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Pacific Temperate Rainforest Facts

Pacific Temperate Rainforest Facts
The Pacific Temperate Rainforest region is the largest of the world's temperate rainforest regions, consisting of five sub-eco-regions including Queen Charlotte Islands, British Columbia's coastal forests, Northern Pacific coastal forests, Central Pacific coastal forests, and the Northern California coastal forests. These five eco-regions of this temperate forest group make up the only temperate rainforests in North America. They extend from Prince William Sound in Alaska to Northern California. The climate in these sub-eco-regions varies the types of species that grows in each, but the amount of living and decaying matter in these forests is more than in any other ecosystem on earth.
Interesting Pacific Temperate Rainforest Facts:
In the Northern California region of the Pacific Temperate Rainforest there are a lot of redwood trees, which results in the region being referred to as the 'coast redwood zone'.
Between California and Vancouver Island's north end of the Pacific Temperate Rainforest there are a variety of trees including western hemlock, Sitka spruce, western red cedar, and Douglas fir, and because of the large amount of rain it is referred to as the 'seasonal rainforest zone'.
In the region north of Vancouver Island the forest includes western hemlock, Sitka spruce and western red cedar and is referred to as the 'perhumid rainforest zone'.
In the region where the Gulf of Alaska begins and Alaska's southeast fjords end mountain hemlock, western hemlock, and Sitka spruce are most common and the area is referred to as the sub-polar rainforest'.
In the northern area of the Pacific Temperate Rainforest trees are limited to thin bands.
From the end of World War II the Pacific Temperate Rainforest has been subjected to large scale logging operations. Only 4% of California's redwood trees have remained protected and only 10% of the rainforest in Oregon and Washington still exists.
Half of the Pacific Temperate Rainforest has been lost due to logging operations.
The redwoods in Northern California are some of the world's oldest and tallest trees. Some trees reach 300 feet in height and are as old as 2000 years.
The Pacific Temperate Rainforest extends 2,500 miles along the western coast of North America.
In order to be classified as coastal temperate rainforest the location must be within 93 miles or less from the coast. It must have at least 33 inches of rain a year. It must rain at least 100 days and 10% must be in the summer. Coniferous tree species must dominate the forest.
There are approximately 350 mammal and bird species living in the Pacific Temperate Rainforest, along with 48 species of reptiles and amphibians, and thousands of insect, spider, fungi, and lichen species.
While 90% of the temperate rainforest in Alaska remains, only 5% remains in the regions of the United States south of the Canadian border. British Columbia still retains 68% of its temperate rainforest.
The black bear in the temperate rainforest on Queen Charlotte Islands is the world's largest of the black bear species.
Aside from logging, other threats to the Pacific Temperate Rainforest include floods, avalanches, and landslides. Forest fires are not common because of the high rainfall and more moderate temperatures throughout the year.


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