Soccerock+Botany

 The tallest tree in a temperate rainforest is the coastal redwood. In the summer plants are fully productive. Trees and shrubs are always a major part of the temperate forest that survives through each season. The spring is when the trees come to life and start to grow. This is because, in the spring, sap starts to flow in the trees. Different trees grow at different times. Plants with fruit become ripe and the fruit are eaten or drop to the ground so seeds can be scattered. Other plants cast their seeds in the wind or have animals help spread the seeds. Animals have matured and plants are fertile and in full bloom. In the fall things change, animals breed and start getting ready for the winter and plants stop growing. The temperature also begins to drop during the fall as cool, crisp air replaces the hot, humid air. In the mid-fall trees begin to lose their leaves. Deciduous trees lose their leaves so they do not die during the long winter drought. During the spring and summer, leaves lose a lot of water to evaporation. However, the tree does not die of dehydration because the soil is moist and a sufficient amount of water is available to the roots. During the winter the ground is frozen solid and roots do not receive much water. Trees need to keep as much water as possible from evaporating so they do not die. So, the trees lose their leaves. In order for trees to get rid of their leaves, they need to gradually build up a cell wall at the stem of each leaf. The wall slowly grows across the stem and acts as a valve that cuts off essential nutrients, like sugars and chlorophyll, to the leaf. As less and less nutrients are allowed to the leaf it changes colors. It is obvious when a leaf loses chlorophyll because it turns yellow and orange. Later, the remaining sugars in the leaf cause it to turn red and deep purple. After all nutrients are cut off, the leaf turns brown and brittle and breaks off from the tree. The nutrients cut off from the leaves are stored in the branches, trunk, and roots of the tree until the spring. More than two thirds of the world's plant species are found in the tropical rainforests: plants that provide shelter and food for rainforest animals as well as taking part in the gas exchanges which provide much of the world's oxygen supply. More than two thirds of the world's plant species are found in the tropical rainforests: plants that provide shelter and food for rainforest animals as well as taking part in the gas exchanges which provide much of the world's oxygen supply. Rainforest plants live in a warm humid environment that allows an enormous variation rare in more temperate climates: some like the orchids have beautiful flowers adapted to attract the profusion of forest insects. Competition at ground level for light and food has lead to evolution of plants which live on the branches of other plants, or even strangle large trees to fight for survival. The aerial plants often gather nourishment from the air itself using so-called 'air roots’. The humidity of the rainforest encourages such adaptations which would be impossible in most temperate forests with there dry conditions. Notice the dark trunks of the evergreens, the tallest trees in this ecosystem. Notice the fragile shorter trees these are vin maples that grow in the shade of evergreen. The forest floor is covered by ferns, mosses, and small plants. Mosses and lichens grow on the tree trunks and rocks. At the ground level, the earth is littered with dead fir needles, leaves, twigs, and fallen trees. These lie on and under a thick carpet of mosses, lichens, grasses, and small plants. The rocks are green with moss and the tree trunks and branches are covered with moss and algae. These low-growing plants are shade tolerant. Here and there one may find toadstools, mushrooms, and other kinds of fungi. At the ground level, the earth is littered with dead fir needles, leaves, twigs, and fallen trees. These lie on and under a thick carpet of mosses, lichens, grasses, and small plants The rocks are green with moss and the tree trunks and branches are covered with moss and algae. These low-growing plants are shade tolerant. Here and there one may find toadstools, mushrooms, and other kinds of fungi. ||
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