and into the blues. In taste the berries range from tart to sweet, with a flavor similar to that of a blueberry, especially in blue/purple colored varieties. Huckleberries are a favorite of many animals such as bears and humans.

The Guelder Rose - is a deciduous shrub like the Common Elder. The flower is with flat heads which are 3 to 5 inches across and is characterized by it’s wheel shape.The inner flowers are fertile and very small unlike the outer flowers which are sterile. Not only do these flowers provide nectar for the insects that pollinate them but the flowers turn into red berries. The leaves which are similar to maples, turn to a bright red or rich purple before falling.

 

The Northern Arrowwood plant has dark green deciduous leaves which typically grow opposite each other.  While the leaf tips are pointed, the bottoms may be either round or heart-shaped 3” leaves.  With flowers that form a flat topped cluster, they have small flowers which will vary in color from white to pink.  This plant typically blooms from May to June and the leaves and flowers grow on top of long shoots. While deer love to graze on the leaves and stems, the berries that form are fleshy blue-black and about ½” across and are a favorite food of chipmunks and Ruffed Grouse.

 

The Herb Zone (the 4th Zone) may contain:

Lady ferns are a dominant plant that will cover the forest floor  and are a deciduous, perennial fern about 24 to 36 inches tall.  They typically grow in the below white spruce, black spruce, Douglas-fir and western hemlock since they prefer shaded areas and will sometimes grow between rocks.  Its light green, lacy leaves are about 24 to 30" long and 6 to 9" wide and tapered at both ends. The fronds are cut twice and typically grow from a central base. The J-shaped spore casings (known as sori) grow on the underside of the leaf. 

The Ground zone may contain:

Typically found on the floor of the deciduous forest, the tawny milkcap (mushroom) is an edible plant that is orange-brown in color. A decomposing mushroom it helps keep leaf litter from accumulating in the forest. Because mushrooms don't have chlorophyll, and get their nutrients in other ways, they don't need light to grow.

 

Lichen is quite different from that of either the fungus or alga though they may resemble simple plants in form and growth.  Some lichens have the aspect of leaves (foliose lichens); others cover the substratum like a crust (crustose lichens); others adopt shrubby forms (fruticose lichens); and there are gelatinous lichens, they are typically the first to develop in areas that are lacking in soil.

Carpet Moss is a simple, rootless evergreen plant. The moss can live in a wide variety of habitats, but are most often found covering the ground, growing on stream beds, or on the base of trees in deciduous woodlands.  Carpet Moss absorbs water through pores which are always open, and they require a constant source of moisture. They don't have true roots, stems or leaves, and like its name, carpets the ground. The carpet moss is typically a ‘golden green’ in the sprint and the shade intensifies to a dark green as the plant gets older.

The deciduous forest is rich with animals who adapt to the climate by hibernating in the winter and living off the land during spring, summer and fall. These animals have adapted to the land by trying the plants for a good supply of food. The trees provide good shelter and serve as source for food and water. Most of the animals are camouflaged to look like the ground.   Some of the animals that may be found in a deciduous forest are American Bald Eagle, the American Black Bear, the coyote, the duckbill platypus, the eastern chipmunk, European red squirrels, fat dormouse, the least weasel and the white tailed deer.

 


The American Bald Eagle is a fierce looking bird who lives about twenty five years.  One of the largest flying birds seen in the United States, the bald eagle stands between 30.4 and 36.4 inches tall, or about as high as an average office desk. With a five and a half to eight foot wing span a white head, a black body and a white tail, this raptor is covered in large coarse feathers.  The Bald Eagle reaches maturity between four and six years of age, chooses one mate for its whole life, and tends to breed in the winter in the south and in the spring in the north. Climate affects reproduction of the Bald Eagle. An incredible predator, the Eagle helps the environment by eating a variety of fish and other animals dead and alive.

 

The American Black Bear is usually black but can have phases of brown, cinnamon, beige and even a bluish- white. The black bear can be 5-6 feet from nose to tail and 32-38 inches from paw to the top of its shoulder. They live in most of North America.  They will eat virtually anything, but 75% of its diet is made up plants and other vegetation, while the other 25% is made up of, carcasses, honey, small mammals and insects; a predator, and an omnivore, the black bear kills of the elderly and weaklings of over populated prey.

Coyotes can easily disrupt the eco-system in an area by killing off small mammals in just a few short years.  If rabbits and mice are not in the area to eat small plants, those plants can grow and crowd off shrubs and kill grasses, causing other animals depending on them for food to not have sufficient food which means they die off or move from the area.  Weighing between 15 and 44 lbs, they are generally between thirty and forty inches long with a tail that is 12 - 16 inches long.  With grayish tan fur, and long pointed nose and large ears, their original habitat was big open grassland.

The platypus is found in the deciduous forests of Australia.  About the size of common housecat, they have dark brown fur on their back and yellow fur on their stomachs.  The platypus lives along streams and river beds where it burrows into riverbanks in the soft mud. It uses its front feet like shovels to dig the burrow.  Diving to the bottom of the river, the platypus wiggles its bill into the sand and mud at the bottom to get frogs, shrimp, larvae, fish and tadpoles.  They typically eat early in the morning and again in the evening.

 

Eastern chipmunks can be found in the deciduous forests of southeastern Canada and the eastern United States.  A very cute small animal they are about 5-6 inches long and only weight about 3 ounces.  Chipmunks do not like open areas, so they stay under the cover of plants whenever possible.  Chipmunks eat grains, nuts, berries, seeds, mushrooms, bugs and salamanders.

