View source for Temperate broadleaf and mixed forests

{{short description|Biome}}
{{EngvarB|date=June 2022}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2022}}
[[File:Biome_map_04.svg|thumb|right|upright=1.8|Extent of temperate broadleaf and mixed forests]]
[[File:La Mauricie NP 39.jpg|thumb|right|An example of temperate broadleaf and mixed forest in [[La Mauricie National Park]], [[Quebec]].]]

'''Temperate broadleaf and mixed forest''' is a [[temperate climate]] terrestrial [[habitat (ecology)|habitat type]] defined by the [[World Wide Fund for Nature]], with [[broadleaf tree]] [[ecoregion]]s, and with [[conifer]] and broadleaf tree [[mixed coniferous forest]] ecoregions.<ref name=wwf/> 

These forests are richest and most distinctive in central China and eastern [[North America]], with some other globally distinctive ecoregions in the [[Himalayas]], [[Western Europe|Western]] and [[Central Europe]], the southern coast of the [[Black Sea]], [[Australasia]], Southwestern [[South America]] and the [[Russian Far East]].<ref name=wwf/><ref>{{cite book|editor-last1=Zhao|editor-first1=Ji|editor-last2=Zheng|editor-first2=Guangmei|editor-last3=Wang|editor-first3=Huadong|editor-last4=Xu|editor-first4=Jialin|year=1990|title=The natural history of China|publisher=McGraw-Hill Publishing Company|location=New York}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|editor-last1=Martin|editor-first1=WH|editor-first2=SG|editor-last2=Boyce|editor-first3=AC|editor-last3=Echternacht|year=1993|title=Biodiversity of the southeastern United States: Lowland terrestrial communities|publisher=John Wiley and Sons|location=New York}}</ref>

==Ecology==
The typical structure of these forests includes four layers.<ref name=wwf>{{CC-notice|bysa3}} {{cite web|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110401124425/http://wwf.panda.org/about_our_earth/ecoregions/about/habitat_types/selecting_terrestrial_ecoregions/habitat04.cfm|archive-date=2011-04-01|url=http://wwf.panda.org:80/about_our_earth/ecoregions/about/habitat_types/selecting_terrestrial_ecoregions/habitat04.cfm|author=World Wide Fund for Nature|title=Temperate Broadleaf and Mixed Forest Ecoregions|access-date=2019-05-29|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* The uppermost layer is the [[canopy (forest)|canopy]] composed of tall mature trees ranging from {{convert|100|to|200|ft|m|abbr=on|order=flip}} high. Below the canopy is the three-layered, [[shade-tolerant]] [[understory]] that is roughly {{convert|30|to|50|ft|m|0|abbr=on|order=flip}} shorter than the canopy. 
* The top layer of the understory is the sub-canopy composed of smaller mature trees, [[sapling]]s, and suppressed juvenile canopy layer trees awaiting an opening in the canopy. 
* Below the sub-canopy is the [[shrub layer]], composed of low growing woody plants. 
* Typically the lowest growing (and most [[Biodiversity|diverse]]) layer is the [[ground cover]] or [[herbaceous layer]].

==Trees==
In the Northern Hemisphere, characteristic dominant [[broadleaf tree]]s in this biome include oaks (''[[Quercus]]'' spp.), beeches (''[[Beech|Fagus]]'' spp.), maples (''[[Maple|Acer]]'' spp.), or birches (''[[Betula]]'' spp.).<ref name=wwf/> The term "mixed forest" comes from the inclusion of coniferous trees as a canopy component of some of these forests. Typical coniferous trees include pines (''[[Pinus]]'' spp.), firs (''[[Abies]]'' spp.), and spruces (''[[Picea]]'' spp.). In some areas of this biome, the [[conifer]]s may be a more important canopy species than the broadleaf species. In the Southern Hemisphere, endemic genera such as ''[[Nothofagus]]'' and ''[[Eucalyptus]]'' occupy this biome, and most coniferous trees (members of the [[Araucariaceae]] and [[Podocarpaceae]]) occur in mixtures with broadleaf species, and are classed as broadleaf and mixed forests.

