What is grown in deciduous forests. Plants of deciduous forests. There is a scheme of varieties of mixed forests

Introduction

The purpose of this work is to theoretically study the fauna of broad-leaved forests using the example of specific representatives, described in more detail in separate chapters.

Broadleaf forests are a type of deciduous forest formed by deciduous (summer green) trees with wide leaf blades.

Broad-leaved forests are located in the temperate zone of the Northern Hemisphere. They occupy most of the territory Western Europe, with the exception of the Mediterranean, are found in Eastern Europe in Poland and Ukraine, also in South Central Russia and the Middle Volga. Large areas are also occupied by them in the south of the Far East, in the north of China, the Korean Peninsula, and in Japan. They are also located in northeastern North America. Broad-leaved forests are deciduous, however, they are not adapted to harsh winters. Suitable for them is a temperate maritime or, in extreme cases, a temperate continental climate with warm winter(temperatures down to -10°C) and quite hot summers (+16 - + 24°C). Winter in a deciduous forest due to its geographical location much softer and shorter than in the taiga zone. This is of great importance for animals, causing a very important phenomenon for them - short-term and shallow snow cover. Thanks to this, animals that are not adapted to deep snow can live settled here. These primarily include the wild boar; this heavy, short-legged beast gets stuck in deep snow and not only loses the opportunity to get their food, but also becomes easy prey for wolves.

Beech, hornbeam, elm, maple, linden, and ash grow in the forests. The broadleaf forests of eastern America are dominated by trees that are similar to some East Asian and European species, but there are also species unique to this area. In terms of their composition, these forests are among the richest on the globe. Most of all in them American species oaks, along with them chestnut, linden, and plane trees are common. Prevail tall trees with a powerful, spreading crown, often entwined with climbing plants - grapes or ivy. To the south you can find magnolias and tulip trees. For European broadleaf forests, oak and beech are the most typical.

The fauna of deciduous forests is close to that of the taiga, but there are some animals unknown in the forests of the taiga. These are black bears, wolves, foxes, minks, raccoons. The characteristic ungulate of deciduous forests is the white-tailed deer. It is considered an undesirable neighbor for populated areas, as it eats young crops. In the broad-leaved forests of Eurasia, many animals have become rare and are under human protection. The bison and the Ussuri tiger are listed in the Red Book.

Soils in deciduous forests are gray forest or brown forest.

This forest zone is densely populated and largely depopulated. It has been preserved only in heavily rugged, inconvenient areas for arable farming and in nature reserves.

1. Fauna of deciduous forests

fauna broadleaf forest mammal

The fauna of the broad-leaved forest is much older than the taiga. Its main core apparently formed in pre-glacial times and survived it in those parts of Western Europe that were not covered by a glacier. After the Ice Age, this fauna, of course, in a greatly changed form, moved somewhat to the north and northeast, occupying part of the territory that was under the glacier. Evidence that the fauna of the broad-leaved forest contains pre-glacial relicts is provided by the scattered habitats of a number of species living, on the one hand, in the broad-leaved forests of Europe, on the other, in the broad-leaved forests of the Far East. The fauna of broad-leaved forests is represented by ungulates, predators, rodents, insectivores, and bats. They are distributed predominantly in those forests where living conditions are least modified by humans. Moose, red and sika deer, roe deer, fallow deer, and wild boar live here. Wolves, foxes, martens, hori, stoats and weasels represent a group of predators in deciduous forests. Among the rodents there are beavers, nutria, muskrats, and squirrels. The forests are inhabited by rats and mice, moles, hedgehogs, shrews, as well as various types of snakes, lizards and marsh turtles. The birds of broad-leaved forests are diverse. Most of them belong to the order of passerines - finches, starlings, tits, swallows, flycatchers, warblers, larks, etc. Other birds also live here: crows, jackdaws, magpies, rooks, woodpeckers, crossbills, as well as large birds - hazel grouse and black grouse . Among the predators there are hawks, harriers, owls, owls and eagle owls. In the swamps there are waders, cranes, herons, different types ducks, geese and seagulls.

2. Amphibians of deciduous forests

(Amphibia)

1)Of the amphibians of the broad-leaved forest, it deserves special attention Tree frog, or tree frog (Hyla arborea), which is found in Ukraine, Crimea, the Caucasus and the Amur-Ussuri region. This is our only amphibian that leads an arboreal life.

Appearance.Tree frogs are small frogs with a maximum body length of 5.3 cm (in Europe up to 6 cm). The color is very variable and can change literally before our eyes, depending on the color of the substrate and the physiological state. The top is grassy green to dark grey, bluish or brown. Along the sides of the head and body there is a dark stripe with a white border on top, which forms a loop near the groin area. The bottom is white or yellowish. Males have a dark throat.

Spreading.They are found in most of Central and Western Europe (with the exception of southern Spain and southern France), in the north the border reaches Great Britain, the northwestern part of the Netherlands, and Norway. In the east, the border passes through Southern Lithuania, Belarus, and the regions of Russia bordering eastern Ukraine (Belgorod region). In Ukraine it is distributed throughout almost the entire territory. In the steppe zone it is found on river banks.

Reproduction.In the spring, tree frogs awaken at the end of March - beginning of April, at an air temperature of 8-12 ° C. For reproduction, they use various well-warmed reservoirs with standing water and vegetation. These can be small bodies of water in clearings or forest edges, puddles, swamps, reclamation ditches, shallow coastal parts of lakes. Tree frogs do not lay eggs in rivers and other flowing bodies of water. Intense nocturnal concerts staged by males can continue until the end of May. Sometimes they have to overcome up to 750 m to get into the reservoir. The males that arrive first are concentrated along the edge of the reservoir. Spawning occurs at a water temperature of 13°C. The female lays about 690-1870 eggs in several portions in the form of small lumps. The clutches lie at the bottom of the reservoir or are attached to plants. The spawning period is extended and lasts from the beginning of April to the end of July. Embryonic development lasts about 8-14 days, larval development lasts 45-90 days.

Classification

Class: AmphibiansOrder: Tailless

Family: Tree frogs

Genus: Tree frogSpecies: Common tree frog

2)Also common Grass frog (Rana temporaria) - one of the species of real frogs.

Appearance.The grass frog is a medium-sized frog with a body length of 60-100 mm; larger specimens are rare. The body is olive to reddish-brown on top; there are often dark spots 1-3 mm in diameter on the back and sides. In males mating season throat blue color. In addition, during the mating period, the male is lighter, grayish in color, the female, on the contrary, is browner, often reddish-brown. The bottom has a dark marble-like pattern.

Spreading.The grass frog is one of the most common in Europe. Its range extends from the British Isles to the Urals and Western Siberia. In the north it is found all the way to Scandinavia and the Kola Peninsula. Absent on the Mediterranean coast, Crimea, and the Caucasus. This is the only frog found in Ireland.

Reproduction.Spawning occurs in February - April. Mating begins on the way to spawning reservoirs - well-lit, shallow, coastal areas of lakes, ponds, ditches, holes filled with water, etc. Frogs lay eggs for a week, after which they leave the spawning reservoirs and settle in the surrounding area. Tadpoles usually hatch after 8-10 days. The development of tadpoles lasts 85-90 days. Sexual maturity occurs in the third year of life.

Classification

Class: Amphibians

Order: Tailless

Family: True frogs

Genus: True frogs

View: grass frog

3) pointy-faced frog, or marsh frog (Rana arvalis) - an amphibian of the family of true frogs.

Appearance.Very similar to a grass frog. Body length 4-7 cm, weight from 5 to 30 grams. The muzzle is pointed. From the eyes through the eardrum almost to the shoulders there is often a dark temporal patch that gradually narrows. The back is light olive, light brown, reddish brick or almost black. The belly is monochromatic, light. The overall body color tone of these amphibians can change depending on temperature, humidity and lighting. In sunny weather it is noticeably lighter. Frogs living in open, dry places are lighter in color than those found in dense and damp thickets of grass, bushes, and forests. The sharp-faced frog is characterized by polymorphism in the pattern of its back. The coloring of the lower part of the body is sharply different from the upper. The belly and throat are usually white, often with a yellowish tint. Males acquire a silver-blue color during the mating season. On the first toes of the forelimbs, nuptial calluses develop to hold females.

Spreading.Found in Europe in the northeastern part of France, Sweden, Finland; in the south to the Adriatic Sea, in the east to the Urals; It is also found in Western and Central Siberia, in the north of Kazakhstan, in the east of the range it reaches Altai and Yakutia. It is found in forest, forest-steppe and steppe zones, as well as in semi-desert (northern Kazakhstan) and in the mountains up to an altitude of 800 m above sea level. The sharp-faced frog is found in forests, meadows, swamps, arable lands, fields, gardens, orchards, parks, on roadsides, near homes. More often it lives in deciduous forests and floodplain meadows. At the same time, this is the most drought-resistant species among frogs and can be found in forests and dry meadows. The most important condition for the life of the sharp-faced frog is the presence in the vicinity of reservoirs suitable for breeding.

Lifestyle.Sharp-faced frogs are most active in the evening, but they can often be found during the day. Under favorable conditions, they constantly stay in the same places and do not move more than 25-30 meters away from them. At the same time, they can also make long-distance summer migrations in search of more favorable and food-rich areas. The sharp-faced frog leads a predominantly terrestrial lifestyle, even more so than a grassy one.

Like all frogs, the sharp-faced frog feeds on land on various invertebrates; they also eat flies, mosquitoes, gadflies, terrestrial shell mollusks, and aquatic invertebrates. When hunting for insects, the sharp-faced frog itself often becomes prey for mammals or birds. Reptiles such as lizards, snakes, and vipers feed on these frogs. The majority of sharp-faced frogs overwinter on land. With the onset of autumn cold, frogs hide in holes, rodent burrows, heaps of leaves, under stones, in old stumps, in low tree hollows, and in basements.

Reproduction. In the spring, the first individuals awaken when the snow has not yet completely melted, and water bodies may be covered with ice. Reproduction begins after a couple of days or a little later and can last from 2 to 25 days, ending in May. The water temperature at this time is 5°C and above. The spawning sites are generally similar to those of the grass frog. These are floodplain reservoirs, water meadows, water holes, ditches, swamps, puddles, various forest reservoirs of a predominantly temporary nature, ponds, including fishing ponds, peat quarries, etc. As a rule, frogs choose grassy shallows. The fertility of the sharp-faced frog is relatively small: the female lays in one portion from 200 to 3000 eggs with a diameter of 7-8 mm (ovum diameter 1.5-2 mm). Embryonic development lasts from 5-10 to 21 days, prolonging during cold weather (frost). Hatched larvae are 4-8 mm long. Larval development takes place in 37-93 days. A large number of eggs (in some places up to 48% of clutches) and tadpoles die from drying out of water bodies. Increased mortality was noted in sphagnum bogs due to water acidification. Sexual maturity occurs at the age of three years and older. The maximum life expectancy in nature is at least 12 years.

Classification:

Class: Amphibians

Order: Tailless

Family: True frogs

Genus: True frogs

View: Pointy-faced frog

4) Pond frog (Pelophylax lessonae) - a species of real frogs.

Appearance. The body length of a pond frog rarely exceeds 8 cm. The color of the dorsal side is usually bright green, gray-green, olive or brown, with more or less dark spots; a narrow light longitudinal stripe often runs along the middle of the back; the ventral side is plain white or yellowish. Some individuals have no dorsal pattern and small spots on the throat or front of the belly. The eardrums are well developed. The sides of the head often have stripes that extend from the tip of the snout through the nostrils, eyes, and sometimes the eardrums. On the lower part of the foot there is a high and laterally compressed calcaneal tubercle, and there are swimming membranes. In males, dark brown nuptial calluses are developed on the first two or three inner fingers of the forelimbs, and on the sides of the head in the corners of the mouth there is a pair of white external sound resonators. During the breeding season, the body of males may have a yellowish tint.

Spreading. The pond frog is distributed in central Europe from western France in the west to the Volga region in the east. The northern border of the range runs through Holland, southern Sweden and further through northwestern Russia (Leningrad and Novgorod regions), Bashkiria and Tatarstan. In the south, the border partially coincides with the forest and forest-steppe zone and is limited by the north of Italy, the northern foothills of the Alps and the Balkans, the north of Romania, and the central-southern regions of Ukraine. It lives in low-flowing or stagnant shallow water bodies of deciduous and mixed forests, occurring after breeding in moist forests and far from water. In forest-steppes and steppes it lives only in reservoirs, mainly in oxbow lakes and ponds. The acidity of such reservoirs varies between pH = 5.8-7.4. It rises to a height of up to 1550 m in the mountains.

Reproduction. After hibernation, frogs appear in the second half of April - May at water temperatures above 8°C and soil temperatures above 10°C. At first, the animals are very lethargic, but after a couple of days or later, mating concerts of the males begin. Mostly reservoirs with standing water and dense vegetation are used as spawning grounds. Individuals are distributed unevenly throughout the reservoir, forming places of concentration near the shore or at a distance of up to 6-15 m in larger reservoirs. Such “nuptial aggregations” occur 1-5 days before the start of reproduction. The breeding period is 23-27 days in April-May, starting at a water temperature of about 15-16°C. The fertility of the pond frog is relatively low: the female lays from 400 to 1800 eggs. Embryonic development lasts 4-12 days, larval development 47-77 days. Tadpoles are difficult to distinguish from those of lake and edible frogs. Sexual maturity occurs at the age of two years. Males predominate in numbers. The maximum life expectancy in nature is at least 12 years.

ClassificationClass: AmphibiansOrder: AnuransFamily: True frogsGenus: PelophylaxSpecies: pond frog

5) Common spadefoot or thick-headed weed (Pelobates fuscus) - a species of the spadefoot family.

