Temperate coniferous forest is a terrestrial biome found in temperate regions of the world with warm summers and cool winters and adequate rainfall to sustain a forest. In most Temperate coniferous forests, evergreen conifers predominate, while some are a mix of conifers and broadleaf evergreen trees and/or broadleaf deciduous trees. Temperate evergreen forests are common in the coastal areas of regions that have mild winters and heavy rainfall, or inland in drier climates or mountain areas. Many species of trees inhabit these forests including cedar, cypress, douglas-fir, fir, juniper, kauri, pine, podocarpus, spruce, redwood and yew. The understory also contains a wide variety of herbaceous and shrub species.

Structurally, these forests are rather simple, generally consisting of two layers: an overstory and understory. Some forests may support an intermediate layer of shrubs. Pine forests support an herbaceous understory that is generally dominated by grasses and herbaceous perennials, and are often subject to ecologically important wildfires.

Temperate rain forests occur only in seven regions around the world: the Pacific temperate rain forests of the Pacific Northwest, the Valdivian temperate rain forests of southwestern South America, the rain forests of New Zealand and Tasmania, northwest Europe (small pockets in Ireland, Scotland, Iceland and a somewhat larger area in Norway), southern Japan, and the eastern Black Sea-Caspian Sea region of Turkey and Georgia to northern Iran. The moist conditions of temperate rain forests generally support an understory of mosses, ecosystem and are notable for trees of massive proportions, including Giant Sequoia (Sequoiadendron gigantea), Coast Redwood (Sequoia sempervirens), Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii), Sitka Spruce (Picea sitchensis), Alerce (Fitzroya cupressoides) and Kauri (Agathis australis). These forests are quite rare, occurring in small areas of North America, southwestern South America and northern New Zealand. The Klamath-Siskiyou forests of northwestern California and southwestern Oregon is known for its rich variety of plant and animal species, including many endemic species.

Temperate coniferous forest ecoregions

Australasia Temperate coniferous forests [ edit ]
Australasian mixed temperate rain forests	New Zealand, southeast Australia

Indomalaya Temperate coniferous forests [ edit ]
Eastern Himalayan subalpine conifer forests	Bhutan, India, Nepal
Western Himalayan subalpine conifer forests	India, Nepal, Pakistan

Nearctic Temperate coniferous forests [ edit ]
Alberta Mountain forests	Canada
Alberta-British Columbia foothills forests	Canada
Arizona Mountains forests	United States
Atlantic coastal pine barrens	United States
Blue Mountains forests	United States
British Columbia mainland coastal forests	Canada, United States
Cascade Mountains leeward forests	Canada, United States
Central and Southern Cascades forests	United States
Central British Columbia Mountain forests	Canada
Central Mexican Volcanoes forests	Mexico
Central Pacific coastal forests	Canada, United States
Colorado Rockies forests	United States
Eastern Cascades forests	Canada, United States
Fraser Plateau and Basin complex	Canada
Great Basin montane forests	United States
Klamath-Siskiyou forests	United States
Maritime Coast Range Ponderosa Pine forests	United States
Middle Atlantic coastal forests	United States
North Central Rockies forests	Canada, United States
Northern California coastal forests	United States
Northern Pacific coastal forests	Canada, United States
Northern transitional alpine forests	Canada
Okanogan dry forests	Canada, United States
Piney Woods forests	United States
Puget lowland forests	Canada, United States
Queen Charlotte Islands	Canada
Sierra Juarez and San Pedro Martir pine-oak forests	Baja California, Mexico
Sierra Nevada forests	United States
South Central Rockies forests	United States
Southeastern conifer forests	United States
Wasatch and Uinta montane forests	United States

Palearctic Temperate coniferous forests [ edit ]
Alps conifer and mixed forests	Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Slovenia, Switzerland
Altai montane forest and forest steppe	China, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Russia
Balkan montane conifer forests	Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Greece, Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Montenegro
Caledonian conifer forests	United Kingdom
Carpathian montane conifer forests	Czech Republic, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Ukraine
Da Hinggan-Dzhagdy Mountains conifer forests	China, Russia
East Afghan montane conifer forests	Afghanistan, Pakistan
Elburz Range forest steppe	Iran
Helanshan montane conifer forests	China
Hengduan Mountains subalpine conifer forests	China
Hokkaido montane conifer forests	Japan
Honshu alpine conifer forests	Japan
Khangai Mountains conifer forests	Mongolia, Russia
Mediterranean conifer and mixed forests	Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia
Northeastern Himalayan subalpine conifer forests	China, India, Bhutan
Northern Anatolian conifer and deciduous forests	Armenia, Georgia, Turkey
Nujiang Langcang Gorge alpine conifer and mixed forests	China
Qilian Mountains conifer forests	China
Qionglai-Minshan conifer forests	China
Sayan montane conifer forests	Mongolia, Russia
Scandinavian coastal conifer forests	Norway
Tian Shan montane conifer forests	China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan

External links

• Temperate forest
• WWF - Temperate Coniferous Forest Ecoregions

Terrestrial biomes

Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests  Tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests  Tropical and subtropical coniferous forests  Temperate broadleaf and mixed forests  Temperate coniferous forests  Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and shrub  Boreal forests/taiga  Mangrove  Tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands  Temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands  Flooded grasslands and savannas  Montane grasslands and shrublands  Deserts and xeric shrublands  Tundra

Ecozones

Afrotropic  Antarctic  Australasia  Indomalaya  Nearctic  Neotropic  Oceania  Palearctic