Bears, hawks and eagles are tertiary predators, eating secondary consumers, like snakes or raccoons, and primary consumers, like rabbits. Wolves are categorized as either secondary or tertiary consumers. However, in many food chains, wolves are apex predators. Secondary consumers are the carnivorous animals that eat only herbivores. These consumers include smaller predators like foxes, but ants, fish, spiders, snakes and rats are secondary consumers, too. Primary consumers who feed on many kinds of plants are called generalists.
Secondary consumers, on the other hand, are carnivores, and prey on other animals. Omnivores, who feed on both plants and animals, can also be considered as secondary consumer. Humans are an example of a tertiary consumer. A coniferous forest is a forest made up of conifers. Conifers are cone-bearing trees that have needle-like leaves and stay green all year long.
Conifer species are found throughout the globe and the only large landmass they are absent from is Antarctica. The most extensive conifer stands are found in the higher latitudes in the Northern Hemisphere through the boreal forests of North America, Asia, and Europe; however, they are also common in tropical areas.
Conifer forests can withstand a variety of colder weather conditions, including rain and snowfall. In fact, conifer forests receive an average of 20 inches of rain and snow per year. Although conifers are typically presented with needle-like leaves, the leaf shape and size vary across the conifers.
There are the long and short needle-like leaves from spruces, pines, and firs, and scale-like leaves from junipers, cedars, and cypress. The coniferous forest is structured in only two layers, the canopy layer which is made up of the tallest trees, and the undergrowth layer which has very little plant life around it due to little sunlight and poor soil. This type of soil ranges from a thick mat of undecomposed, to partially decomposed litter with fungi and small arthropods.
Conifers can be identified by five specific traits. To view what these traits are, click on each number to see the name of the trait and a description:. The life cycle of a conifer is completed in six phases, beginning with a seed until its final evolution into a full-fledged cone. In dry conditions, needles are covered by a cuticle, which helps prevent moisture from leaving. Leaves are full tannings, or chemicals, not tasty, to deter predators.
They are often dark green in color and are spirally arranged to capture as much sunlight as possible for photosynthesis. Most conifers grow relatively shallow roots but some can go as far as 40 feet into the ground, Torrey Pine can grow roots more than ft. Most conifers are fire-adapted and some cones need fire to regrow and sprout.
Fires take away the competition by burning them away. Given the great diversity of conifers in California, there are three notable species to mention: there is the bristlecone pine representing the oldest living trees in the world, some of them dating over years old.
And there are the Coast Redwood trees representing the tallest trees in the world reaching heights up to ft. Coast Redwood. Roots : Although roots are relatively shallow, the base of the tree forms massive buttresses for support. Trunk : The bark of the tree is deeply furrowed and can be up to 12 inches thick serving as an insect-, fungus-, and fire-resistant shield.
Leaves : Leaves on the main shoots are spirally arranged, scale-like, and closely appressed to the branches, those of the lateral shoots are spreading, needlelike, and arranged in two rows.
They are perfectly adapted to capture fog. When a tree is cut or damaged from wind or fire, sprouts arise from the sapwood below the injured surface. Cones : Although the Coast Redwood is the tallest tree in the world, they actually produce really small cones. Each of the cones can hold anywhere from seeds. Height : Coast Redwood trees take about years to reach maturity and can live up to 1, years. They can grow taller than feet with a trunk diameter of 12 feet wide. How tall are you? What is the length of your waist?
Importance : The lightweight wood and resistance to decay makes this tree valuable for carpentry and general construction for furniture, shingles, fence posts, and railroad ties. Threats: Why are Coast Redwoods important?
The amount of precipitation depends on the forest location. In the northern boreal forests, the winters are long, cold and dry, while the short summers are moderately warm and moist. In the lower latitudes, precipitation is more evenly distributed throughout the year. Stories, experiments, projects, and data investigations. Download issues for free.
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