Appearance.Body length 4-6 cm, weight 6-20 g. Body oval, slightly flattened. The limbs are relatively short. The skin is smooth. Distinctive feature is a vertical pupil and a very large shovel-like hard yellowish calcaneal tubercle. The color is dull, the top is light gray, sometimes dark gray, with a yellowish or brown tint; against this background, dark olive, dark brown or black spots of various shapes and sizes stand out with red dots; the underparts are light (grayish-white), with a slight yellowness, with dark spots, sometimes without spots. Numerous skin glands secrete a poisonous secretion that smells like garlic (hence the name). The tadpoles of the spadefoot spadefoot are very large: the length including the tail reaches 10 cm or more. Sometimes it is confused with common toad from the toad family, differing only in its darker color.

Spreading.The range of the common spadefoot is located within the borders of Central and Eastern Europe and Western Asia. The common spadefoot is a terrestrial species, sticking to places with light and loose soils. On slightly damp sand it manages to burrow completely into the ground in 2-3 minutes, raking the ground with its hind limbs to do this. Usually buried during the daytime. For wintering, it burrows into the soil to a depth of no less than 30-50 cm or uses other shelters (rodent burrows, basements).

Reproduction.In the spring after wintering, it appears in mid-March - early May at an air temperature of 12-14°C and a water temperature of 8-10°C. It breeds, as a rule, in non-drying stagnant bodies of water - ponds, sand quarries, ditches, pits with fairly clear water and semi-aquatic vegetation, although eggs can also be found in temporary reservoirs. Mating usually occurs under water soon after the individuals arrive at the pond at a water temperature of 9-15°C. The spawning period covers the second half of March - early June. Larval development can last from 56 to 140 days. Many tadpoles die when water bodies dry out, as well as in winter, if they do not have time to undergo metamorphosis, although there are known cases of successful wintering at the larval stage.

Sexual maturity occurs in the third year of life with a minimum length of about 41 mm for males and 43 mm for females. The sex ratio is approximately equal. In nature they live for at least 4 years.

Classification:

Class: Amphibians

Order: Tailless

Family: Spadefoot

Genus: Spadefoot

View: Common spadefoot

6) Crested newt (Triturus cristatus) - a species of newts from the genus Triturusorder of tailed amphibians.

Appearance.Your name this type received newts thanks to the high crest along the back and tail, which appears in males during the mating season. The height of the crest can reach 1.5 cm; in the area of ​​the base of the tail, the crest has a pronounced isthmus. The part of the comb that runs from the base of the head to the beginning of the tail has pronounced teeth; the remaining tail part of the ridge is smoother. In normal times, the crest of males is hardly noticeable. Male crested newts reach 18 cm in length, females are slightly smaller - from 11 to 20 cm maximum. They breed in water. On the top and sides, crested newts are dark brown and covered with dark spots, making them appear almost black. The lower part of the newt's sides is covered with small white dots, more noticeable in males during the breeding season. Females are modestly colored, their colors are lighter, and there is no comb. A yellow longitudinal line is noticeable on the female’s back. The belly of the crested newt is yellow or orange, covered with large black spots, the pattern is individual for each newt. A silver-gray stripe runs along the tail. The skin is rough, rough, smooth on the abdomen. Males can be distinguished from females by the presence of a serrated crest during the mating season. Crested newts are capable of making quiet sounds - creaking, squeaking and dull whistles.

Spreading.The range of the crested newt covers the UK (excluding Ireland), most of Europe - northern France and Switzerland, Germany, Poland, Belarus, most of Ukraine, the northwestern regions of Russia to the Urals, the southern border runs along the Alps, through Romania and Moldova along the coast Black Sea. From the north, the range is limited to the southern part of Sweden and Finland. It is listed in the International Red Book, but not in the Red Book of Russia, although it is a rare and endangered species on the territory of the Russian Federation. Listed in some regional Red Books (Ulyanovsk region, Republic of Bashkortostan, etc.)

Reproduction. They emerge from wintering grounds in March (Transcarpathia), in April-May (central Russia) during the opening of reservoirs at an air temperature of 9-10°C and a water temperature of 6°C. After 3-6 days, newts move to bodies of water. Reproduction begins at an air temperature of 14°C. After ritual courtship, the female lays from 80 to 600 eggs (usually 150-200). Embryonic development lasts about 13-18 days; larval life is about 3 months (80-100 days). Sexual maturity occurs in the second or third year of life, with a total length of 85 mm in males and 94 mm or more in females. In captivity they live up to 27 years.

Classification:

Class: AmphibiansOrder: Tailed amphibians Family: True salamandersGenus: NewtsView: Crested newt

. Reptiles of broadleaf forests

(Reptilia)

1) Green lizard (Lacerta viridis) - a species of lizards from the genus Green lizards.

Appearance. A relatively large lizard with a body length of up to 150 mm and approximately twice as long long tail. The intermaxillary shield touches the nostril or is separated from it by a narrow bridge. There are two or three postnasals. There is one zygomatic shield. In front of the infraorbital there are 4, very rarely 5 or 3 upper labial shields. Between the supraorbital and superior ciliary scutes there are up to 14 grains, in some places separating these scutes from each other, or less often there are no grains at all. There are usually two superior temporal ones. The central temporal scutes are almost the same in size from other temporal scutes or are enlarged. The tympanic shield is pronounced or barely noticeable. There is a throat fold. The collar, consisting of 7-13 scales, is serrated. There are 16-27 scales along the midline of the throat. The dorsal scales are elongated hexagonal, with well-developed ribs. There are 40-58 scales around the middle of the body. The anal scute is of medium size and is semi-surrounded by 6-10 perianal scutes, of which the middle pair is usually somewhat wider than the others. Femoral pores number 11-21 reaching the knee bend.

As for color, young ones are monochromatic, brownish-brown or grayish-brown with sparse black spots and specks and rows of small white spots running on the sides. With age, the back turns green, and the white spots on the sides usually merge into longitudinal, sometimes double, stripes. Adults are bright or dark green above with numerous black or yellow spots, often so densely spaced that the lizard looks almost completely black with flecks of green and yellow showing through. There are individuals with dark spots with a light edge running along the ridge of irregular shape. The head is dark green or brownish on top with characteristic rounded light or yellowish spots and dashes. During the breeding season, males have a bright blue throat, while females have a greenish or bluish throat with marbled streaks. The belly is bright yellow in males and whitish in females.

Lifestyle. In the south of Ukraine it is active from late March - early April to early October, in the middle zone - from late April - early May to mid-September. During the hot period (July-August), summer hibernation is sometimes observed. Hunting for prey occurs most energetically in the morning: from 12 to 16 o'clock, most lizards disappear into shelters or move to shaded areas. When hunting or escaping danger, they often climb bushes and trees, where they can jump from branch to branch and jump from great heights to the ground.

The diet is dominated by beetles, orthoptera, bedbugs, caterpillars, hymenoptera and spiders. In spring and early summer, beetles and spiders are more often eaten; in the second half of summer and autumn, orthoptera and caterpillars are eaten. They also eat earthworms, mollusks, phalanges, centipedes, dragonflies, dipterans and other insects, and in addition, they eat plant matter; There are known cases of eating small lizards.

Reproduction. The mating season, during which fierce fights between males occur, takes place in May - early June. Pregnancy lasts 6-8 weeks. Egg laying from the second half of June to the end of July. There are 5-13 eggs in a clutch, measuring 15.5-18.0 x 12.0-14.0 mm. The young appear from August to September. Sexual maturity apparently occurs in the third year of life.

It is protected by the Berne Convention.

Classification

Class: Reptiles

Squad: Scaly

Family: Real lizards

Genus: Green lizards

View: Green lizard

Viviparous lizard (Zootoca vivipara) - lizard from family of true lizards. Constitutes a monotypic genus Forest lizards (Zootoca). Previously included in the genus Green lizards (Lacerta).

Appearance. A small lizard with a body length of up to 71 mm and a tail approximately twice as long. The head is not flattened. The intermaxillary shield, as a rule, does not touch the nostril. There is usually only one postnasal shield. Zygomatic shield 1 or very rarely absent. In front of the infraorbital shield there are 3-4, very rarely 5 upper labial ones. The upper postorbital shield touches the parietal one. Between the supraorbital and superior ciliary scutes there are up to 5 grains; some specimens lack them. The central temporal shield, if present, is poorly expressed, and the tympanic shield, as a rule, is well defined. Usually two superior temporal ones varying in size. The throat fold is poorly developed. The collar is serrated and consists of 6-12 scutes. There are 13-23 scales along the midline of the throat. The scales of the upper surface of the neck are relatively large, hexagonal or round, smooth, without ribs. The scales along the ridge are elongated hexagonal or oval, with ribs or smooth. There are 25-38 scales around the middle of the body. The anal shield is small, the middle pair of 4-8 preanal shields is significantly enlarged. The femoral pores, numbering 5-16, reach the knee bend.

Young black, dark brown, brown-bronze or dirty yellow, almost without pattern. Adults are brownish-brown, yellowish-brown or greenish in color with a characteristic pattern, usually consisting of a dark, often intermittent stripe along the ridge, two light stripes on the sides of the back and dark wide stripes on the sides, limited along the lower edge by a light line, sometimes broken into round spots . Along the back there are usually more or less elongated dark and light spots and specks. The nature of the pattern is different in males and females.

Spreading. Very widespread in northern half Eurasia from Ireland and the Iberian Peninsula in the west to the Shantar Islands, Sakhalin and northern Japan in the east. In Russia, the northern border of the range from the coast of the Kola Peninsula in the northwest continues beyond the Arctic Circle to the lower reaches of the Yenisei. Further to the east it crosses the valleys of the Lena and its tributaries. The southern border of the range from Transcarpathia continues to the east between the forest-steppe and steppe. Found everywhere on Sakhalin. In its habitat it adheres to forested swamps, peat bogs, overgrown clearings, burnt areas, roadsides and slopes of roadside ditches, forest edges, clearings and clearings, animal trails and river banks. Found in vegetable gardens and orchards. It usually lives near fallen tree trunks, old stumps, and in high undergrowth - at the base of individual trees. Uses voids between roots, moss hummocks, forest floor, burrows of small mammals, spaces under loose bark and hollows.

Spiders, beetles, ants, leafhoppers, caterpillars, butterflies, dipterans, orthoptera, as well as centipedes, mollusks and earthworms were found in the food.

Reproduction. In its habitat in the fauna of Russia and neighboring countries, the duration of pregnancy of a viviparous lizard is from 70 to 90 days. Young ones begin to appear from the beginning of July, and in years with a warmer spring - at the beginning of the second ten days of June. The number of young is 8-12, in young females there are 2-6, their body length is 18-22 mm (without tail). Sexual maturity occurs at the age of two.

Classification

Class: Reptiles

Order: Scaly

Suborder: Lizards

Family: True lizards

Genus: Forest lizards

Species: Viviparous lizard

Brittle spindle, or copperhead (Anguis fragilis) - lizard from the family fusiformes (Anguidae).

Appearance. This lizard is legless. The length of the lizard reaches 50 centimeters, of which up to 30 centimeters is the length of the body. The tail of males is longer than that of females. The body of the male is brown, gray or bronze. The coloring of females is paler than that of males. Males have dark spots and stripes on their bellies. Females have no spots or stripes on their bellies. The name “spindle” comes from the spindle, which is shaped like this lizard, and “fragile” from the property of throwing off the tail. The spiny snake is often confused with the copperhead snake.

Distributedin Europe, including coastal Scandinavia, and throughout Western Asia. In Russia, the range reaches Karelia in the north, the Tyumen region in the east, the Caucasus in the south and throughout the East European Plain. The average life expectancy is 9-12 years, in captivity - 30-35 years.

In spring it is active during the day, and with the onset of summer it switches to a nocturnal lifestyle. To sleep, it hides in holes, piles of branches, and rotten stumps. Not afraid of people, easily tamed.

Reproduction. In spring it appears in mid-March - early April, and in more northern latitudes - in the first half of May. Ovoviviparous. Pregnancy lasts about 3 months, and young spindles are born in mid-July - August. The female gives birth to from 5 to 26 (usually no more than 12) cubs 38-50 mm long, not counting the tail. Sexual maturity occurs in the third year of life. There are cases of spindles surviving up to 30-35 years in captivity. More than 60% of individuals caught in the wild have their tails restored to one degree or another, which indirectly indicates the effectiveness of such a passive protective measure as throwing away a long, brittle tail that wriggles in place for a long time and thereby distracts the attention of the predator from the lizard itself.

Classification:

Class: ReptilesOrder: Squamate Family: FusiformesGenus: SpindlesView: Brittle spindle

2) Common viper (Vipera berus) - a species of poisonous snakes of the genus of true vipers of the viper family, often found in Europe and Asia. Unlike other members of the family, it prefers lower temperatures, found either at higher latitudes (up to the Arctic Circle) or in the mountains up to 2600 m above sea level.

Appearance. A relatively small snake, whose length including the tail usually does not exceed 65 cm. The largest specimens are found in the northern part of the range: for example, snakes with a length exceeding 90 cm have been recorded on the Scandinavian Peninsula. In France and Great Britain, the largest individuals reached a length of 80-87 see. Females are slightly larger than males. The weight of an adult viper varies from 50 to 180 g.

The large flattened head with a rounded muzzle is noticeably separated from the body by a short neck. In the upper part of the head there are three large shields, one of which - the frontal - has an almost rectangular shape, elongated along the body and is located in the space between the eyes, the remaining two - the parietal - are directly behind it. Sometimes another small scute is developed between the frontal and parietal scutes. The nasal opening is cut into the lower part of the nasal shield . The vertical pupil, along with the overhanging supraorbital scutes, give the snake an angry appearance, although they have nothing to do with the manifestation of emotions. The anal shield is not divided. There are usually 21 scales around the middle of the body. Abdominal scales in males are 132-150, in females 132-158. There are 32-46 pairs of tail scales in males and 23-38 pairs in females.

The color is extremely variable - the main background can be gray, yellowish-brown, brown or reddish with a copper tint. In some areas, up to 50% of the population are melanistic black vipers. Most individuals have a contrasting zigzag pattern along the backbone. The belly is gray, grayish-brown or black, sometimes with white spots. The tip of the tail is yellow, orange or red. Juveniles often have a copper-brown back with a zigzag stripe.

