Coniferous forests inhabit the cold, windy regions
around the poles. There are both hardwoods and conifers found in this
region. The conifers are evergreen and structurally adapted to withstand
the long drought-like conditions of the long winters, whereas the
hardwoods are deciduous.
These forests are found to the south of the temperate
regions around the coasts of the Mediterranean, California, Chile and
Western Australia. The growing season is short and almost all trees are
evergreen, but mixed hardwood and softwood.
These are also known as cloud forests because they
receive most of their precipitation from the mist or fog that comes up
from the lowlands. Some of these montane woodlands and grasslands are
found in high-elevation tropical, subtropical and temperate zones.
Plants and animals in these forests are adapted to withstanding the
cold, wet conditions and intense sunlight. Trees are mainly conifers.
There are around 140 million hectares of “plantation forests” in the
world, accounting for around 7% of global forest cover. The productivity
of planted forests, in terms of supplying a sustainable volume of
timber and fibre, is usually greater than natural forests. Plantations
produce around 40% of industrial wood.
Both the plantation area and contribution to world wood production are
projected to continue to increase in the foreseeable future.
Found in such places as eastern North America,
northeastern Asia, and western and eastern Europe, temperate forests are
a mix of deciduous and coniferous evergreen trees. Usually, the
broad-leaved hardwood trees shed leaves annually. There are well-defined
seasons with a distinct winter and sufficient rainfall.
Year-round high temperatures and abundant rainfall
makes this a dense, lush forest. Tropical rainforests are found near the
equator. They are vital storehouses of biodiversity on the planet, and
yet face severe threat today, with much of their original extent
depleted.
These are found to the sound and north of the tropical forests. The trees here are adapted to resist the summer drought.