6 Softwood Forests

The Northern Forest covers much of the Great Lakes states and the New England states in the United States. It also extends along the ridges of the Appalachian Mountains as far south as northern Georgia. This forest also covers much of Canada and the interior of Alaska and stretches across northern Asia, Russia, and the Scandinavian countries.

The Northern Forest is composed of softwood trees such as white pine, hemlock, and red spruce. Several hardwood trees, such as oak, maple, birch, and basswood, are also present. Trees in this forest tend to be smaller and more slow-growing than those in warmer areas with longer growing seasons.

The softwood forests of the southeastern United States are sources of lumber, plywood, and paper pulp. The more important southern, or yellow, pines are the loblolly, longleaf, shortleaf, and slash. The bald cypress grows in southern swamps.

Hardwoods such as the red oak, white oak, hickory, gum, ash, pecan, and live oak are found along southern rivers. They are a significant part of the forest economy in the South.

Another important forest region in the United States is the softwood forest of the Rocky Mountains. There are almost 90 million acres (36.4 million hectares) of lumber-producing commercial forests. Ponderosa pine, Idaho white pine, Douglas fir, Englemann spruce, larch, lodgepole pine, and western red cedar are among the important softwoods.

The rainy climate of the Pacific Northwest contributes to the growth of one of the United States’ most productive softwood forest areas. It extends in a narrow band from the southern part of Alaska to central California. Inland, on the western slopes of the Coast Range, it extends somewhat farther south. These forests contain California redwood, western hemlock, western red cedar, sugar pine, lodgepole pine, and white fir. Most of America’s old-growth forests, stands which have not been harvested by humans or nature for hundreds of years, are in this region.

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7 Mangrove Forests

Mangroves are woody, specialized types of trees of the tropics that can live on the edge, where rainforests meet oceans. Found on sheltered coastlines and river deltas, they grow in brackish wetlands between land and sea where other plants can’t grow. They protect the coastline and pre­vent erosion by collecting sediment from the rivers and streams and slow­ing down the flow of water. There are about 39.3 million acres of man­grove forests in the warm coastlines of tropical oceans all over the world.

Mangrove trees look as if they grow on stilts. The stilts are their spe­cialized aerial roots which hold the trunk and leaves above the water line. Mangrove forests are affected by the rising and falling of the ocean’s tides. The aerial roots and tap roots can filter out the salt in the brackish water they grow in. Support roots grow directly into the mud to anchor the tree. Other roots snake up and down with the upward loops rising above the salt water level. Salt crystals taken up by the roots are stored in the leaves. The mangrove rids itself of the salt by shedding its leaves after a while.

One of the most biologically diverse forests, mangrove forests are known as the “rainforests by the sea”. The forests are the breeding grounds for fish, shrimp, prawns, crabs, shellfish and snails. Mud skippers are found in mangrove forests. The mudskipper has made adaptations so it can skim across the mud during low tide when the ground is uncovered in many places, traveling from puddle to puddle. Mangrove forests are also nesting sites for many shore birds and home to crab eating monkeys, fish­ing cats, lizards, sea turtles, and many more animals. For many species of fruit bats mangrove blossoms and fruit make up a large part of their diet.

Mangroves have a very specialised adaptations that enable them to live in salty waters. Breathing roots allow them to survive in anaerobic sediments. Buttresses and above-ground roots enable them to grow in un­stable mud flats. Their foliage removes excess salt from the sap, and they conserve water to cope with periods of high salinity. Their seeds are buoy­ant to allow them to disperse and establish themselves in new areas.

Today mangrove forests are one of the most threatened habitats in the world. Mangrove roots are very susceptible to pollutants like crude oil clogging their lenticels, and continual flooding from artificial dikes and sea walls. Mangroves act as sinks which concentrate pollutants like sew­age, toxic minerals and pesticides and herbicides. Over time the stress of the pollutants and reduced light kill large areas of mangroves forests. Mangrove wood also makes a superior kind of charcoal and many trees are being cut down to sustain local charcoal industries. Mangrove forests are also being filled in for developments and as a form of mosquito control.

Public awareness and education about the mangrove forests may help protect them. It is necessary to involve local communities in managing and protecting their mangroves. Designated conservation areas may also save some of the forests. However, national governments have not been able to enforce laws and regulate development and industry to save the wetlands. Adequate provisions for conservation and restoration have not been in­cluded in development of the mangrove wetlands.

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