Life expectancy can reach 15, and according to some sources, 30 years. However, observations in Sweden indicate that snakes rarely survive after two or three years reproduction, which, taking into account the achievement of sexual maturity, gives a maximum age of 5-7 years.

Spreading.Habitats are more diverse in the northern and eastern parts of the range, where the snake often colonizes peat bogs, heathlands, cleared mixed forests, the banks of various freshwater bodies of water, wet meadows, field edges, shelterbelts, and dunes. In southern Europe, biotopes are mainly limited to wet depressions in mountainous areas. Distribution is uneven depending on the availability of places suitable for wintering. The saddle, as a rule, does not move further than 60-100 meters. The exception is forced migration to a wintering place; in this case, snakes can move away to a distance of up to 2-5 km. Wintering usually occurs from October-November to March-April (depending on the climate), in the north of the range it lasts up to 9 months, for which the snake chooses a depression in the ground (burrows, crevices, etc.) at a depth of up to 2 meters, where the temperature does not drop below +2… +4°C. If there is a shortage of such places, several hundred individuals may accumulate in one place, and in the spring they crawl to the surface, which creates the impression of great crowding. Subsequently, the snakes crawl away.

Lifestyle. IN summer time sometimes it basks in the sun, but for the most part hides under old stumps, in crevices, etc. The snake is not aggressive and when a person approaches, it tries to use its camouflage coloring as much as possible, or crawl away. Only in the event of a person's unexpected appearance or provocation on his part can she try to bite him. This cautious behavior is explained by the fact that it requires a lot of energy to reproduce venom in conditions of changing temperatures.

It feeds mainly on mouse-like rodents, amphibians and lizards, and destroys bird nests located on the ground. The ratio of different feeds may vary depending on availability at a given time and in a given area. Thus, during the observation of vipers in the Netherlands, it was revealed that they prefer grass and sharp-faced frogs, as well as viviparous lizards. In other regions, the diet may be dominated by gray and forest voles, shrews, spindles, chicks of warblers, pipits and buntings. Young snakes catch insects - locusts, beetles, and, less commonly, butterfly caterpillars, ants, slugs and earthworms.

Danger to humans. As for bites, the complex of components of the venom of the common viper is similar to the venoms of other European and tropical species of vipers. It contains high-molecular proteases with hemorrhagic, hemocoagulating and necrotizing effects, peptide hydrolases, hyaluronidases and phospholipases, which, at the time of the bite, enter the circulatory system through the lymph nodes. For humans, the bite of a common viper is considered potentially dangerous, but extremely rarely leads to death. For example, in the UK there were only 14 deaths recorded between 1876 and 2005, the last of which occurred in 1975. About 70% of those bitten either experience no symptoms at all or feel a burning pain directly in the area of ​​the bite. Often, redness and swelling develop around the wound - hemorrhagic edema. With more severe Intoxication within 15-30 minutes may cause dizziness, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, pale skin, increased sweating, chills, tachycardia. Finally, with particularly increased sensitivity, loss of consciousness, swelling of the face, a significant drop in blood pressure, heavy bleeding (DIC syndrome), renal failure, convulsions or coma may occur. In the vast majority of cases, the consequences of the bite disappear after 2-4 days, but can last for a longer period, up to a year. In particular, improper self-treatment can lead to complications.

Classification:

Class: ReptilesOrder: Squamate Family: Viper Genus: Real vipersView: Common viper

3) Common copperhead, or Pallas's copperhead (Gloydius halys) - the most common species of venomous snakes of the genus Muzzle subfamily of the pit viper family.

Appearance. The snake is medium-sized - body length reaches 690 mm, tail length - 110 mm. The head is wide, with a well-defined cervical interception, and is covered on top with large scutes that form something like a shield. Between the nostrils and the eye there is a facial thermosensitive fossa; The pupil of the eye is vertical. There are 23 rows of scales around the middle of the copperhead's body. Ventral scutes - 155-187, subcaudal scutes - 33 - 50 pairs.

The color of the upper side of the body of the common copperhead is brown or gray-brown, with transverse dark brown spots, the number of which varies from 29 to 50. Along the sides of the body there is one longitudinal row of smaller dark spots. There is a clear spotted pattern on the head, and on its sides there is a dark postorbital stripe. The belly is light gray to brown, with small dark and light specks. There are single-colored brick-red or almost black individuals.

Spreading.Within its vast distribution area, the copperhead lives in a wide variety of biotopes: in lowland and mountainous steppes, in semi-deserts, and through rodent colonies it even penetrates into fixed sands. It is also found on rocky screes in mountain forests, along the banks of rivers and lakes, and in subalpine meadows. It rises into the mountains to an altitude of 3000 m above sea level.

Cottonmouth population density in habitats is usually low, and maximum numbers are observed in spring and early summer. In the northern Baikal region, the copperhead is numerous in places. In spring and autumn, this snake is active during the day, and in summer it switches to a crepuscular and nocturnal lifestyle. Exit from wintering occurs from the beginning of March to the end of May, depending on the latitude of the habitat. Mating is observed in April - May, usually 1.5 - 2 weeks after leaving wintering grounds. and continues throughout almost the entire active period. In mid-summer, snakes begin to migrate to summer habitats: on rocks, at the foot of slopes and in gullies. Rodent burrows, rocky scree crevices, and cracks in clay cliffs serve as shelters for the copperhead. They leave for the winter in the first ten days of October. In August - early October, the female brings from 3 to 14 cubs with a body length of 160-190 mm and a weight of 5 - 6 g. The diet of the common copperhead includes various small vertebrates, mainly rodents, as well as shrews, small birds and lizards. Occasionally it eats the eggs of birds and small snakes. Young individuals also feed on invertebrate animals. Often the entire life of a population is connected with colonies of voles of the genus Microtus, and snakes do not leave these colonies at all, where they are provided with everything they need. In South-Western Mongolia, on fixed sands with nitraria, copperheads catch Przewalski's foot-and-mouth disease, which in the same bushes hunt for insects or eat nitraria berries during the ripening period. The hunting area of ​​the copperhead is 100-160 m in diameter. In some parts of the range, due to human economic activity, populations of the copperhead are subject to strong anthropogenic pressure. In the area of ​​the Zeya Reservoir, micropopulations of this species scattered on different parts of the coast have changed environmental conditions and genetic changes characteristic of isolated settlements were observed.

Danger to humans.The sting of a copperhead is very painful, but usually after 5 - 7 days there is a complete recovery.

Classification:

Class: ReptilesOrder: SquamateSuborder: SnakesFamily: ViperidaeSubfamily: PitheadsGenus: CottonmouthsSpecies: Common copperhead

4) European marsh turtle (Emys orbicularis) - a type of freshwater turtle.

Appearance.The carapace is oval, low and slightly convex, smooth, movably connected to the plastron by a narrow elastic ligament. The carapace of young turtles is rounded, with a weak median carina in the rear. The back of the plastron is rounded, without a noticeable notch. The limbs are equipped with long sharp claws. Small membranes are developed between the fingers. The tail is very long, in adult turtles its length is up to 3/4 of the length of the shell, and in hatchlings the tail is relatively even longer. Such a tail can play the role of an additional rudder when swimming (this function is performed mainly by the hind limbs).

Medium sized turtle. The length of the carapace reaches 12-35 cm. The weight of the turtle can reach 1.5 kg. The shell of adult turtles on top is dark olive, brown-brown or dark brown, almost black, with small yellow spots, dots or streaks. The plastron is dark brown or yellowish with blurry dark spots. The head, neck, legs and tail of the turtle are dark, with numerous yellow spots. Eyes with yellow, orange or reddish irises. The edges of the jaws are smooth, there is no “beak”.

Spreading.It is found in various fresh water bodies: swamps, ponds, lakes, floodplains, oxbow lakes, slow-flowing rivers, canals. The marsh turtle is also found in the salty Kizeltash and Vityazevsky estuaries, near the station. Blagoveshchenskaya, Krasnodar region of the Russian Federation. Rec with fast current avoids, prefers flat reservoirs with gentle banks, well-warmed shallow areas, both overgrown with vegetation and without it. Sometimes found within towns and cities. It rises into the mountains to a height of up to 1000 m above sea level (in Sicily up to 1400 m, and in Morocco up to 1700 m).

As a rule, it stays near bodies of water, but can also move a short distance away from them. Occasionally, for example, during breeding, turtles move away from the water, sometimes at a distance of up to 500 m.

Lifestyle.The marsh turtle is omnivorous, but its main and preferred food is various small animals, primarily invertebrates: mollusks, worms, crustaceans, aquatic and terrestrial insects and their larvae. The diet is dominated by insects and other arthropods: larvae of dragonflies, swimming beetles, mosquitoes, woodlice, and beetles. In the steppe, the turtle eats a lot of locusts, while in the forest its diet includes crustaceans and centipedes. The marsh turtle can also hunt small vertebrates: amphibians and their larvae, young snakes and even chicks of waterfowl. Eats carrion, for example, the corpses of waterfowl.

Plant foods occupy a smaller share in the diet. The marsh turtle sometimes eats algae, soft and succulent parts of aquatic and semi-aquatic higher plants.

In captivity, with proper care, marsh turtles can live 25-30 years. There is evidence that bog turtles can live up to 120 years.

Classification

Class: ReptilesOrder: TurtlesSuborder: Hidden-necked turtles Family: Freshwater turtles Genus: Swamp turtlesView: European marsh turtle

. Birds of broadleaf forests

(Aves)

As mentioned earlier, birdsbroad-leaved forests are extremely diverse. Most of them belong to the order of passerines - finches, starlings, tits, swallows, flycatchers, warblers, larks, etc. Other birds also live here: crows, jackdaws, magpies, rooks, woodpeckers, crossbills, as well as large birds - hazel grouse and black grouse . Among the predators there are hawks, harriers, owls, owls and eagle owls. The swamps are home to waders, cranes, herons, various species of ducks, geese and seagulls.

1) Finch í lla co é lebs) - songbird finch family.

Appearance. The size of a sparrow, body length is about 14.5 cm. Sexual dimorphism is quite pronounced, primarily in color. The color of the male's plumage is bright (especially in spring): the head is bluish-gray, the back is brownish with green, the crop and chest are brownish-red, there are large white spots on the wings; The color of the female is duller. In the wild, the finch lives on average 2 years; in captivity, the life expectancy is up to 12 years.

Distributedin Europe, Western Asia and North Africa; settles in the East. One of the most numerous birds in Russia. It lives in forests and parks of all types, often close to human habitation. The finch lives in various forest landscapes: coniferous, broad-leaved, artificial plantings, preferring sparse, mature and cool forests. Common in subalpine deciduous plantings, orchards, vegetable gardens, rural areas and city parks. Some birds winter in Central Europe, the rest fly south (mainly to the Mediterranean). The finch also winters in the Ciscaucasia: in foothill forests and partly in cities. It feeds on seeds and green parts of plants, and in summer it also feeds on harmful insects and other invertebrates, with which it feeds its chicks.

Vocalization.Typically, the specific song of a finch is represented by a trill ending with a “stroke” (short sharp sound) at the end. The trills are preceded by initial, more subtle whistle sounds. Therefore, the song of a finch can be divided into three successive parts - a chorus, a trill, a flourish. This song structure is characteristic of all adult males (the female finch is usually not vocal). The entire song usually lasts about 2-3 seconds, after a pause (7-10 seconds) the song repeats again. Because of their sonorous song, finches are often kept in captivity. The finch is one of the animals with a wide range of adaptability, a synanthropic species and is often the object of genetic research.

Classification

Class: BirdsOrder: Passeriformes Family: FinchesGenus: FinchesView: Finch

2) Common starling (Sturnus vulgaris) - a songbird of the starling family, widely distributed over a large area of ​​Eurasia, and also successfully introduced into South Africa, North America, Australia and New Zealand. In the south and west of Europe it leads a sedentary lifestyle, and in its northern and eastern parts it is migratory, migrating south in the winter months. Externally (size, yellow beak and dark plumage) slightly resembles blackbirds, but unlike them walkson the ground, not jumping.

Spreading.It is quite tolerant in its choice of habitat, but is found only on the plain, not climbing high into the mountains. It gets along well in populated areas and in rural areas near farms. Lives in coastal areas, swamps, salt marshes, open forests, steppes, but avoids places that are difficult for humans to reach. During breeding, it requires tree hollows or building niches for nest construction and sown fields as feeding territory.

Vocalization. It has a wide range of sounds that can include whistles, squeaks, meows, various noises and rattles. Russian ornithologists have noticed that starlings are able to imitate thrushes, warblers, bluethroats, larks, orioles, swallows, quails, jays and other birds and even croak like frogs.

Lifestyle. Starlings gather in flocks and settle in small colonies, usually several pairs not far from each other. Sometimes they can be seen flying in a huge group of several thousand individuals, while they synchronously repeat turns, soar and land on the ground, scattering over a large area. During incubation and hatching of chicks, they stick to their small territory, which is no more than 10 m in radius, and carefully protect it from other birds. Foraging areas are not protected.

Mating season usually begins in early spring, and in case of migration, soon after arrival. In the northern hemisphere, this period occurs at the end of March - beginning of July, and in the southern hemisphere, from September to December.

Starlings are omnivores - they feed on both plant and animal foods. In early spring, they hunt for earthworms or collect insect larvae. They also catch a variety of insects: grasshoppers, spiders, butterflies, caterpillars and worms. Plant foods include seeds and fruits of plants. They can cause serious damage to grain crops and vineyards.

Man has a long history of relationships with these birds. To attract them to the destruction of harmful insects in gardens and vegetable gardens, people have long put together artificial houses for them, called birdhouses. When moving to a new place of residence on another continent, people tried to take birds with them. However, the ability to reproduce quickly, coupled with a rather aggressive nature, has made common starlings unwelcome guests in regions where they were not previously found. Starlings can cause the greatest harm to grain crops and berry fields, causing serious economic damage.

