Temperate Forest Ecosystems

 Description

    Temperate forest ecosystems are characterized by their locations in the temperate zones, or "latitudinal bands" of both the northern and southern hemispheres. They are the second highest-precipitation forest types after tropical forests, receiving 40-150 inches of precipitation per year.  

   Temperate forests typically experience all four seasons, with varying degrees of vegetation adaptations. Coniferous tree species retain their leaves (needles) year-round, while deciduous tree species drop their leaves and over-winter with bare branches. Summers are generally short and warm, with temperatures around 60° to 80°. Winters are long, reaching temperatures near freezing, and below freezing at times.
   Temperate forest tree species include (location dependent):

• Giant sequoia
• Redwoods
• Fir
• Pine
• Spruce
• Western Red Cedar
• Hemlock
• Big Leaf Maple
• Oak
• Walnut

   The soils in northern temperate forests are mainly wet, fertile Alfisols, with a large component of decaying organic matter, particularly in temperate deciduous forests. In southern temperate forests, older and more weathered Ultisols are commonly found.

   The beauty, function, seasonality, and variety of features that temperate forests provide have monetary value, in situ, that can be difficult to define. Underlying ecological functions that have an impact on day-to-day human life are often disregarded until they disappear as a result of poor land use practices. While food, water, and raw materials may be taken for granted, important functions like erosion prevention, waste treatment, and climate regulations are rarely accounted for when determining the value of an ecosystem. The following list, provided by deGroot et al., 2010, attempts to categorize and value some of the lesser known advantages to preserving a functioning temperate forest ecosystem.


Services
-"Services" are described as direct and indirect "useful things ecosystems do for people"(deGroot et al., 2010)

   The monetary contribution of services, in dollars/hectare/year provided by temperate forests are:

"Provisioning Services" = $671

• Food
• Water
• Raw Materials

"Regulating Services" = $491

• Climate Regulation
• Waste Treatment
• Erosion Prevention
• Nutrient Cycling
• Biological Control

"Habitat Services" = $862

• Genetic Diversity

"Cultural Services" = $990

• Recreation
• Cognitive Development

Overall value of a temperate forest ecosystem in dollars/hectare/year is $3013.

These service valuations, provided by deGroot et al. were surprising to me because I did not know a framework existed for putting monetary value on, basically, leaving things alone. If this method were explained and justified to the public in a reasonable manner, I believe it would provide a healthy step forward in balancing future land management decisions. My hope is that all land users including recreators, private owners, public users, government officials, and students could learn and improve upon the framework provided by the article.

References

deGroot, R. (2010). Integrating the ecological and economic demensions in biodiversity and ecosystem service valuation . In R. deGroot, B. Fisher, & M. Christie, The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (pp. 1 - 40).