Forest Biomes represent the largest and most ecologically complex systems. They contain a wide assortment of trees, plants, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, invertebrates, insects and micro-organisms which vary depending on the zone's climates. Sadly, boreal and rainforest biomes are being cut down at an alarming rate, with hundreds of species of plants and animals disappearing from the planet on a daily basis.
forest facts:
- Forests are the largest forms of carbon storage, or sinks, in the United States. Currently, plants absorb and store about 15 percent of the United States’ total carbon dioxide emissions from the transportation and energy sectors.
- One mature tree absorbs CO2 at the rate of 48 pounds per year.[2]
- Over a year, an acre of forest can consume the amount of CO2 created by driving a car 26,000 miles, about twice the annual mileage for an average driver.[3]
- Deforestation accounts for up to 15 percent of global emissions of heat-trapping gases.[4]
- Forests planted by American Forests domestically and around the world provide habitats for a variety of rare and endangered species, such as spotted owls, river otters, Siberian tigers, bald eagles and monarch butterflies.
- The endangered red-cockaded woodpecker requires up to 500 acres to live.[1]
- Female black bears living in the mountains can roam across 2,800 acres.[2
http://www.worldbiomes.com/biomes_forest.htm
http://www.americanforests.org/discover-forests/forest-facts/wildlife/
http://www.americanforests.org/discover-forests/forest-facts/wildlife/