Editing Temperate coniferous forest

{{short description|Forests found in areas with warm summers and cool winters}}
[[File:Biome_map_05.svg|thumb|right|upright=1.8|Extent of Temperate coniferous forest]]
'''Temperate coniferous forest''' is a [[terrestrial ecoregion|terrestrial]] [[biome]] defined by the [[World Wide Fund for Nature]]. Temperate [[conifer]]ous forests are found predominantly in areas with warm summers and cool winters, and vary in their kinds of plant life. In some, needleleaf trees dominate, while others are home primarily to [[Broad-leaved tree|broadleaf]] [[evergreen]] trees or a mix of both tree types.<ref name=wwf>{{CC-notice|bysa3}} {{cite web|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110102145156/http://wwf.panda.org/about_our_earth/ecoregions/about/habitat_types/selecting_terrestrial_ecoregions/habitat05.cfm|archive-date=2011-01-02|url=http://wwf.panda.org/about_our_earth/ecoregions/about/habitat_types/selecting_terrestrial_ecoregions/habitat05.cfm|title=Temperate Coniferous Forest Ecoregions|author=World Wide Fund for Nature}}</ref>  A separate habitat type, the [[tropical coniferous forest]]s, occurs in more tropical climates.

Temperate coniferous forests are common in the coastal areas of regions that have mild winters and heavy rainfall, or inland in drier climates or [[montane]] areas. Many species of trees inhabit these forests including [[pine]], [[cedrus|cedar]], [[fir]], and [[redwood]]. The understory also contains a wide variety of herbaceous and shrub species. Temperate coniferous forests sustain the highest levels of [[biomass]] in any terrestrial ecosystem and are notable for trees of massive proportions in [[temperate rainforest]] regions.<ref name=wwf/>

Structurally, these forests are rather simple, consisting of 2 layers generally: an [[overstory]] and [[understory]]. However, some forests may support a layer of [[shrub]]s. Pine forests support an herbaceous ground layer that may be dominated by [[Graminoid|grasses]] and [[forb]]s that lend themselves to ecologically important [[wildfire]]s. In contrast, the moist conditions found in temperate rain forests favor the dominance by [[fern]]s and some forbs.<ref name=wwf/>

[[Image: Las sosnowy swiezy02.jpg|thumb|A [[pine]] forest is an example of a temperate coniferous forest]]
Forest communities dominated by huge trees (e.g., giant sequoia, ''[[Sequoiadendron gigantea]]''; redwood, ''[[Sequoia sempervirens]]''), unusual ecological phenomena, occur in western North America, southwestern South America, as well as in the Australasian region in such areas as southeastern Australia and northern New Zealand.<ref name=wwf/>

The [[Klamath Mountains (ecoregion)|Klamath-Siskiyou ecoregion]] of western North America harbors diverse and unusual assemblages and displays notable endemism for a number of plant and animal taxa.<ref name=wwf/><ref>
  {{cite book
  | last = Kauffmann
  | first = Michael
  | title = Conifer Country
  | year = 2012
  | location = Kneeland
  | publisher = Backcountry Press
  | isbn = 978-0-578-09416-8  }}</ref>

==Ecoregions==

===Eurasia===

[[File:Bor lowland typical forest.jpg|thumb|right|[[Carpathian]] montane conifer forest, [[Slovakia]].]]
[[File:Zyllnhardgeräumt GO-3.jpg|thumb|Forest south of [[Munich]]]]
{{Paleartic temperate coniferous forests}}
<br />
[[File:Cedrus deodara Manali 2.jpg|thumb|right|''[[Cedrus deodara]]'' in the [[Western Himalayan subalpine conifer forests]],]]
{{Indomalayan temperate coniferous forest ecoregions}}
===North America===

[[File:Petroglyphs Forest.JPG|thumb|right|upright|A temperate coniferous forest ecosystem in [[Petroglyphs Provincial Park]], [[Ontario]].]]

{{Nearctic temperate coniferous forest ecoregions}}

==See also==

{{Portal|Environment|Ecology|Earth sciences}}
* [[Cedar hemlock douglas-fir forest]]
* [[Temperate deciduous forest]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}
{{refbegin}}
*{{cite book|chapter-url=http://www.fsl.orst.edu/~waring/Publications/pdf/TempForestEncyc.pdf|last=Waring|first=Richard H|year=2002|chapter=Temperate coniferous forest|pages=560–565|title=Volume 2, The Earth system: biological and ecological dimensions of global environmental change|publisher=John Wiley & Sons, Ltd|location=Chichester|access-date=April 18, 2012}}
{{refend}}

==External links==
*{{commons-inline}}
*[http://www.barrameda.com.ar/ecology/temperate-forest.htm Temperate forest]

{{Biomes}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Temperate Coniferous Forest}}
[[Category:Temperate coniferous forests| ]]
[[Category: Terrestrial biomes]]
[[Category:Conifers]]
[[Category:Forests]]
[[Category:Biomes]]
[[Category:Montane forests]]