The lifespan of common starlings in the wild is up to 12 years (V. Paevsky and A. Shapoval).

Classification

Class: BirdsOrder: Passeriformes Family: StarlingsGenus: StarlingsView: Common starling

3) Gray Flycatcher (Muscicapa striata) - a small, sparrow-sized bird of the flycatcher family.

Appearance. The gray flycatcher is a discreetly colored bird with long wings and a tail. Adult birds have gray or gray-brown plumage. The belly is light with faint, dark strokes. The legs are short and darkish, like the beak. Chicks are browner in color than adult birds.

Lifestyle. The gray flycatcher hunts flying insects from open heights, to which it often returns. It is easily recognized by the way it often shakes its wings and tail at a hunting spot, and then flies several meters into the air to catch an insect.

The gray flycatcher nests in forests, parks, gardens, preferring open places with rare trees. Laying occurs between mid-May and mid-July and consists of 4 - 6 eggs. When the first brood successfully leaves the nest, it is reused for a second clutch.

Classification:

Class: BirdsOrder: Passeriformes Family: FlycatcherGenus: True flycatchersView: Gray flycatcher

4) Common Oriole (Oriolus oriolus) - small bright bird, the only representative of the oriole family, common in the temperate climate of the northern hemisphere. Breeds in Europe and Asia east to the Yenisei. Noisy and mobile, usually stays in the crown of trees, mostly deciduous. Appearance. Unsociable, found alone or in pairs. It feeds on caterpillars and other insects, as well as berries. Migrates long distances, winters in the tropics of Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.

The size is slightly larger than an ordinary starling, length 24-25 cm, weight 50-90 g. The body is somewhat elongated. The color has well-defined sexual dimorphism - the male's plumage is golden-yellow with black wings and a black tail. Small yellow spots are visible along the edge of the tail, as well as on the wings. From the beak to the eye there is a black stripe called the “frenulum” - depending on the subspecies, it may or may not extend behind the eyes. The female has a greenish-yellow upperparts and whitish underparts with dark longitudinal streaks. The wings are greenish-gray. The beak of both sexes is brown or reddish-brown, quite long and strong. A very mobile bird, quickly and silently jumps from branch to branch in the dense foliage of trees.

Vocalizationincludes several different variations. Sometimes it emits a sharp and completely unmusical cry, reminiscent of the meowing of a frightened cat. From afar you can hear the melodic whistle of a bird, reminiscent of the sounds of a flute. At a distance, another song is almost inaudible - a set of abrupt, creaking sounds, like those of falcons.

Lifestyle. It spends most of its life high in the canopy of trees - despite its bright plumage, this bird is often difficult to see from the ground. Prefers light high-trunk forests, mainly deciduous - birch, willow or poplar groves. Less common in grassy pine forests. Finally, sometimes it chooses deserted islands with isolated trees.

The diet includes both plant and animal feed. During the breeding season, it feeds mainly on tree insects, mainly caterpillars, including hairy ones. It eats butterflies (including bears), dragonflies, earwigs, long-legged mosquitoes, bedbugs, and tree beetles. Sometimes the nests of small birds such as the gray flycatcher and redstart are destroyed.

Like other members of the family, the common oriole is monogamous. In the case of migration, it arrives at the nesting sites quite late, when the first greenery has already appeared on the trees - in central Russia in the second half of May. Males arrive first, females a little later. Breeding occurs once a year, with full clutches found in East Germany in late May - early June, in Spain in late May, in Belgium, Switzerland and Sweden in early June, in Morocco in mid-June. During the mating season, the male behaves demonstratively - he jumps from branch to branch, flies around the female, chases her, makes “dives” in the air, actively chirps and whistles, spreads his tail and flaps his wings. He also guards his territory - fierce fights are common between competing males. The attracted female responds by whistling and wagging her tail.

Classification

Class: BirdsOrder: Passeriformes

Family: OriolesGenus: OriolesView: Common oriole

5) Grouse, orblack grouse, orblack grouse (Lyrurus tetrix) - a common bird of the pheasant family, living in the forest, forest-steppe and partly steppe zones of Eurasia, including in Russia. Throughout the entire range there are sedentary or nomadic birds; settles on forest edges, along the edge of the forest, in the valleys of large rivers. Is the object of hunting.

Appearance. A relatively large bird with a small head and short beak. Males look noticeably larger than females. There is pronounced sexual dimorphism in color.

The male is easily recognized by his shiny black plumage with purple or green tints on the head, neck, craw and lower back, and bright red eyebrows. The female is motley, reddish-brown with transverse gray, dark yellow and black-brown stripes. Outwardly, she looks like a female capercaillie. Young birds - both males and females - have variegated plumage consisting of black-brown, yellow-brown and white stripes and spots.

Vocalizationdiffers between males and females. Females make quick, clucking sounds, often stretched at the end. Males mutter loudly and for a long time, or when danger approaches, they emit a dull cry. The loud singing of males is most often heard during mating.

Lifestyle.The black grouse is usually a ground bird, but in the cold season it stays in trees, where it obtains food for itself. It moves on the ground like a domestic chicken - it runs quickly and takes off almost vertically. The flight is fast and energetic - the black grouse can fly up to several tens of kilometers at a time without stopping. It has good eyesight and hearing - in case of danger, it quickly takes off and moves away to a long distance. Usually active early in the morning and in the evening, before sunset. IN very coldy feeds once a day, briefly emerging from under the snow.

It is also a social bird - outside the breeding season, especially in winter cold, it lives in flocks. The size of the flock can vary widely - individual cases of up to 200-300 individuals in one group are known.

The black grouse settles where forests or bushes are combined with open spaces - in small groves, copses, woodlands with an abundance of berry fields, in the valleys of large rivers, along the edges of raised and transitional swamps, floodplain meadows or agricultural lands.

Black grouse leads a sedentary or nomadic lifestyle. Seasonal movements are irregular, but in some years they can cover a significant part of the population. Mobility can be associated both with a lack of food in winter, and with a significant fluctuation in numbers characteristic of this species - every 4-10 years, the population of these birds can increase sharply.

Like other members of the family, black grouse are polygamous - there are several females per male. During the breeding season, males stay separately - alone or in small groups. At this time, they are silent and especially fearful, because due to molting they temporarily lose the ability to fly.

The diet consists almost entirely of a variety of plant foods.

The most dangerous predators for black grouse are considered to be foxes, martens, wild boars and goshawks. Natural predators do not have a significant impact on changes in the number and distribution of grouse, although their pressure on grouse has increased significantly in recent decades. A much greater danger for them is posed by human economic activity - drainage and improvement of heather wastelands, forest planting, use of fertilizers in agriculture and grazing in alpine meadows. In Russia and the Scandinavian countries, the black grouse is considered one of the most popular game birds, second only to the white partridge and hazel grouse in terms of the number of carcasses shot. It is estimated that about 120,000 birds were shot in Russia in the early 1990s.

Classification

Class: Birds

Squad: Galliformes

Family: Pheasant

Genus: Grouse

View: Grouse

6)Bullfinch, or common bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula) - a songbird of the bullfinch genus ( Pyrrhula), family of finches.

Appearance. The bird is small in size, slightly larger than a sparrow. The top of the head around the beak and eyes is black. The flight feathers and tail feathers are also black, with a blue metallic tint. The loin and undertail are white. The male's back, shoulders and neck are gray. The cheeks, lower neck, belly and sides are red. The tone and intensity of color on the underside of the body depends on the subspecies and individual characteristics. The neck and shoulders of the female are gray. The back is brownish-brown. The cheeks, neck below, belly and sides are gray-brown. The plumage of the chicks is predominantly ocher-brown. The chicks do not have a “black cap” on their heads, like in adults.

Spreading. Bullfinches inhabit all of Europe, Western Asia, East Asia, including Siberia, Kamchatka, and Japan. The southern border runs approximately along the latitude of northern Spain, the Apennines, northern Greece and northern Asia Minor. Bullfinches inhabit both lowland and mountain forests; they are absent in treeless areas and to the north of the forest zone. In Russia, bullfinches are distributed throughout the forest and, partially, forest-steppe zone, where coniferous trees are found, from west to east.

Lifestyle.The bullfinch lives in forests with dense undergrowth, and can also be found in city gardens and parks (especially during migrations). In summer, the bird lives in both dense forests and open woodlands, but it is rarely seen. In winter, flocks of bullfinches are very clearly visible, as are individual birds on the leafless trees of the park against a snow-white background. Male bullfinches have a pinkish-red breast, while females have a brownish-gray breast. The bullfinch is a predominantly sedentary bird, completely migrating for the winter only from the northern taiga, and is found on migrations as far as Central Asia and Eastern China.

The bullfinch feeds mainly on seeds, buds, some arachnids and berries. Feeding on berries, it eats the seeds out of them, leaving the pulp. The chicks are fed mainly with plant food, adding insects and berries.

Classification

Class: Birds

Squad: Passeriformes

Broad-leaved forests are distributed mainly in the European part of the Soviet Union; they also occupy small areas in the Far East. There are no such forests in Siberia, both Western and Eastern. This is explained by the fact that broad-leaved trees are quite thermophilic; they cannot tolerate the harsh continental climate.

Let's take a closer look at the broad-leaved forests that are common on the European plain. The most characteristic tree of these forests is oak, which is why such forests are usually called oak forests. The bulk of broad-leaved forests are concentrated in a strip that begins in Moldova and goes to the northeast, approximately in the direction of Kiev - Kursk - Tula - Gorky - Kazan.

The climate of these areas is quite mild, moderate continental, it is largely determined by relatively warm and humid air masses that come from the west, from Atlantic Ocean. average temperature himself warm month(July) ranges from approximately 18 to 20 °C, the average annual precipitation is 450-550 mm. A characteristic feature of the climate of this area is that the amount of precipitation that falls per year is approximately equal to evaporation (the amount of water that evaporates per year from the free water surface). In other words, the climate cannot be called either excessively dry (as in the steppe and desert) or too wet (as in the taiga and tundra).

The soils under broad-leaved forests are soddy-podzolic, gray forest, and some varieties of chernozem. They contain a relatively large amount of nutrients (this can be judged by the dark color of their upper horizons). Another feature of the soils under consideration is that, although they are sufficiently provided with moisture, they are at the same time well drained and do not have excess water.

What are the broad-leaved forests themselves, what are their specific features, what plants are included in their composition?

Broadleaf forest is characterized primarily by a wide variety of tree species. This is especially noticeable if you compare it with a coniferous forest, with the taiga. There are much more tree species here than in the taiga - sometimes you can count up to a dozen of them. The reason for the species richness of trees is that broad-leaved forests develop in more favorable natural conditions than taiga. Tree species that are demanding on climate and soil can grow here and cannot tolerate the harsh conditions of taiga regions.

A good idea of ​​the diversity of tree species in a broad-leaved forest can be obtained by visiting the famous forest area called the Tula Zaseki (it stretches like a ribbon from west to east in the southern part of the Tula region). In the oak groves of the Tula notches there are trees such as pedunculate oak, small-leaved linden, two types of maple - Norway and field maple, common ash, elm, elm, wild apple tree, wild pear (we will consider the most important of them in more detail later).

What is characteristic of a broad-leaved forest is that the various tree species that make up it have different heights, forming, as it were, several groups in height. The tallest trees are oak and ash, the shorter ones are Norway maple, elm and linden, and even lower ones are field maple, wild apple and pear. However, trees, as a rule, do not form clearly defined tiers well delimited from each other. Oak usually dominates, with other tree species most often playing the role of satellites.

The species composition of shrubs is also quite rich in the broad-leaved forest. In the Tula abatis, for example, there are hazel, two types of euonymus - warty and European, forest honeysuckle, brittle buckthorn, rose hips and some others.

Different types of shrubs vary greatly in height. Hazel bushes, for example, often reach a height of 5 - 6 m, and honeysuckle bushes are almost always shorter than human height.

Broad-leaved forests usually have well-developed grass cover. Many plants have more or less large, wide leaf blades. That's why they are called oak broadgrass. Some of the herbs found in oak forests always grow in single specimens, never forming dense thickets. Others, on the contrary, can almost completely cover the soil over a large area. Such massive, dominant plants in the oak groves of Central Russia most often turn out to be common sedge, yellow sedge and yellow green grass (they will be discussed in detail below).

Almost all herbaceous plants living in oak forests are perennials. Their lifespan is often measured in several decades. Many of them reproduce poorly by seeds and maintain their existence mainly through vegetative propagation. Such plants, as a rule, have long above-ground or underground shoots that can quickly spread in different directions, capturing new territory.

The above-ground part of many representatives of oak groves dies off in the fall, and only the rhizomes and roots in the soil overwinter. They have special renewal buds, from which new shoots grow in the spring. However, among the species of oak groves there are also those in which the above-ground part remains green even in winter time. Plants of this kind include hoofweed, hairy sedge, and green grass.

From the previous story we already know that in coniferous forests Shrubs play an important role, especially blueberries and lingonberries. In a broad-leaved forest, on the contrary, there are usually no shrubs at all; they are completely unusual for our oak forests.

Among the herbaceous plants growing in Central Russian oak forests, the so-called oak forest ephemeroids are of particular interest. Examples of these can be various types of corydalis, goosebumps, buttercup anemone, and spring guillemot. These small, relatively low-growing plants surprise us with their extraordinary “haste”. They are born immediately after the snow melts, and their sprouts sometimes even break through the snow cover that has not yet melted. It is quite cool at this time of year, but the ephemeroids nevertheless develop very quickly. A week or two after birth, they already bloom, and after another two to three weeks, their fruits and seeds ripen. At the same time, the plants themselves turn yellow and lie down on the ground, and then their above-ground part dries out. All this happens at the very beginning of summer, when, it would seem, the conditions for the life of forest plants are the most favorable - enough heat and moisture. But ephemeroids have their own special “development schedule”, not the same as that of many other plants - they always live only in the spring, and by summer they completely disappear from the vegetation cover. Early spring is most favorable for their development, since at this time of year, when the trees and shrubs have not yet put on leaves, it is very light in the forest. There is quite enough moisture in the soil during this period. And ephemeroids do not need high temperatures, such as in summer.

