Deciduous forests are found in some of the most populated areas of Earth, and are home to many recognizable species, such as deer, bears and rabbits. The biome has considerable rainfall, and a marked difference between its four seasons. When teaching children about the deciduous forest, you may draw on many of the interesting adaptations that animal and plant species have made to survive in the region.
The deciduous forest gets its name from the type of trees that grow in it -- deciduous trees. Deciduous means "leaf-shedding." Deciduous trees, like oaks, maples, and dogwoods, lose their leaves during the fall, and regrow them again in spring. Before they fall, the leaves turn red, yellow and orange, making deciduous forests a spectacular display of color in the autumn. Losing their leaves allows trees to survive the winter through a period of dormancy, where they do not grow or consume excessive nutrients. The falling leaves of deciduous trees are part of what makes the forest such a rich environment. As the leaves decay, their nutrients enter the soil, providing sustenance for fungi, bacteria and future generations of plants.
The deciduous forest is home not only to trees. Many smaller species of shrubs and flowers live under the canopy of the region's taller trees. The bloom time of these flowers depends on when the trees grow back their leaves. In late spring and summer, the forest is covered by leaves, giving relatively little sunlight to plants on the forest floor. But in early spring, many wildflowers have more access to sunlight, and bloom. Wildflowers native to the deciduous forest include the crocus, Dutchman's breeches and trillium.
One of the many insect species native to the forests of the eastern United States is the cicada. The cicada has a life cycle of 17 years, largely lived underground. Cicadas lay their eggs in trees. When the eggs hatch, the young nymph form of the cicada falls to the ground and burrows, remaining there for 17 years, sucking nutrients from plant roots. Once this period has ended, millions of the cicadas emerge at once, molt into winged adults, and breed. Multiple broods of cicadas live in the United States, each in different geographic regions and with different 17-year periods. For instance, Brood X emerged in 1970, 1987 and 2004.
Deciduous forests are some of the most populated regions on Earth: Europe, Japan, and the east coasts of the United States and China. For instance, Tokyo, New York City, Paris and Shanghai are all in deciduous forest regions. The animals of the deciduous forest have had to adapt to human habitation. While some have been removed from their territory, many others, such as possums and raccoons, have become effective scavengers, treating the trash and waste of human settlement as a food source.
