Coniferous, Temperate, and Deciduous Forests
             Deciduous forests are apart of the seven major Earth biomes. They are located in the eastern half of the United States, Canada, Europe, parts of Russia, China, and Japan. They have rich soil, and a large diversity of animal and plant species. Starting in the fall, their leaves change color; then they fall to the ground for the winter, and in the spring, bud and re-grow, starting the process over again. Through out the seasons, the temperature greatly varies. This biome has very cold winters and hot summers. Deciduous forests are homes to many animals like the Black Bear, Fox, Brown Bear, Cardinal, Gray Squirrel, and Raccoon. Each animal must have special adaptations to live in this biome. Many animals hibernate through out the long and cold winters. Some examples would be both bears and squirrels. In addition to hibernation, bears also have thick fur coats to keep them warm. In the fall the squirrels collect and burry nuts for food during the winter. There are also many plant species in this biome. Plants like the Burning Bush, Dogwood, Fringe Tree, Fragrant Sumac, Ginkgo, Oaks, Sassafras, and Sweet Gum are located here. All of the former mentioned loose their leaves in the winter, making them deciduous. Because the dead leaves fall to the ground, many decomposers can be found in deciduous forests. Decomposers like mushrooms, ants and termites are very common in these forests. These decomposers change the leaves into nutrients causing the soil to be very rich and good for plants. This generally causes a thick under canopy in the forest. Many small plants and vines grow here as well. The deciduous forest has a climate with both extremes, hot and cold. The average temperature is 50 degrees F, but this varies. Temperatures of 0 and lower (winter months) to temperatures above 100 (summer months) have been recorded. This average rainfall for this biome is 30 - 60 inches a year; most of which is...