All ephemeroids are perennial plants. After their aboveground part dries out at the beginning of summer, they do not die. Living underground organs are preserved in the soil - some have tubers, others have bulbs, and others have more or less thick rhizomes. These organs serve as receptacles for reserve nutrients, mainly starch. It is precisely due to the previously stored “building material” that stems with leaves and flowers develop so quickly in the spring.

Ephemeroids are characteristic of our Central Russian oak forests. There are a total of up to ten species. Their flowers have a bright, beautiful color - lilac, blue, yellow. When there are a lot of such plants and they all bloom, you get a motley colorful carpet.

In addition to herbaceous plants, mosses are also found on the soil in oak forests. However, in this respect, oak forests are very different from taiga forests. In the taiga we often see a continuous green carpet of mosses on the soil. This never happens in oak forests. Here the role of mosses is very modest - they are occasionally found in the form of small spots on piles of earth thrown out by a mole. It is noteworthy that special types of mosses are common in the oak forest - not at all those that form a continuous green carpet in the taiga. Why is there no moss cover in the oak forest? One of the main reasons is that mosses are depressingly affected by leaf litter, which accumulates on the soil surface in a broad-leaved forest.

Let us now get acquainted with the most important plants of oak forests. First we'll talk about trees. It is they who form the upper, dominant tier in the forest and determine many features of the forest environment.

English oak (Quercus robur). This tree grows wild in our country over a large area - from Leningrad in the north almost to Odessa in the south and from the state border in the west to the Urals in the east. The area of ​​its natural distribution in the USSR has the shape of a wide wedge, directed from west to east. The blunt end of this wedge rests on the Urals in the Ufa region.

Oak is a relatively heat-loving tree species. It cannot stand the harsh conditions of the taiga regions. Oak is also demanding on soil fertility. It will not be found on very poor soils (for example, on sand dunes). Oak also does not grow on waterlogged, swampy soils. However, it tolerates a lack of moisture in the soil well.

The appearance of the oak tree is quite characteristic: a lush, curly crown, winding branches, a dark gray trunk covered with thick bark with deep cracks.

An old oak tree that has grown in the open from a young age is never tall. The crown of such a tree is very wide and starts almost from the ground itself. An oak tree grown in a forest looks completely different. It is tall, slender, and its crown is narrow, laterally compressed and begins at a fairly high altitude. All this is a consequence of the competition for light that takes place between trees in the forest. When trees are close to each other, they stretch upward strongly.

In spring, the oak blooms late, one of the last among our trees. Its “slowness” is a useful property: after all, the young leaves and stems of this tree, which have barely been born and have not yet had time to grow sufficiently, are very sensitive to cold; they die from frost. And in spring frosts sometimes happen quite late.

The oak blossoms when it still has very small leaves, and the trees seem to be dressed in thin green lace. Oak flowers are very small and inconspicuous. Male, or staminate, flowers are collected in peculiar inflorescences - thin yellowish-greenish drooping earrings, which are a little reminiscent of hazel earrings. These earrings hang down in whole bunches from the branches and are almost indistinguishable in color from young, very small leaves.

Female, or pistillate, oak flowers are more difficult to find. They are very tiny - no larger than the head of a pin. Each of them looks like a barely noticeable greenish grain with a crimson-red tip. These flowers are located singly or in groups of 2-3 at the ends of special thin stems. It is from these that the familiar acorns are formed by autumn. After flowering, the small cup-shaped involucre-plus grows first, and then the acorn itself.

Acorns are very capricious: they do not tolerate drying out at all. As soon as they lose even a small part of the water, they die. Acorns are also sensitive to frost. Finally, in warm conditions they rot very easily. Therefore, it is quite difficult to store them in artificial conditions for a long time. But sometimes forestry workers need to keep them alive for sowing for many months - from autumn to spring. In nature there is no such problem. Acorns that fall in the forest in late autumn overwinter in a damp layer of leaves under a thick layer of snow, which protects them from drying out and frost.

The germination of an acorn is peculiar and resembles the germination of a pea: the cotyledons do not rise above the soil surface, like many plants, but remain in the ground. A thin green stalk rises up. At first it is leafless, and only after some time you can see small, but typically oak leaves on its top.

Oak can reproduce not only by seeds. Like many other deciduous trees, it produces shoots from the stump. After an oak tree (of course, not a very old one) is cut down, many young shoots soon appear on the bark of the stump. Over time, some of them grow into mature trees, and the stump is completely or partially destroyed.

On the surface of a cut of a fresh oak stump, it is clearly visible that almost all the wood, with the exception of the narrow outer ring, has a brownish color. Consequently, the tree trunk consists mainly of darker wood. This part of the trunk (the so-called core) has already served its age and does not participate in the life of the tree. The dark color of the wood is explained by the fact that it is impregnated with special substances that seem to preserve tissue and prevent the development of rot.

Lighter, almost white outer layer wood is called sapwood. On the stump it looks like a rather narrow ring. It is along this layer that the soil solution that the roots absorb - water with a small amount of nutrient salts - rises up the trunk.

If the stump is smooth enough, it is easy to notice many tiny holes on the surface of the sapwood, as if pricked by a thin needle. These are the thinnest tubes-vessels cut across, which run along the trunk. It is along them that the soil solution rises. There are similar vessels in dark heartwood, but they are clogged and water does not pass through them.

The vessels are located on the surface of the stump not randomly. They form clusters in the form of thin concentric rings. Each such ring corresponds to one year of the tree’s life. By the rings of blood vessels on the stump, you can calculate the age of the oak tree.

Oak is a valuable tree species. Its heavy, strong wood has a variety of uses. It is used to make parquet, all kinds of furniture, barrels for beer and wine, etc. Oak firewood is very good: it gives a lot of heat. Tannins necessary for tanning leather are obtained from oak bark.

Small-leaved linden(Tilia cordata). Linden in the wild can be found in many regions of the European part of the country, except for the Far North, as well as the south and southeast. It even exists somewhere beyond the Urals. The natural growth area of ​​this tree species is somewhat similar to the corresponding territory for oak. However, linden spreads much further than oak to the north and especially to the east, that is, to areas with a more severe climate: it is less thermophilic.

Unlike oak, linden has great shade tolerance. This can be judged even by the appearance of the tree alone. The main sign of shade tolerance is a dense, dense crown.

Linden buds are located alternately on the branches. They are quite large, ovoid, completely smooth and shiny. However, they have one distinctive feature - each bud is covered with only two scales. You will not find such buds on our other trees.

Linden leaf blades have a characteristic, so-called heart-shaped shape, and are noticeably asymmetrical: one half of the leaf is slightly smaller than the other. The edge of the leaf is finely serrated; it is, as botanists say, serrated. Linden leaves that fall to the ground, unlike oak leaves, quickly rot. That is why in summer there is almost no litter on the soil in the linden forest. Fallen linden leaves contain a lot needed by plants calcium, as a result of which they improve the nutritional properties of the soil in the forest. This is a kind of forest fertilizer.

Linden blooms much later than all our other trees - already in the middle of summer. Its flowers are small, pale yellow, inconspicuous, but have a wonderful aroma and are rich in nectar. This tree is one of our best honey plants. Linden flowers are also valuable for their healing properties. Infusion of dried flowers, linden tea, drunk for colds.

Linden fruits are small, almost black nuts. They fall from the tree not one by one, but several on a common branch. Each branch is equipped with a wide thin wing. Thanks to this device, a branch with fruits, having come off the tree, spins in the air, which slows down its fall to the ground. As a result, the seeds spread further from the mother plant.

Linden seeds, once on the ground, never germinate in the first spring. Before they germinate, they lie for at least a year. To acquire the ability to germinate, the seeds must undergo fairly long cooling at a temperature around zero and, moreover, in a moist state. This process, as we already know, is called stratification.

Linden seedlings look very distinctive. These are tiny plants with a thin stem that is no longer than a pin. The stalk bears at the end two small green cotyledons of an original shape. They are deeply incised and somewhat resemble the front paw of a mole. In such a strange plant, few people recognize the future linden tree. After some time, the first true leaves appear at the end of the stem. But they still bear little resemblance in shape to the leaves of an adult tree.

In the recent past, linden was widely used by people for various household needs. From its moist bark, rich in durable fiber, bast was obtained, which was necessary for weaving bast shoes, making matting, and washcloths. Soft linden wood, devoid of a core, was also widely used - spoons, bowls, rolling pins, spindles and other household utensils were made from it. Linden wood is still used for a variety of crafts.

Norway maple(Acer platanoides). Maple is one of the most common trees in our broad-leaved forests. However, its role in the forest is usually modest - it is only an admixture to the dominant tree species.

Maple leaves are large, rounded-angular in shape, with large sharp protrusions along the edge. Botanists call such leaves palmate-lobed.

In autumn, maple leaves are beautifully colored. Some trees turn lemon yellow, others reddish-orange. The autumn outfit of maple always attracts attention. You will never see any damage caused by caterpillars and beetles on maple leaves - for some reason insects do not touch the foliage of this tree.

The maple is notable for the fact that it is one of our few trees that has white milky sap. The secretion of such sap is characteristic almost exclusively of trees in warmer countries - subtropical and tropical. In temperate latitudes this is rare. To see the milky sap of a maple tree, you need to break the leaf petiole in the middle of its length. A drop of thick white liquid will soon appear at the rupture site. The secretion of milky sap in maples is noticeable only soon after the leaves bloom - in late spring and early summer.

Norway maple - branch with fruits

Maple blooms in spring, but not very early. Its flowers bloom at a time when the tree has not yet put on leaves; small leaves have just appeared. A blooming maple is clearly visible even from afar: in the crown of the tree on bare branches you can see many greenish-yellow bunch-shaped inflorescences, similar to loose lumps. When you get closer to the tree, you feel the specific sourish-honey smell of the flowers. In maple you can see several types of flowers on the same tree. Some of them are sterile, others give rise to fruits. However, all flowers contain nectar and are readily visited by bees. Maple is one of the good honey plants.

Maple fruits, developing from flowers, have a unique structure. The unripe fruit consists of two winged fruitlets protruding into opposite sides and grown to each other. But after ripening they separate and fall off one by one. Each maple fruit, in its thickened part, contains one seed. The seed is flat, round, somewhat reminiscent of a lentil grain, but only much larger. Almost the entire contents of the seed are made up of two long plates called cotyledons. They are laid very compactly - strongly compressed into a folded flat lump. If you break a maple seed, you will be surprised to see that the inside is light green, pistachio-colored.

This is what distinguishes maple from so many plants - their seeds inside are white or yellowish.

Winged maple fruits fall from the tree in a very unique way - they spin quickly, quickly, like a propeller, and smoothly fall to the ground. The speed of this descent is small, and therefore the wind carries these fruits far to the side.

Maple is also notable for the fact that it has developed the ability to germinate seeds extremely early in the spring. If there are warm sunny days, the seeds begin to germinate on the surface of the melting snow, at temperatures around zero. Right on the snow, roots appear and then begin to grow. This does not happen in any of our trees, except maple.

If the germinating root managed to safely reach the moist soil, the development of the seedling proceeds normally. The stem begins to grow quickly, the cotyledons straighten out, and after a while a pair of true leaves appear.

Maple has quite valuable wood, which is widely used in carpentry, turning and furniture production.

This concludes our acquaintance with the trees of our Central Russian oak forests.

Let us now get acquainted with the most important shrubs.

Hazel, or hazel(Corylus avellana) is one of the most common shrubs in oak forests. This shrub is familiar to many of us: it produces delicious nuts by autumn. The fruits of the hazel tree attract not only humans; some animals living in the forest feed on them - squirrels, wood mice.

Hazel differs from all our other shrubs in that its young thin branches are pubescent with protruding, hard hairs of an original shape. A single hair resembles a tiny pin with a head at the end (this is clearly visible through a magnifying glass). The same dryness is present on the leaf petioles. Hazel hairs are called glandular, since the balls that we see at their ends are tiny glands.

Hazel blossoms in early spring, when the last patches of snow still lie in the forest. On one of the warm spring days, the dense brownish catkins on its branches suddenly lengthen greatly, droop, and turn yellow. When there are gusts of wind, they sway in different directions, scattering their pollen, which resembles a fine yellow powder. Hazel catkins are similar in appearance to birch and alder catkins - these, as we already know, are male, staminate inflorescences.

The female hazel inflorescences are almost entirely hidden inside special buds. They consist of a few very small flowers arranged in a dense cluster. During flowering, we see only the stigmas of these flowers - thin crimson tendrils that protrude in a bunch from the most ordinary-looking buds. The purpose of the crimson antennae is to catch pollen. And they are born a little earlier than the pollen begins to dissipate. This has a certain biological meaning: the perceiving apparatus must be prepared in advance.

After the pollen has fallen on the antennae, fertilization occurs and the development of the fetus begins. At first, no fruits are visible; an ordinary shoot with leaves grows from the bud. Only later, in the summer, can you notice that there will be nuts on it.

Hazel fruits are a valuable food product. Ripe nuts taste especially good; their kernels are rich in starch and contain up to 60% vegetable fat. Nuts also contain vitamins A and B.

The structure of the nut is in many ways similar to acorn structure oak A nut, like an acorn, is a fruit containing only one seed. In this seed, fleshy cotyledons are very developed, containing a supply of food for the young plant. The germination of a seed is similar: in a hazel tree, like an oak tree, the cotyledons always remain in the ground.

Euonymus warty(Euonymus verrucosa). The branches of this shrub are special - they are dark green in color and covered with many tiny tubercles, as if dotted with countless small warts. This is where the species name of the plant comes from. You won’t find such warty branches on our other trees and shrubs.