 

The Red Squirrel can be found in Europe’s Deciduous forests.  Living only 4-6 years, the red squirrel mostly feeds on seeds. They consume acorns, hazelnuts, chestnuts, beech flowers, fungi, berries and caterpillars. In the autumn, squirrels bury seeds and nuts however if these supplies run out in the winter, the squirrel may die.  Red squirrels are an endangered species in a lot of areas, because the more adaptable gray squirrel has been introduced to the usual habitats of red squirrels.

 

 

The Fat Dormouse is at home in European deciduous or mixed forests.  Often mistaken for a gray squirrel the dormouse has thick fur which is soft and short with a silvery grey color on the upper part and creamy white on the under parts.  The fat dormouse is about 5-8 inches in length and the bushy tail is about 4-6 inches long and typically weighs from 2 ½ -6 oz. This omnivore feeds on apples, pears, plums, grapes, seeds, berries, nuts, insects, and occasionally birds eggs

 

The Least Weasel lives deep in the deciduous forests of Asia.  Their slender body (about 4-10 inches) is covered by a coat not longer than .6 inches which is dirty brown and dirty white color most of the year, but turns to pure brown and pure white in winter to blend in with the snow.   The smallest carnivore in the world, the least weasels’ diet is comprised of mice, rats, moles, small birds, bird's eggs, and rabbits.

The white-tailed deer has protective coloring, or camouflage, that allows it to hide in all types of undergrowth. Sporting a grayish color in the winter and a more red color during the summer the white tailed deer has a band of white fur behind its nose, in circles around the eyes, and inside the ears, down the throat, on the upper insides of the legs and under the tail.  They graze on green plants in the summer and nuts and acorns, twigs and buds of birch, maple and conifer trees in the winter.

 

The deciduous forests weather averages about 70 degrees in the summer (beginning early June and ending late July), winters (typically beginning in December) are cool with average temperatures below freezing with a mix of precipitation including 14” of rain (or snow) in the winter and more than 18” of rain in the summer.  Most deciduous forests are located near an ocean which combined with ocean winds are significant factors in temperature and overall climate.

The deciduous forest has four distinct seasons, spring, summer, autumn, and winter.

Deciduous Forest in Spring – in the spring, the deciduous forest is preparing for another year, trees are beginning to bloom and plants are beginning to grow and the animals indigenous to the area are returning from their migration.

 

Deciduous Forest in Autumn (Fall) – in the fall, the trees and plants are preparing for the winter and depending on rainfall and temperatures during the spring and summer, the forest offers a wealth of lush color for everyone to enjoy.  Lack of precipitation or too much heat can have an impact on the entire season.

Deciduous Forest in Winter – in the winter all of the leaves have fallen from the trees and plants leaving behind only the branches of what will grow again in the spring and gain color in the fall only to shed all of their leaves and flowers again next winter.

 

Deciduous forests have soil that is very fertile, which is one of the main reasons there are no longer many original deciduous forests. This land has been cleared for agricultural purposes in many areas.  China for instance has been clearing natural trees for nearly 4,000 years and most of their deciduous forests are man-made.  North American forests are all second-growth forests, but still have the largest variety of original plants, while European forests have only a few of their original species remaining.  We must continue the efforts of stopping deforestation before we lose our deciduous forests completely.

There are many means of deforestation; those that are created by forest fires, insect infestation or disease are clearly not to manage.  However, there are types of deforestation that we can (and should) control, or at the very least handle differently.  The “Slash and Burn” method of deforestation should be looked and using wood chippers could accomplish the same task and provide important nutrients to the ground in the process.  Slash and Burn techniques is when an area of primary or secondary forest vegetation is cut and allowed to dry. Often, large trees are girdled and die standing while some trees are left standing, especially food producing trees like chestnuts or economically valuable trees like teak. Portions of the cut timber or saplings are often gathered to use for firewood or charcoal. A week to a few months later, residual dry vegetation is burned and the plots are cultivated for one to five years and then abandoned as fertility declines and weeds begin to invade the soil.  Such abandoned plots often become used as pasture for livestock for a while. Recovering woodlands are sometimes treated as "fallow" land, to be subjected to another round of slash and burn in the future.  Unfortunately, too many of our tropical forests have fallen to this method of deforestation.  It is believed that if we continue with deforestation that by the year 2090 that we will have no forests

If wood chippers were used, not only would the chips provide ground cover (thereby enhancing the soil) but they could also be used to ship off to paper mills to create pulp for paper (reducing the number of trees that would subsequently have to be destroyed to make it).  Major causes of deforestation are believed to be a result of a growing number of poor and open access property rights and many studies back these theories up. 

It is a well known fact that deforestation can cause severe environmental damage and that long term plans to stop and even reverse deforestation is critical.  Japan has developed a system of long term planning through substitution of timber by other products and more efficient use of land.  In Germany they developed ‘silviculture’ to deal with deforestation.  These efforts can be limited as they require proper amounts of rainfall and no exceptionally long dry season (stemming the possibility of forest fires).  These efforts do require substantial rains to maintain the soil in a fertile state.

In China (where there has been large scale destruction of forest) once required that everyone between age 11 and 60 plan 3-5 trees a year of work in other forest services for a period of time that would be equivalent to planting those trees.  It is reported that over 1 billion trees have been planted in China since this policy was instituted in 1982.

Increased consumer demand for wood products are causing landowners and forest industries to become more and more accountable for management and harvesting practices. There are charities (such as The Arbor Day Foundation's Rain Forest Rescue program) that helps prevent deforestation by using funds they collect through their fundraising efforts to buy and preserve rainforest land.  The Arbor Day Foundation then protects that land from deforestation and locks in the way of life of those living on that land.

The Nature Conservancy, World Wide Fund for Nature, Conservation International, African Conservation Foundation and Greenpeace also focus on preserving forest habitats.  Israel according to The Jewish National Fund is the only country to come out of the 20th century with more trees than it had at the start of the period.