 SUBJECT: A Forest Is... |
| Land decked out in trees, a home for plants and animals, a place for people to enjoy and a source for valuable resources. Most of all a forest is an interconnected community of plants, animals and microscopic beings; soil, minerals and water - all needing one another. You have to look very carefully at the trees and beyond to see the real forest. For a forest isn't a forest without soil and water and sunlight and rain. It needs insects and birds to help with pollination and the scattering of seeds. All the trees, shrubs, mosses and 
mushrooms; birds and mammals; spiders, frogs and snakes need each
other to survive. They are all interconnected and form a community.
Take a close-up look at a real forest.Forest communities look different from one another depending upon where they are located. For instance, in the Pacific Northwest, forests look green all year round because we see mostly evergreen spruce and fir trees. There we find gray jays and magpies and big yellow banana slugs. In Southeastern forests we see colorful oaks and hickories in autumn as well as evergreen pines. Blue jays, red cardinals and gray squirrels are everywhere. Weather and soil make important differences in what type of trees and animals live in a forest neighborhood. Learn more about different forest types. |
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