Temperate Deciduous Forests

For the biome project that was presented to be in my biology class, I chose to learn about the temperate deciduous forests. I picked this one for only one reason really: I really enjoy being out in the woods, and so I wanted to learn a little bit more about the area that I spend a lot of my time in. I really enjoyed learning about this temperate biome to be honest. It is quite amazing how diverse the forest is. From its animals, all the way to its plant species, the forest has a wide variety of incredible sights to see. The biome I chose was not the only interesting one. I must say that the in-class discussion that we had really opened my eyes to the world around me. Other biomes, such as the tundra, savanna, and desert were all very interesting. I also enjoyed the discussion because it was outdoors, which made me feel a little bit more close to the biomes. I know, that sounds rather odd seeing as I was no where near a desert. I mean the deciduous forests, which are everywhere in New England. I think I will conclude with the statement that I actually did enjoy this project, seeing as it brought me  a little bit closer to nature.

This is a picture of a Deciduous forest.

Read Full Post »

Attention to detail

  

Gifford Woods State Park, 34 Gifford Woods, Killington, Vt.

 

It’s not easy nowadays to find an open stretch of land untapped by humans in some fashion, even the rolling Appalachians of New England were once completely shaven for the lumber industry in early America. One thing you will find, however, is that nature has the fascinating ability to recover itself in the long run. Even if given bare rock and air you can find, that after thousands of years, the most complex and amazingly colorful ecosystems forming, and with every cycle, every life, every death,  the ecosystem evolves, changes, ever so slightly.  Most of this really hit me one time when I was hiking on a trail close to Rutland, Vermont going up a shallow-incline mountain [to which I can’t place a name]. My father and I were talking about how the forest used to be when he was young as me. He talked about how the trees that he had seen when he was my age seemed just a little smaller than they were that day we went up to Vermont. He talked about how in the 1800s almost the entire range of the Appalachian mountains, apart from a handful of old growth trees in secluded areas, was torn down for lumber. Looking around, I found it fascinating that after such a thing, so much nature, so many living things could survive out of such decimation. It shows plainly the strength of nature itself. Millions of years have adapted organisms to suit the sometimes hostile environment of the world, and the not-so-old trees I saw that ay demonstrated that perfectly. Each bird, carrying seeds from miles around, aids in the survival of the forest. Each little worm in the soil leaving in its wake healthy, usable soil. This correlation between the hundreds of different organisms in the universe is an almost flawless system, an extensive masterpiece, a work of art that has taken hundreds and millions of years to create, and is still not nearly finished. 

Presentation~
Deven McKee 

Video provided by~
mms://video.wr.usgs.gov/movies/the_southern_appalachians.wmv

Read Full Post »