Euonymus warty - a twig with fruits

Euonymus blooms in late spring - early summer. Its flowers are inconspicuous and small. Each of them has four rounded petals of a brownish or greenish dull color. The petals are widely spread and arranged like a cross. Euonymus flowers seem lifeless, as if they are waxy. Their smell is specific, not entirely pleasant. The flowering of euonymus begins at about the same time as that of lily of the valley and continues for several weeks.

At the beginning of autumn, euonymus attracts attention with its original pendant fruits. They hang from branches on long thread-like stalks. The color of the fruit is variegated and beautiful - a combination of pink, orange and black. You probably paid attention to these bright fruits more than once when you were in the forest in the autumn.

Let's take a closer look at the fruits of the euonymus. At the top of each pendant there are dark pink dry valves of the fruit, below on short threads hang lumps of orange juicy pulp, in which several black seeds are immersed. In euonymus we see a rare phenomenon: the seeds of the plant, after ripening, do not spill out of the fruits, but remain suspended, as if on a leash. This makes the work easier for birds, who willingly peck the sweetish pulp along with the seeds. The bright color of euonymus fruits makes them easily visible to birds and promotes better dissemination of plant seeds.

The main distributor of euonymus seeds is one of our most common birds - the linnet.

Euonymus is also notable for the fact that the bark of the branches and especially the roots of this shrub contains a substance from which the well-known gutta-percha can be obtained. It is used as an insulating material in electrical engineering, toys are made from it, etc. Therefore, euonymus can be a supplier of gutta-percha. However, in practice it is almost never used in this regard - the content of gutta-percha in the plant is low.

Let us turn to herbaceous plants characteristic of our oak forests. We will consider only a few of them - the most common or especially interesting due to some biological characteristics.

Snooze common (Aegopodium podagraria). In an old oak forest you can sometimes see extensive dense thickets of this rather large herbaceous plant on the soil. Thickets of nymph consist only of leaves; the shape of the leaves is quite characteristic. The leaf petiole at the top branches into three separate thinner petioles, and each of them, in turn, branches again at the end in exactly the same way. Separate leaf segments are attached to these thinnest terminal branches; there are nine of them in total. Botanists call a leaf of this structure doubly trifoliate. It should be noted, however, that the leaves of the dream do not always consist of nine separate leaves. Sometimes some of them, neighboring ones, grow together into one whole. And then the total number of leaves decreases - there are no longer nine of them, but only eight or seven.

Although the gooseberry is one of the typical forest plants and grows luxuriantly in the forest, it almost never blooms under the canopy of trees. The flowering of the plant can only be observed in an open place or in a sparse forest where there is a lot of light. Under these conditions, a tall stem with several leaves appears, and characteristic inflorescences - complex umbrellas - develop at its top. The inflorescences consist of many very small white flowers and are somewhat reminiscent of carrot inflorescences in appearance.

The wide distribution of nymph in oak forests is explained by the fact that it reproduces very vigorously vegetatively, using long creeping rhizomes. Such rhizomes are capable of quickly growing in different directions and giving rise to numerous above-ground shoots and leaves.

Drooping is a plant suitable for food. For example, its young leaves, rich in vitamin C, are edible fresh. However, they have a peculiar taste that not everyone may like. Dreamweed leaves also have other uses as food product: in some areas they are used to prepare cabbage soup along with sorrel and nettle. At the same time, gooseberry is considered a good forage plant for livestock.

Hairy sedge(Cagex pilosa). This plant often forms a continuous dark green cover under the canopy of oak and especially linden forests. The leaves of sedge hairy are no wider than a pencil, ribbon-shaped. The edges of the leaves are soft, covered with numerous short hairs. It is because of the pubescence of the leaves that this sedge is called hairy.

Whenever you come to the forest, the hairy sedge always turns green. In its green form it overwinters. In the spring, new leaves grow to replace the old overwintered leaves. They are immediately visible by their lighter color. Over time, young leaves darken, and old ones gradually dry out.

Under the ground, hairy sedge has long thin rhizomes, no thicker than a bicycle spoke. They are able to quickly spread in all directions and leaves grow from them. Thanks to this spreading of rhizomes, the plant captures new territories. Sedge rarely reproduces in forests by seeds.

Sedge, like many of our forest grasses, blooms in the spring. During flowering, its male spikelets are very noticeable - light yellow tassels from the stamens, rising on high stems. Female spikelets, on the contrary, do not attract attention to themselves. They consist of a thread-thin axis on which small greenish flowers sit singly. These flowers look like small tree buds with three white tendrils at the end. Later, by autumn, a small, swollen green sac, the size of a millet grain, ripens from the female flower, inside which an even smaller fruit, a nut, is placed.

Zelenchuk yellow (Galeobdolon luteum) is a low plant, much lower than the common sedge and common sedge.

The appearance of this plant is very variable. The only characteristics that never change are the tetrahedral stem and the opposite arrangement of leaves. And the leaves themselves vary greatly in size and shape - from larger ones, a little like nettle leaves, to small, almost rounded ones. The stems are also very different - some are short, erect, others are very long, creeping, with tufts of roots in some places.

Long creeping above-ground shoots of zelenchuk can quickly grow along the soil surface in different directions. This is why zelenchuk almost always grows in dense thickets. Zelenchuk also has another interesting feature - a white pattern on the upper side of some leaves. This pattern is made up of individual spots. The white color of the spots is explained by the fact that under the thin upper skin of the leaf there is a space filled with air. It is the air cavities that create the white color effect.

When greenweed blooms, it looks a little like “deaf nettle” (as white nettle is sometimes called), but its flowers are not white, but light yellow. The very shape of the flowers is very similar: the corolla, as botanists say, is two-lipped, it partly looks like the wide-open mouth of some animal. Zelenchuk, like the white chrysanthemum, belongs to the Lamiaceae family.

Zelenchuk blooms at the end of spring, a little later than bird cherry. Flowering does not last long - about two weeks. When the yellow two-lipped corollas fall to the ground, only a green funnel-shaped calyx with five long teeth along the edge remains on the plant. At the bottom of the calyx, over time, a dry fruit ripens, consisting of four separate small segments of irregularly angular shape.

The name “zelenchuk” was given to the plant, probably because it remains green all year round - both summer and winter.

European hoofweed(Asarum europaeum). The leaves of this plant have a very characteristic shape: the leaf blade is rounded, but on the side where the petiole approaches it, it is deeply cut. Botanists call such a leaf kidney-shaped.

The leaves of the hoofweed are large, quite dense, dark green and glossy on top. They spend the winter alive under the snow. If you take a fresh leaf and grind it, you will notice a specific smell that is somewhat reminiscent of black pepper.

The stem of the hoofed grass never rises above the surface of the soil; it is always spread out along the ground and in some places is attached to it by roots. At its end, two, already familiar to us, leaves develop on long thin petioles. The leaves are arranged oppositely, one against the other. In autumn, at the very end of the stem, in the fork between the leaf petioles, you can see a large bud, which is covered on the outside with thin translucent covers. Under these films are hidden the rudiments of two future leaves. They are very small, folded in half, but already have a green color. In the center of the bud there is a small ball, similar to a pellet. If you carefully break it, you will see tiny stamens inside. This is a bud. Consequently, the buds of hoofed grass form long before flowering - already in the fall.

In spring, the hoofweed blooms very early, soon after the snow melts. But if you come to the forest at this time, you may not notice the flowers. The fact is that they are located close to the ground and covered on top with dry fallen leaves. They have a peculiar reddish-brown color, unusual for flowers. The hoofweed flower has only three petals.

In mid-summer, fruits are formed from the flowers of the hoofweed. Externally, they differ little from flowers. The fruits contain brownish shiny seeds the size of a grain of millet. Each of them is equipped with a small fleshy white appendage. This appendage attracts ants. Having found a seed in the forest, the ant carries it to its home. Of course, not all seeds can be delivered to their destination; many of them are lost along the way and remain in different places in the forest, often far from the mother plant. This is where these seeds germinate.

Lungwort obscure(Pulmonaria obscura). Lungwort in a broad-leaved forest blooms, perhaps, earlier than all other plants. No sooner had the snow melted than its short stems with beautiful, noticeable flowers appeared. On the same stem, some flowers are dark pink, others are cornflower blue. If you look closely, it is not difficult to notice that the buds and younger flowers are pink, and the older, fading flowers are blue. Each flower changes color throughout its life.

The change in color during flowering is explained by the special properties of anthocyanin, a coloring substance contained in the petals. This substance resembles the chemical indicator litmus: its solution changes color depending on the acidity of the medium. The contents of the cells in lungwort petals at the beginning of flowering have a slightly acidic reaction, and later - a slightly alkaline reaction. This is what causes the petals to change color.

Due to their variegation, the crimson-blue inflorescences of lungwort with flowers of different colors are especially noticeable to pollinating insects. Therefore, the “recoloring” of flowers has a certain biological significance.

In spring, not only lungwort blooms in the oak forest, but also some other plants. Almost all of them, like lungwort, have brightly colored flowers. At this time of year, there is a lot of light in the oak forest, and what is more noticeable here is not the white color of the flowers, as in a shady spruce forest, but another - crimson, lilac, blue, yellow.

Lungwort got its name because its flowers contain a lot of nectar. This is one of our earliest honey plants.

Lungwort is a beautiful flower that everyone who finds themselves in the forest in early spring willingly picks. It’s just a pity that some flower lovers get too carried away when collecting lungwort. Instead of a modest bouquet, they end up with a whole armful in their hands. These people needlessly destroy many plants. After all, to admire the beauty of flowers, a few stems are enough.

Male shieldweed (Dryopteris filixmas). This is the name of one of the most common ferns of the broad-leaved forest. In appearance it is similar to many other forest ferns: the plant has large feathery leaves collected in a broad-funnel-shaped basal rosette. A rosette of leaves develops at the end of a short and thick rhizome located near the soil surface. A characteristic feature of the leaves of this type of fern is large reddish scales on the leaf petiole (there are especially many scales in the very lower part of the petiole, near the ground). The leaves themselves are bipinnate: they are cut into larger lobes of the first order, and those, in turn, into smaller lobes of the second order.

Every autumn, the leaves of the shield die off, and in the spring new ones grow to replace them. At an early stage of development, they look like spirally twisted flat snails. By summer, the snails completely unwind, turning into ordinary leaves. At the end of summer, on the lower surface of the leaf you can usually see many small brownish spots-soruses, similar to fatty dots. A separate sorus is a bunch of very small sacs with spores that are not visible to the naked eye. The spores themselves are negligible, similar to dust. After ripening, they spill out of their containers and fall to the ground. These tiny dust particles serve as a means of fern propagation. Once in favorable conditions, the spores germinate. They give rise to tiny, no larger than a fingernail, green plates called prothalluses. After some time, the fern itself begins to form on the shoot. At the very beginning of development, a young fern has only one small leaf less than a matchstick long and a short root that extends into the soil. Over the years, the plant becomes larger and larger. It takes at least one to two decades to reach full maturity. Only then does the fern become fully grown and begin to bear spores. In terms of its development cycle, the fern has many similarities with the clubmoss, which has already been described.

The life of the male shield fern, like many of our other ferns, is closely connected with the forest. It is quite shade-tolerant, but at the same time demanding of soil moisture and richness.

Buttercup anemone (Anemone ranunculoides) is a small herbaceous plant, interesting due to the peculiarities of its development. This is one of the most common oak forest ephemeroids. When in early spring, a week or two after the snow melts, you come to the forest, this plant is already blooming. Anemone flowers are bright yellow, slightly reminiscent of buttercup flowers. The plant itself has a straight stem rising from the ground, at the end of it are three leaves, directed in different directions and strongly dissected, and even higher is a thin peduncle that ends in a flower. The height of the entire plant is small - no more than a pencil. When the anemone blooms, forest trees and shrubs barely begin to bloom. At this time there is a lot of light in the forest, almost like in an open place.

After the trees have become covered with leaves and the forest has become dark, the development of the anemone ends. It begins to turn yellow, the stem with leaves withers and lies on the ground. At the beginning of summer, no traces of the plant remain. Only in the soil is a living rhizome preserved, which gives rise to a new shoot with leaves and a flower the following spring. The anemone rhizome is located horizontally in the very top layer of soil, directly under the fallen leaves. It looks like a twisted, knotty knot of brownish color. If you break such a rhizome, you can see that it is white and starchy inside, like a potato tuber. Here, reserves of nutrients are stored - the very “building material” that is necessary for the rapid growth of above-ground shoots in the spring.

Haller's Corydalis (Corydalis halleri). In our oak forests, in addition to the anemone, there are other ephemeroids. These include Haller's corydalis. It blooms in early spring, even earlier than anemone. Soon after the snow melts, we already see its low stems with delicate lacy leaves and a dense inflorescence of lilac flowers. Corydalis is a miniature, fragile and very graceful plant. Its flowers have a pleasant smell and are rich in nectar.

The development of the corydalis is in many ways similar to the development of the already familiar anemone. Its flowering does not last long. If it's worth warm weather, the corydalis fades very quickly - in a few days. And instead of flowers, small pod-like fruits are already visible. A little later, black shiny seeds spill out of them onto the ground. Each such seed has a white, fleshy appendage that attracts ants. Corydalis is one of many forest plants whose seeds are spread by ants.

The fruits of the corydalis ripen earlier than those of all other forest plants. And when the trees and shrubs are clothed with young foliage, the corydalis turns yellow, lies down on the ground and soon dries up. Under the ground she has a juicy living nodule - a small yellowish ball the size of a cherry. Here, reserves of nutrients are stored, mainly starch, necessary for the rapid development of shoots for the next spring. At the end of the nodule there is a large bud, from which the already familiar fragile stalk with lilac flowers will subsequently grow.

Corydalis is one of those plants that remain in the same place all their lives. It has neither rhizomes nor creeping above-ground shoots that could spread laterally. New specimens of corydalis can only grow from seeds. Of course, from the germination of a seed to the formation of an adult plant capable of flowering, more than one year passes.

