The Pacific Temperate Rainforests are very interesting biomes. They comprise of little surface area but are the home to a wide plethora of species. The Pacific Temperate Rain forests run alongside the Pacific coast of North America from Alaska to Northern California from about 40 through 60 degrees north (1).
These forests are made up of primarily coniferous trees such as fir, spruce, cedar, and hemlock. It is also home to many epiphytic plants. The mass amounts of water create a highly productive ecosystem. Bald eagles, black bears, grizzly bears, wolf, Sitka deer, and marbled murrelet can be found in these forests. It is also one of the largest salmon spawning grounds. (3)
Historically, temperate rain forests as a whole have not covered large landmasses. They are found between mountains and coastline, where heavy orographic rainfall takes place. This location gives the region a very wet climate, receiving up to 1400 mm of rain per year.
They are known for being very productive ecosystems, actually being the most massive in terms of dead and alive biomass. They came into existence with the melting of the Pleistocene ice sheets 10,000 years ago. (1)
They are known for being very productive ecosystems, actually being the most massive in terms of dead and alive biomass. They came into existence with the melting of the Pleistocene ice sheets 10,000 years ago. (1)
Humans have greatly affected the Pacific temperate rainforest. Conservation status is bad. Commercial logging has destroyed 90% of the forest. (4) Development has been a problem too; humans have cut down forest to live in the area. Non-native beavers have had a deleterious effect on the ecosystem. They dam rivers and streams stopping salmon migration. This is ecologically destructive, as it is negative impacting species reliant on the salmon (salmon is a keystone species). Currently the Pacific temperate rainforests are level II ecoregions recognized by the EPA and also the WWF. (2) This does not mean they are not logged. Logging is still the biggest threat to these forests.
If the logging that occurs now continues into the future these forests will be completely destroyed. With the overturning of the Roadless act, many logging companies went into forest with no roads and began to log; if there is not enough conservation effort like there has been, these the forests will continue to decrease in size.
Sustainable logging is one of the best ways to protect these forests. Old growth is cut down and nothing new is planted. If logging was done sustainably there would not but such a need to cut down these forests. The United states and Canada can set aside more of the land to be classified as wilderness, which would in turn be protected from logging. These are magnificent places; more education about these forests would spark public interest in turn leading to better conservation.
Sources
1. http://www.inforain.org/rainforestatlas/current.jpg
2. http://wwf.panda.org/about_our_earth/ecoregions/pacific_temperate_rainforests.cfm
3. http://www.groundtruthtrekking.org/Issues/Forestry/TemperateRainforests.html
4. http://www.marietta.edu/~biol/biomes/temprain.htm