==Climate==
Temperate [[Broadleaf forest|broadleaf]] and mixed forests occur in areas with distinct warm and cool seasons, including climates such as [[humid continental]], [[humid subtropical]], and [[Oceanic climate|oceanic]], that give them moderate annual average temperatures: {{convert|3|to|23|C|F|0}}. These forests occur in relatively warm and rainy climates, sometimes also with a distinct [[dry season]]. A dry season occurs in the winter in East Asia and in summer on the wet fringe of the [[Mediterranean climate]] zones. Other areas, such as central eastern North America, have a fairly even distribution of rainfall; annual rainfall is typically over {{convert|600|mm|in|abbr=on}} and often over {{convert|1500|mm|in|abbr=on}}, though it can go as low as {{convert|300|mm|in|abbr=on}} in some parts of the Middle East and close to {{convert|6000|mm|in|abbr=on}} in the mountains of New Zealand and the Azores. Temperatures are typically moderate except in parts of Asia such as [[Ussuriland]], or the [[Upper Midwest]], where temperate forests can occur despite very harsh conditions with very cold winters.

The climates are typically humid for much of the year, usually appearing in the [[humid subtropical climate]] and in the [[humid continental climate]] zones to the south of [[tundra]] and the generally [[subarctic climate|subarctic]] [[taiga]]. In the [[Köppen climate classification]] they are represented respectively by ''[[humid subtropical climate|Cfa]]'', ''[[humid continental climate|Dfa/Dfb]]'' southern range and ''[[oceanic climate|Cfb]]'',<ref>{{Citation|last=F|first=Beck, H. E., Zimmermann, N. E., McVicar, T. R., Vergopolan, N., Berg, A., & Wood, E.|title=English: Köppen–Geiger climate classification map.Français: Carte de classification climatique de Köppen–Geiger.|date=2018-11-06|url=https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:K%C3%B6ppen-Geiger_Climate_Classification_Map.png|access-date=2019-08-06}}</ref><ref>{{Citation|last=Terpsichores|title=English: Temperate broadleaf and mixed forests|date=2012-10-28|url=https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Biome_map_04.svg|access-date=2019-08-06}}</ref> and more rarely, ''[[Mediterranean climate|Csb]]'', ''[[semi-arid climate|BSk]]'' and ''[[Mediterranean climate|Csa]]''.

==Ecoregions==
===Australasia===
{{Australasian temperate broadleaf and mixed forests}}

===Eurasia===
{| class="wikitable" style="width:70%; margin: 0 auto;"
|-
! colspan="2" style="background:lightgreen;" | [[Indomalayan realm|Indomalayan]] temperate broadleaf and mixed forests
|-
| [[Eastern Himalayan broadleaf forests]]
| [[Bhutan]], [[India]], [[Nepal]]
|-
| [[Northern Triangle temperate forests]]
| [[Myanmar]]
|-
| [[Western Himalayan broadleaf forests]]
| [[India]], [[Nepal]], [[Pakistan]]
|-
|}