These are some of the characteristic plants of our oak forests. Each of these plants has remarkable features of structure, reproduction, and development.

And now let’s turn again to the oak forests themselves. Our oak forests are of great economic importance; they serve as suppliers valuable wood, play an important water-protecting and soil-protecting role. Oak forests are common in densely populated areas of our country and are under very strong human influence. What changes do these forests undergo under the influence of human activity, what happens to them after cutting down?

After cutting down an old oak forest, the oak tree usually does not regenerate on its own. The growth from the stumps does not appear, and young oak trees that have grown under the canopy of mature trees are drowned out in the open by various grasses and bushes and die. In place of a cut down oak forest, young birch or aspen trees usually soon appear, and after a few decades we already see a birch or aspen forest here. A change of tree species, familiar to us from the previous story, occurs. In order to prevent oak trees from being replaced by less valuable trees, forestry workers have to make a lot of efforts. For this purpose, acorns are sowed in clearings or young oak trees specially grown in a nursery are planted. However, just sowing or planting an oak tree is not enough. Young oak trees also require care: from time to time it is necessary to cut down the neighboring trees that drown them out, especially the fast-growing birch and aspen. In short, restoring an oak forest after cutting requires a lot of time and labor. Of course, if they cut down a not too old oak tree, special effort oak restoration is not required: shoots appear from the stumps, which grow quickly and eventually turn into an oak forest. All other trees that make up the broad-leaved forest - linden, various types of maple, ash, elm, elm - also reproduce well from the stump's shoots.

So, the main enemies of oak in a strip of oak forests are small-leaved trees - birch and aspen. They often replace oak trees after being cut down, forming secondary, or derivative, forests. Both of these trees have a number of interesting structural and life features. Birch has been discussed in detail before. Now let's get acquainted with aspen.

Aspen (Populus tremula) has a very wide distribution: it can be found in most of the territory of our country. This tree is relatively unpretentious to climatic conditions, but does not tolerate soil that is too dry or too nutrient-poor.

The appearance of aspen is unique and not without a certain attractiveness. The trunk is dark gray only in the lower part; above it has a beautiful grayish-green color, especially bright in young trees when their bark is wet with rain. In autumn, the crowns of aspens are very elegant: before they fall, the leaves are painted in different colors - from yellow to crimson-red.

One of the characteristic features of aspen is its very mobile leaves, which move even from a weak breeze. This is explained by the fact that the leaf blades are attached to the end of a long and thin petiole, which is flat and strongly flattened laterally. Thanks to this shape, the petiole bends especially easily to the right and left. This is why aspen leaf blades are so mobile.

Aspen - a branch with male catkins in early spring; Aspen - a branch with female catkins in early spring

Aspen blooms in early spring, long before the leaves appear. It is a dioecious plant: some of its trees are male, others are female. On male trees during flowering you can see reddish hairy catkins hanging down from the branches. These are staminate inflorescences. Female trees also have earrings, but of a different type - thinner, greenish. They also hang from the branches. These earrings consist of many small pistillate flowers.

Soon after flowering, the male catkins fall to the ground, while the female ones remain on the tree and begin to increase in size. At the end of spring, in these earrings, instead of flowers, fruits are formed - elongated oval boxes the size of a grain of wheat.

When ripe, the capsule cracks into two longitudinal halves and the seeds inside are released. An individual seed is so small that it is barely visible to the naked eye. It is surrounded by many fine hairs. When the seeds spill out of the boxes, they fly through the air for a long time.

Aspen seeds quickly lose their viability after ripening. Therefore, seedlings can only appear if the seeds immediately fall on moist soil.

In the forest where there are mature aspen specimens, here and there young aspen trees with characteristic “poplar” leaves are usually found. Their height is small - barely knee-high for a person. If you dig up the ground around the stem of some aspen, you will discover an interesting detail: the plant sits on a rather thick (pencil or larger) root, which extends horizontally and runs near the surface of the soil. This root stretches for a long distance in both one and the other direction, and it starts from an adult tree. So, small aspens in the forest are nothing more than shoots that grow from the root of a large aspen. These are the so-called root suckers.

Up to a dozen or more root shoots can form on one root. They are usually separated from each other by a considerable distance. Some of them move quite far away from the mother tree - 30-35 m.

Thus, in the forest, aspen reproduces almost exclusively by root suckers, i.e., vegetatively. In forest conditions, this is much more reliable than propagation by seeds. Aspen almost never produces shoots from a stump.

Aspen lives short - less than a hundred years. Its trunk usually has rot inside at an early age; adult trees are almost all rotten in the middle. Such trees easily break from strong wind. Aspen is completely unsuitable for firewood - it produces little heat. Aspen wood is used primarily for matches. In addition, tubs, barrels, arcs, etc. are made from it.

Let us now turn to the history of deciduous forests.

In prehistoric times, broad-leaved forests in the European part of our country were much more widespread than they are now. However, over the past few centuries, the area of ​​these forests has been greatly reduced due to intensive deforestation. To date, only a small part of the former forest areas has been preserved.

There are many known facts indicating the widespread distribution of oak forests in the past. During the time of Ivan Kalita, oak forests approached Moscow itself from the south, and logs were taken from these forests to build the walls of the Moscow Kremlin. Ivan the Terrible loved to hunt in the Kuntsevskaya oak grove in the immediate vicinity of Moscow (now this place is located within the city). Oak forests once bordered Kyiv, Vladimir, and Suzdal. Now there are almost none left here.

Our oak forests were subjected to severe destruction in the past due to the fact that the need for oak wood was very great. However, another circumstance was also important. Oak forests occupy soils that are very favorable for agriculture - fairly moist, well-drained, and rich in nutrients. And therefore, when our ancestors needed arable land, they first cut down the oak forests.

In place of former broad-leaved forests, we now often see arable land. Various agricultural crops are grown on them: wheat, rye, sunflower, buckwheat, corn. They grow well on these lands and fruit trees: apple tree, pear tree, cherry tree, etc. In areas of the former distribution of broad-leaved forests there are many orchards.

Before finishing the story about broad-leaved forests, we must also dwell on how these forests change in the direction from west to east, from Ukraine with its mild climate to Tataria, where the climate is more severe. Changes in vegetation concern primarily the composition of tree species that form the forest. Western oak forests, developing in warmer and more humid climates, have a particularly rich assortment of trees. Here, in addition to the tree species that are common in Central Russian broad-leaved forests, you can also find others, such as hornbeam, wild cherry, and sycamore. To the east, in the oak forests of Central Russia, these trees are no longer found. And in the far east, in Tataria, the species composition of trees is even more depleted (for example, ash disappears). A general pattern emerges: as the climate becomes less favorable, the number of tree species found in deciduous forests decreases.

Broad-leaved forests predominate in the Northern Hemisphere of the planet, but are also found in regions of the Southern Hemisphere. Very often they are adjacent to the mixed zone...

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Broad-leaved forests predominate in the Northern Hemisphere of the planet, but are also found in regions of the Southern Hemisphere. Very often they are adjacent to a zone of mixed forests and have much in common with it. What features are characteristic of the flora and fauna of mixed and deciduous forests? We will talk about their main features in the article.

Geography of natural areas

Deciduous or summer-green forests differ from other tree communities by the fall of their leaves in autumn. One of their varieties is deciduous forests. They are characterized by relatively large leaf sizes, which is why they got their name. Such forests love light and warmth, but are considered shade-tolerant. They grow in humid areas temperate zone with a mild climate and even distribution of precipitation throughout all seasons.

These forests are distributed throughout Europe, except the Mediterranean and Scandinavia, growing in Western and Central Ukraine, and a little in the western part of Russia. There they are represented mainly by beeches, oaks, and a little less often - maples, ash trees, hornbeams, linden and elms. The undergrowth is hazel, bird cherry, wild apple, and buckthorn. In East Asia, broadleaf forests are much richer than in Europe. Many types of herbs, shrubs, ferns, and vines grow in them.

In the northeastern states of the United States and southern Canada, oak-chestnut forests, hickory trees, oaks, maples, tulip trees, plane trees, and walnuts are common. In the Southern Hemisphere, evergreen species predominate and there are very few deciduous forests. They are distributed mainly in Chile and the islands of New Zealand.

Mixed forests, in fact, are transitional between broad-leaved and coniferous, and therefore contain characteristics of both zones. They can withstand colder conditions, being found in regions with cool, long winters and warm summers. They are distributed in northern Europe, the south of the Scandinavian Peninsula, the Far East and the plains of Siberia, the Great Lakes region and California in the USA, South America and New Zealand.

Within one region, the plants and animals of deciduous forests have much in common with representatives of mixed communities. The zones often border each other and have a similar species composition. For example, in mixed zone In Europe, the same oaks, beeches and maples grow, but pine, spruce, fir and other conifers coexist next to them.

Fauna of deciduous forests

Due to the presence of not only trees, but also shrubs, grasses, mosses, as well as a layer of falling leaves, the forests of the temperate zone have excellent layering. Thus, they create conditions for the habitat of a wide variety of life forms.

The high layer of litter and upper layers of soil are home to a huge number of invertebrates: stag beetles, longhorned beetles, earthworms, caterpillars, insect larvae, ticks, spiders. Birds nest in the crowns and pillars of trees, squirrels, lynxes, forest cats and all kinds of insects live. The most populated are the ground tiers. Here, the animals of mixed and deciduous forests are represented by ungulates, large and medium-sized predators, various birds, amphibians and reptiles.

Common to North America are wild turkeys, gray and black squirrels, bears, deer, Canadian beavers, blackbirds, warblers, red-eyed vireos, marmots, and opossums. Animals of the broad-leaved forests of Russia and Europe are red deer, brown bears, foxes, stoats, badgers, raccoon dogs, moose, hares, and wolves. South America is home to pumas, pudus, and Chilean cats. In Asia and the Far East, typical animals of the broad-leaved forest zone are wolverines, deer, raccoon dogs, wapiti, Manchurian hares, gorals, and harzas. The Red List Amur tigers and Far Eastern leopards also live here.

Brown bear

Dangerous predator Brown bear inhabits North America, Central and Eastern Europe, East Asia and Siberia. This is the largest animal of deciduous forests. Its average weight is 300-400 kilograms, and its body length reaches from 1.2 to 2 meters. The species consists of several geographical races, which differ from each other in color and size. The Siberian and European subspecies are common in temperate forests.

Pine marten

The yellowbird, or pine marten, lives mainly in Europe. It has long and thick fur of a dark brown color. There is a light yellow spot on the animal’s chest, by which it can be easily distinguished from other martens. The animal is excellent at climbing trees, jumping 4 meters in length, easily maintaining balance. Pine martens live in hollows or abandoned nests of large birds, spending most of their lives in trees.

Skunk

The skunk animal is not found in our broad-leaved forests, but it is typical for North America. It lives in burrows, which it digs with its own hands using long claws and powerful paws. The skunk climbs trees well, but does not live on them. He has good hearing and sense of smell, but his vision, for a predator, is weak. The animal sees no further than 3-4 meters.

It is difficult to confuse him with someone, because his appearance and habits are quite memorable. The skunk is black in color with two wide white stripes running from the head to the tip of the tail. With its colors, it does not even try to camouflage itself in the forest, but, on the contrary, warns not to be approached. If the enemy gets too close, the animal sprays an odorous secretion with the aroma of rotten eggs onto him.

Amur goral

Goral is a representative of the mountain forests of East Asia and the Far East. It lives on the Korean Peninsula, in the Primorsky and Khabarovsk Territories of Russia, as well as in the northeastern regions of China.

This animal of broad-leaved forests resembles a goat in appearance, covered with thick, warm fur. It has a gray-brown color with a dark longitudinal stripe on the back and a white spot on the neck. His head is decorated with two small horns curved back. Gorals live in small groups or alone. They are not fighters, and in case of danger they begin to hiss and try to climb higher into the mountains.

Chilean cat

Another exotic animal of deciduous forests is the Chilean cat, or kodkod. The animal lives in Chile and Argentina, and is endemic to South America. This is the smallest representative of wild cats in the entire Western Hemisphere.

Kodkods also inhabit mixed and coniferous forests, living mainly at an altitude of 2000-2500 meters. They are slightly larger than regular domestic cats. The body weight of the kodkod usually does not exceed 3 kilograms, and the length is 80 centimeters. Chilean cats have large and round eyes, round ears and big tail, the length of which is almost half the length of the body. The entire body of the Kodkod is dark red with dark spots on the back, sides and paws. There are dark stripes on the head and tail.

Beaver

There are only two modern representatives of beavers - Canadian and common, or river. The first inhabits most of North America, the second – Europe and Central Asia. Both species are found in deciduous forests and are among the largest rodents on the planet.

The beaver is a powerful, squat animal whose body length can reach 1.3 meters. It has short paws with membranes between the toes, a long paddle-shaped tail covered with horny shields like scales. Its entire structure suggests that it spends a lot of time in water. He swims and dives beautifully, holding his breath for 10-15 minutes.

The main feature of these animals is their strong teeth, capable of chewing through a tree post in one night. With the help of such a tool, beavers build houses from logs and branches. Their home is located right on the water and consists of a hut and a dam around it. A beaver's structure can extend for several hundred meters.

Fox

The common fox is the most common inhabitant of the temperate zone. It is distributed throughout Europe, most of North America and Asia. The animal lives even on the northern outskirts of Africa. It inhabits tundra, desert and semi-desert, and, of course, deciduous and mixed forests.

The fox is a predator, but can also eat plant foods. It hunts small mammals, rodents, birds, snakes, and eats eggs and young animals. Foxes living nearby large rivers, often catch fish. Thus, animals living in Canada and northeast Eurasia completely switch to a salmon diet during the spawning season.

Foxes live in holes that they dig themselves, or settle in the abandoned dwellings of other forest inhabitants. They belong to the canine family and have many habits that are characteristic of their “brothers”.

