Temperate broadleaf and mixed forest

Temperate mixed forest in Yunnan, southwest China.

Mixed forests are a temperate and humid biome. The typical structure of these forests includes four layers. The uppermost layer is the canopy composed of tall mature trees ranging from 33 to 66 m (100 to 200 feet) high. Below the canopy is the three-layered, shade-tolerant understory that is roughly 9 to 15 m (30 to 50 feet) shorter than the canopy. The top layer of the understory is the sub-canopy which is composed of smaller mature trees, saplings, and suppressed juvenile canopy layer trees awaiting an opening in the canopy. Below the sub-canopy is the shrub layer, composed of low growing woody plants. Typically the lowest growing (and most diverse) layer is the ground cover or herbaceous layer.

Trees

Characteristic dominant broadleaf trees in this biome include oaks (Quercus spp.), beeches (Fagus spp.), maples (Acer sap.), and birches (Betula spp.). The term "mixed forest" comes from the inclusion of coniferous trees as a canopy component of these forests. Typical coniferous trees include: Pines (Pinus spp.), firs (Abies spp.), and spruces (Picea spp.). In some areas of this biome the conifers may be a more important canopy species than the broadleaf species.

Climate

Temperate broadleaf and mixed forests occur in areas with distinct warm and cool season, which give it a moderate annual average temperature (3 to 15.6 °C). These forests occur in relatively warm and rainy climates, sometimes also with a distinct dry season. A dry season occurs in the winter in East Asia and in summer on the wet fringe of the Mediterranean climate zones. Other areas have a fairly even distribution of rainfall; annual rainfall is typically over 600 millimetres (24 inches) and often over 1500 millimetres (60 inches). Temperatures are typically moderate except in parts of Asia such as Ussuriland where temperate forests can occur despite very harsh conditions with very cold winters.

Temperate broadleaf and mixed forest ecoregions

Oceania

Oceania Temperate broadleaf and mixed forests
Chatham Islands temperate forests	New Zealand
Eastern Australian temperate forests	Australia
Fiordland temperate forests	New Zealand
Nelson Coast temperate forests	New Zealand
Northland temperate forests	New Zealand
Northland temperate kauri forests	New Zealand
Stewart Island/Rakiura temperate forests	New Zealand
Richmond temperate forests	New Zealand
Southeast Australia temperate forests	Australia
Southland temperate forests	New Zealand
Tasmanian Central Highland forests	Australia
Tasmanian temperate forests	Australia
Tasmanian temperate rain forests	Australia
Westland temperate forests	New Zealand

Eurasia

Indomalaya Temperate broadleaf and mixed forests
Eastern Himalayan broadleaf forests	Bhutan, India, Nepal
Northern Triangle temperate forests	Burma
Western Himalayan broadleaf forests	India, Nepal, Pakistan

Palearctic Temperate broadleaf and mixed forests
Appenine deciduous montane forests	Italy
Atlantic mixed forests	Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany. Netherlands
Azores temperate mixed forests	Portugal
Balkan mixed forests	Bulgaria, Greece, Macedonia, Romania, Serbia (Kosovo), Turkey
Baltic mixed forests	Denmark, Germany, Poland, Sweden
Cantabrian mixed forests	Portugal, Spain
Caspian Hyrcanian mixed forests	Azerbaijan, Iran
Caucasus mixed forests	Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Russia, Turkey
Celtic broadleaf forests	Ireland, United Kingdom
Central Anatolian deciduous forests	Turkey
Central China loess plateau mixed forests	China
Central European mixed forests	Austria, Belarus, Czech Republic, Germany, Lithuania, Moldova, Poland
Central Korean deciduous forests	North Korea, South Korea
Changbai Mountains mixed forests	China, North Korea
Changjiang Plain evergreen forests	China
Crimean Submediterranean forest complex	Russia, Ukraine
Daba Mountains evergreen forests	China
Dinaric Mountains mixed forests	Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Italy, Montenegro, Serbia, Slovenia
East European forest steppe	Bulgaria, Moldova, Romania, Russia, Ukraine
Eastern Anatolian deciduous forests	Turkey
English Lowlands beech forests	United Kingdom
Euxine-Colchic deciduous forests	Georgia, Turkey
Hokkaido deciduous forests	Japan
Huang He Plain mixed forests	China
Madeira evergreen forests	Portugal
Manchurian mixed forests	China, North Korea, Russia, South Korea
Nihonkai evergreen forests	Japan
Nihonkai montane deciduous forests	Japan
North Atlantic moist mixed forests	Ireland, United Kingdom
Northeast China Plain deciduous forests	China
Pannonian mixed forests	Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Ukraine
Po Basin mixed forests	Italy
Pyrenees conifer and mixed forests	Andorra, France, Spain
Qin Ling Mountains deciduous forests	China
Rodope montane mixed forests	Bulgaria, Greece, Macedonia, Serbia
Sarmatic mixed forests	Belarus, Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Russia, Sweden
Sichuan Basin evergreen broadleaf forests	China
South Sakhalin-Kurile mixed forests	Russia
Southern Korea evergreen forests	South Korea
Taiheiyo evergreen forests	Japan
Taiheiyo montane deciduous forests	Japan
Tarim Basin deciduous forests and steppe	China
Ussuri broadleaf and mixed forests	Russia
West Siberian broadleaf and mixed forests	Russia
Western European broadleaf forests	Austria, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Switzerland
Zagros Mountains forest steppe	Iran

Americas

Nearctic Temperate broadleaf and mixed forests
Allegheny Highlands forests	United States
Appalachian mixed mesophytic forests	United States
Appalachian-Blue Ridge forests	United States
California mixed evergreen forest	United States
Central U.S. hardwood forests	United States
East Central Texas forests	United States
Eastern forest-boreal transition	Canada, United States
Eastern Great Lakes lowland forests	Canada, United States
Gulf of St. Lawrence lowland forests	Canada
Lac Saint-Jean and Saguenay valley forests	Canada
Mississippi lowland forests	United States
New England-Acadian forests	Canada, United States
Northeastern coastal forests	United States
Ozark Mountain forests	United States
Southeastern mixed forests	United States
Southern Great Lakes forests	United States
Upper Midwest forest-savanna transition	United States
Western Great Lakes forests	Canada, United States
Willamette Valley forests	United States

Neotropic Temperate broadleaf and mixed forests
Juan Fernandez Islands temperate forests	Chile
Magellanic subpolar forests	Argentina, Chile
Polylepis forests	Bolivia, Peru
San Felix-San Ambrosio Islands temperate forests (Desventuradas Islands)	Chile
Valdivian temperate rain forests	Argentina, Chile

See also

• Forest
• Kuchler plant association system
• Temperate deciduous forest
• Trees of the world

External links

• Temperate forest
• Index of North American Temperate Broadleaf & Mixed Forests ecoregions at bioimages.vanderbilt.edu
• Terraformers Canadian Forest Conservation Foundation