{| class="wikitable" style="width:70%; margin: 0 auto;"
|-
! colspan="2" style="background:lightgreen;" | [[Palearctic realm|Palearctic]] temperate broadleaf and mixed forests
|-
| [[Apennine deciduous montane forests]]
| [[Italy]]
|-
| [[Atlantic mixed forests]]
| [[Denmark]], [[France]], [[Belgium]], [[Germany]], [[Netherlands]]
|-
| [[Azores temperate mixed forests]]
| [[Portugal]]
|-
| [[Balkan mixed forests]]
| [[Bulgaria]], [[Greece]], [[North Macedonia]], [[Romania]], [[Serbia]], [[Turkey]]
|-
| [[Baltic mixed forests]]
| [[Sweden]], [[Denmark]], [[Germany]], [[Poland]]
|-
| [[Cantabrian mixed forests]]
| [[Spain]], [[Portugal]]
|-
| [[Caspian Hyrcanian mixed forests]]
| [[Iran]], [[Azerbaijan]]
|-
| [[Caucasus mixed forests]]
| [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]], [[Armenia]], [[Azerbaijan]], [[Russia]], [[Turkey]], [[Iran]]
|-
| [[Celtic broadleaf forests]]
| [[United Kingdom]], [[Republic of Ireland|Ireland]]
|-
| [[Central Anatolian deciduous forests]]
| [[Turkey]]
|-
| [[Central China loess plateau mixed forests]]
| [[China]]
|-
| [[Central European mixed forests]]
| [[Austria]], [[Germany]], [[Lithuania]], [[Moldova]], [[Poland]], [[Belarus]], [[Czech Republic]], [[Ukraine]]
|-
| [[Central Korean deciduous forests]]
| [[North Korea]], [[South Korea]]
|-
| [[Changbai Mountains mixed forests]]
| [[China]], [[North Korea]]
|-
| [[Changjiang Plain evergreen forests]]
| [[China]]
|-
| [[Crimean Submediterranean forest complex]]
| [[Russia]], [[Ukraine]]
|-
| [[Daba Mountains evergreen forests]]
| [[China]]
|-
| [[Dinaric Mountains mixed forests]]
| [[Albania]], [[Bosnia and Herzegovina]], [[Italy]], [[Montenegro]], [[Serbia]], [[Slovenia]], [[Croatia]]
|-
| [[East European forest steppe]]
| [[Bulgaria]], [[Moldova]], [[Romania]], [[Russia]], [[Ukraine]]
|-
| [[Eastern Anatolian deciduous forests]]
| [[Turkey]]
|-
| [[English Lowlands beech forests]]
| [[United Kingdom]]
|-
| [[Euxine-Colchic deciduous forests]]
| [[Bulgaria]], [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]], [[Turkey]]
|-
| [[Hokkaido deciduous forests]]
| [[Japan]]
|-
| [[Huang He Plain mixed forests]]
| [[China]]
|-
| [[Madeira evergreen forests]]
| [[Portugal]]
|-
| [[Manchurian mixed forests]]
| [[China]], [[North Korea]], [[Russia]], [[South Korea]]
|-
| [[Nihonkai evergreen forests]]
| [[Japan]]
|-
| [[Nihonkai montane deciduous forests]]
| [[Japan]]
|-
| [[North Atlantic moist mixed forests]]
| [[Ireland]], [[United Kingdom]]
|-
| [[Northeast China Plain deciduous forests]]
| [[China]]
|-
| [[Pannonian mixed forests]]
| [[Austria]], [[Bosnia and Herzegovina]], [[Czech Republic]], [[Hungary]], [[Romania]], [[Serbia]], [[Slovakia]], [[Slovenia]], [[Ukraine]], [[Croatia]]
|-
| [[Po Basin mixed forests]]
| [[Italy]]
|-
| [[Pyrenees conifer and mixed forests]]
| [[France]], [[Spain]], [[Andorra]]
|-
| [[Qin Ling Mountains deciduous forests]]
| [[China]]
|-
| [[Rodope montane mixed forests]]
| [[Bulgaria]], [[Greece]], [[North Macedonia]], [[Serbia]]
|-
| [[Sarmatic mixed forests]]
| [[Russia]], [[Sweden]], [[Norway]],  [[Finland]], [[Lithuania]], [[Latvia]], [[Estonia]], [[Belarus]]
|-
| [[Sichuan Basin evergreen broadleaf forests]]
| [[China]]
|-
| [[South Sakhalin-Kurile mixed forests]]
| [[Russia]]
|-
| [[Southern Korea evergreen forests]]
| [[South Korea]]
|-
| [[Taiheiyo evergreen forests]]
| [[Japan]]
|-
| [[Taiheiyo montane deciduous forests]]
| [[Japan]]
|-
| [[Tarim Basin deciduous forests and steppe]]
| [[China]]
|-
| [[Ussuri broadleaf and mixed forests]]
| [[Russia]]
|-
| [[West Siberian broadleaf and mixed forests]]
| [[Russia]]
|-
| [[Western European broadleaf forests]]
| [[Switzerland]], [[Austria]], [[France]], [[Germany]], [[Czech Republic]]
|-
| [[Zagros Mountains forest steppe]]
| [[Iran]], [[Iraq]], [[Turkey]]
|}

===Americas===

{{Nearctic temperate broadleaf and mixed forest ecoregions}}
{{Neotropical temperate broadleaf and mixed forest ecoregions}}

==See also==
* [[Mixed coniferous forest]]
* [[A. W. Kuchler|Kuchler plant association system]]
* [[Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub]]
* [[Temperate deciduous forest]]
* [[Trees of the world]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons category|Temperate broadleaf and mixed forests}}
*[http://www.worldwildlife.org/biomes/temperate-broadleaf-and-mixed-forests World Wildlife Fund−WWF Biomes: Temperate broadleaf and mixed forests biome] 
*[http://www.barrameda.com.ar/ecology/temperate-forest.htm Temperate forest]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20120905010259/http://www.cas.vanderbilt.edu/bioimages/ecoframe-list.htm Bioimages.vanderbilt.edu: Index of North American Temperate Broadleaf & Mixed Forests ecoregions] 
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070310230140/http://forest.terraformers.ca/ Terraformers Canadian Forest Conservation Foundation]

{{Biomes}}

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[[Category:Temperate broadleaf and mixed forests| ]]
[[Category:Forests]]
[[Category:Terrestrial biomes]]