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The natural zone of mixed and broad-leaved forests occupies a smaller area than coniferous forests. However, this complex, formed in a fairly warm and humid climate, is distinguished by a wide variety of flora and fauna.

Characteristics of the natural zone Mixed forests

Mixed forests are a transitional link between the taiga zone and deciduous forests. The name of the natural area speaks for itself: both coniferous and deciduous trees grow here. Mixed forests are found in Russia and the European region, South and North America, and New Zealand.

The climate of this natural complex quite soft. In winter, the temperature drops to -15 degrees Celsius, and in summer it ranges from +17-24.

Compared to the taiga, summers are warmer and longer. The amount of annual precipitation exceeds evaporation, which gave rise to the appearance of deciduous trees.

A distinctive feature of mixed forests is a well-developed grass cover growing on soddy-podzolic soils.

Rice. 1. In the mixed forest zone, grass cover is very developed.

This natural zone is characterized by a clearly defined layering - a change in the type of vegetation depending on the height:

• the highest tier of coniferous-deciduous forests consists of mighty oaks, pines and spruces;
• below are linden, birch, wild apple and pear trees;
• then the shortest trees grow: viburnum, rowan;
• Below are raspberry, hawthorn, and rose hip bushes;
• The layering of mixed forests is completed by a variety of grasses, mosses and lichens.

The fauna of mixed forests is also diverse. Large herbivores (elk, wild boar, deer and roe deer), rodents (beavers, mice, ferrets, squirrels), and predators (foxes, wolves, lynxes) live here.

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Rice. 2. Lynx is a typical representative of forest predators.

Description of the broad-leaved forest zone

When moving to the south of the continent, climatic conditions change, which leads to a change from mixed forests to broad-leaved forests. As a result, there are significantly fewer coniferous trees, and dominance is completely transferred to deciduous species.

Broad-leaved forests are characterized by a fairly warm climate with mild winters and long, warm summers. The amount of annual precipitation slightly exceeds evaporation, making wetlands a rarity for these areas.

Typical tree species for this zone are maple, linden, oak, beech, and ash.

In dense thickets of deciduous forests, dense tree crowns do not allow the grass cover to fully develop. The ground in such areas is covered with a layer of fallen leaves. As it decomposes, it contributes to the formation of humus and the enrichment of gray and brown forest soils.

Rice. 3. In the zone of deciduous forests, coniferous trees are rare.

The fauna of deciduous forests is no different from the mixed forest zone. However, as a result of active human activity, the number of wild animals has decreased significantly, and currently they live only in nature reserves or in remote areas.

What have we learned?

The zone of mixed and deciduous forests is located between the taiga and steppes. The mild climate characteristic of these territories contributes to the formation of rich forests with a diverse fauna. However, nature has been greatly modified by humans, and the ecosystem of the forest zone is under great threat.

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The broad-leaved forest zone is located in Manchuria, the Far East, Europe, eastern China, and North America. It also affects the southern part of South America and parts of Central Asia.

Broad-leaved forests are most common where the climate is moderately warm and the ratio of moisture and heat is optimal. All this provides favorable conditions during the growing season. The leaf blades of the trees growing there are wide, hence the name of these forests. What other features does this natural area have? Broadleaf forests are home to numerous animals, reptiles, birds and insects.

Character traits

The peculiarity of broad-leaved forests is that they can be divided into two distinct tiers. One of them is higher, the other is lower. These forests are shrubby, the existing grasses grow in three tiers, and the ground cover is represented by lichens and mosses.

Another characteristic feature is the light mode. In such forests, two light maxima are distinguished. The first is observed in spring period when the trees are not yet covered with leaves. The second is in the fall, when the foliage thins. In summer, light penetration is minimal. The above-described regime explains the peculiarity of the grass cover.

The soil of deciduous forests is rich in organo-mineral compounds. They appear as a result of the decomposition of plant litter. Trees in broadleaf forests contain ash. There is especially a lot of it in the leaves - about five percent. Ash, in turn, is rich in calcium (twenty percent of the total volume). It also contains potassium (about two percent) and silicon (up to three percent).

Trees of broadleaf forests

Forests of this type are characterized richest variety tree species. The latter can be counted here about ten. Broad-leaved forests of the taiga, for example, are not so rich in this regard. The reason is that the conditions of the harsh taiga climate are not so conducive to the growth and development of flora. Many tree species that are demanding on soil composition and climate simply will not survive in unfavorable conditions.

In the southern part of the Tula region there is a famous forest area. It gives a great idea of ​​what broadleaf forests can be like. The soil of this area is favorable for the growth of trees such as small-leaved linden, Norway maple and field maple, common ash, elm, elm, wild apple and pear trees. Oaks and ash trees are the tallest, followed by Norway maples, elms and lindens. The lowest are field maples, wild pears and apple trees. As a rule, the dominant position is occupied by oak, and the remaining trees act as satellites.

Let us consider in more detail the above representatives of dendroflora.

Herbs

Plants of broad-leaved forests are characterized by large and wide leaf blades. For this reason they are called broad-grass oak forests. Some grasses grow in single specimens; they never form impenetrable thickets. Others, on the contrary, form a kind of carpet covering large spaces. Such herbs are dominant. Among them are common sedge, hairy sedge and yellow green grass.

Most of the herbaceous plants found in deciduous forests are perennial. They live up to several decades. As a rule, their existence is maintained through vegetative propagation. They reproduce poorly by seeds. A characteristic feature of these plants is long underground and above-ground shoots, rapidly growing in different directions and actively occupying new areas of the earth.

The above-ground parts of most representatives of oak groves die off in the autumn. Only the roots and rhizomes in the soil overwinter. They contain special buds, from which new shoots form in the spring.

An exception

Rare representatives of broad grass remain green both in winter and summer. Such plants include the following: hoofweed, green grass, hairy sedge.

Shrubs

As for these representatives of the flora, it is very difficult to find them in deciduous forests. They are simply not typical of oak forests, which cannot be said about coniferous forests, where shrubs grow everywhere. Most widespread got blueberries and lingonberries.

“Hasty” oak forest ephemeroids

These plants are of greatest interest to specialists studying forest flora. Among them are spring guillemot, various types of corydalis and goose onions. These plants are usually small in size, but they develop very quickly. Ephemeroids rush to be born immediately after the snow cover melts. Some especially fast sprouts make their way even through the snow. After a week, maximum two, their buds are already blooming. After a few more weeks, the fruits and seeds ripen. After this, the plants lie down on the ground, turn yellow, after which the part of them that is above the ground dies. Moreover, this process occurs at the very beginning of the summer period, when, as it may seem, the conditions for growth and development are as favorable as possible. The secret is simple. Ephemeroids have their own rhythm of life, which differs from the peculiar development schedule of other plants. They bloom lushly only in the spring, and summer for them is the time to wither.

The period most conducive to their development is early spring. At this time of year, the forest experiences maximum light as the bushes and trees have not yet acquired their thick green cover. In addition, during this period the soil is optimally saturated with moisture. As for high summer temperatures, ephemeroids do not need it at all. All these plants are perennial. They do not die after their aboveground part dries out. Living underground roots are represented by tubers, bulbs or rhizomes. These organs act as receptacles for nutrients, mainly starch. This is why stems, leaves and flowers appear so early and grow so rapidly.

Ephemeroids are widespread plants in broad-leaved oak forests. There are about ten species in total. Their flowers are painted in bright purple, blue, and yellow colors. During flowering, ephemeroids form a thick, beautiful carpet.

Mosses

Broad-leaved forests of Russia are home to various types of mosses. Unlike taiga forests, in which these plants form a dense green soil cover, in oak forests mosses do not cover the soil so widely. The role of mosses in deciduous forests is rather modest. The main reason is the fact that leaf litter from broad-leaved forests has a detrimental effect on these plants.

Fauna

Animals of the broad-leaved forests of Russia are ungulates, predators, insectivores, rodents and bats. The greatest diversity is observed in those areas that are untouched by humans. Thus, in deciduous forests you can see roe deer, wild boars, fallow deer, sika and red deer, and elk. The order of predators is represented by foxes, wolves, martens, stoats and weasels. Broadleaf forests, where wildlife is rich and diverse, are home to beavers, squirrels, muskrats and nutria. In addition, these areas are inhabited by mice, rats, moles, hedgehogs, shrews, snakes, lizards and marsh turtles.

Birds of broad-leaved forests - larks, finches, warblers, tits, flycatchers, swallows, starlings. Crows, rooks, black grouse, woodpeckers, crossbills, jackdaws, and hazel grouse also live there. Predator birds represented by hawks, owls, owls, eagle owls and harriers. The marshes are home to waders, cranes, herons, gulls, ducks and geese.

In the past, broadleaf forests were inhabited by bison. Now, unfortunately, there are only a few dozen of them left. These animals are protected by law. They live in Belovezhskaya Pushcha (in the Republic of Belarus), in the Prioksko-Terrasny Nature Reserve (Russian Federation), in some Western European countries and in Poland. Several animals were transported to the Caucasus. There they coexist with bison.

The number of red deer has also undergone a change. They have become much smaller due to the barbaric actions of man. Massive plowing of fields has become disastrous for these beautiful animals. Deer can reach two and a half meters in length and three hundred and forty kilograms of weight. They tend to live in small herds of up to ten animals. In most cases, the female is dominant. Her offspring also live with her.

Sometimes in autumn, males gather a kind of harem. Resembling the sound of a trumpet, their roar spreads three to four kilometers around. The most successful deer, having defeated their rivals in fights, can gather up to twenty females around them. This is how another type of reindeer herd is formed. At first summer season deer give birth to babies. They are born weighing eight to eleven kilograms. Up to six months they experience intensive growth. One-year-old males acquire horns.

Deer feed on grass, leaves and shoots of trees, mushrooms, lichens, reeds, and wormwood. But pine needles are not suitable for food. In the wild, deer live for about fifteen years. In captivity, this figure doubles.

Beavers are another inhabitant of deciduous forests. The most favorable conditions for them are observed in Europe, North America, and Asia. The maximum recorded weight of this animal is thirty kilograms, and its body length is one meter. Beavers are distinguished by a massive body and a flattened tail. The membranes between the toes of the hind legs help to lead an aquatic lifestyle. Fur color can vary from light brown to black. By lubricating their fur with a special secretion, beavers protect themselves from getting wet. When immersed in water, the ears of this animal fold and the nostrils close. Economical consumption of air helps him stay under water for up to fifteen minutes.

Beavers prefer to settle on the banks of lakes and oxbow lakes, as well as slow-flowing rivers. They are attracted by abundant coastal and aquatic vegetation. It is a hole or a kind of hut, the entrance to which is located under the surface of the water. These animals build dams when the water level is unstable. Thanks to these structures, the flow is regulated, which allows water to enter the home. Gnawing branches and even large trees is easy for beavers. Thus, aspen trees of five to seven centimeters in diameter lend themselves to these animals in two minutes. Their favorite food is reed. In addition, they are not averse to eating iris, water lilies, and water lilies. Beavers live in families. The young go in search of a mate in the third year of life.

Wild pigs are another typical inhabitant of deciduous forests. They have a huge head and a very strong long snout. The most powerful weapon These animals have sharp triangular fangs that are curved up and back. Boars' vision is not very good, but this is compensated by excellent hearing and a keen sense of smell. Large individuals reach a weight of three hundred kilograms. The body of this animal is protected by dark brown bristles. It is very durable.

Boars are excellent runners and swimmers. These animals can swim across a body of water that is several kilometers wide. The basis of their diet is plants, but we can say that wild boars are omnivores. Their favorite delicacy is acorns and beech nuts; they will not refuse frogs, mice, chicks, insects and snakes.

Representatives of reptiles

Broad-leaved forests are inhabited by snakes, vipers, copperheads, godwits, green and viviparous lizards. Only vipers pose a danger to humans. Many people mistakenly believe that copperheads are also poisonous, but this is not the case. The most numerous reptiles of deciduous forests are snakes.

Relief features

The zone of broad-leaved forests (and mixed) in the European part of Russia forms a kind of triangle, the base of which is located at the western borders of the country, and the top abuts the Ural Mountains. Since this territory was covered more than once by continental ice, its topography is mostly hilly. The most obvious traces of the presence of the Valdai Glacier are preserved in the north-west. There, the zone of broad-leaved and mixed forests is characterized by chaotic piles of hills, steep ridges, closed lakes and basins. South part The described territory is represented by secondary moraine plains, which were formed as a result of a decrease in the inclined surface of hilly areas. The relief is characterized by the presence of sandy plains of varying sizes. Their origin is water-glacial. They are undulating, and sometimes you can find pronounced sand dunes.

Russian Plain

This zone is located in the temperate climate zone. The climate there is relatively mild and humid. The soil of these areas is soddy-podzolic. The close location of the Atlantic Ocean determined the relief features. The river network in coniferous-deciduous forests is well developed. Reservoirs have a large area.

The activity of the waterlogging process is determined by the proximity of groundwater and the humid climate. The plants that dominate the grass cover have wide leaf blades.

Conclusion

Broad-leaved forests located in Europe are classified as endangered ecosystems. But just two or three centuries ago they were one of the most diverse on the planet and were located throughout most of Europe. Thus, in the sixteenth to eighteenth centuries they occupied an area equal to several million hectares. Today there are no more than one hundred thousand hectares.

At the beginning of the twentieth century, only fragments of what was once a vast broadleaf belt remained intact. At the dawn of this century, attempts were made to grow oak trees in deserted territories. However, this turned out to be quite a difficult matter: the death of young oak groves was caused by constant droughts. At that time, research was carried out, led by the famous Russian geographer Dokuchaev. As a result, it was established that the failure to grow new trees was due to large-scale deforestation, since this forever changed the hydrology and climate of the area.

Today, secondary forests and artificial plantings grow in areas previously occupied by broad-leaved forests. They are dominated by coniferous trees. Unfortunately, as experts note, the dynamics and structure of natural oak forests cannot be restored.