Elementary Ecosystem Investigation: Alabama's Forests

Investigate Alabama's Forests
   
 
A forest is simply an area of land mostly covered in trees. Forests cover approximately 1/3 of the planet and are home to most of its plants and terrestrial animals (those that live on land).

Forests cover about 70% of Alabama's land and play a very important role in our state's biodiversity (its variety of plants and animals), air and water quality, economy (the way people spend or make money), and culture.  
  
 
Click on the categories below to learn more
about Alabama's forests.
 
Forest Types Forests In Alabama Importance of Forests



 


 
 
Forest Types

There are three main types of forests. Each type is defined by:
  • where it occurs in the world
  • the length of its seasons
  • the types of plants and animals that live within it
   
Tropical Forests:  
  • Found near the equator.
  • Home to the most biodiversity of all forest types.
  • Temperatures vary little throughout the year, staying warm to hot consistently.
  • Experiences two distinct seasons - rainy and dry.
  • Trees are mostly evergreen with large, dark green leaves. 
  • Flora (plant species) is highly diverse, with upwards of 100 different tree species per 250 acres.
   
Temperate Forests:  
  • Found between the tropics and polar regions where the climate is moderate - neither extremely hot nor extremely cold.
  • Winters are distinct and all 4 seasons are defined with 4-6 months being frost-free.
  • Temperatures vary greatly and precipitation is moderate.
  • Trees typically have broad leaves that fall off each year. 
  • Flora is less diverse, with 3-4 different tree species per 250 acres.
   
Boreal Forests:  
  • Found in the Northern Hemisphere in a ring below the North Pole where the climate is cold.
  • Summers are short, warm, and wet and winters are long, cold, and dry.
  • Flora is mostly cold-tolerant evergreen conifers (plants that bear woody cones) with needle-like leaves. 
  • The term "taiga" is sometimes used interchangeably with the term "boreal forest".

  
 
Forests In Alabama
     
Of the 33.5 million acres of land in Alabama, 27 million are forested. That means roughly 70% of the state is covered in trees. These forests contribute to the state's rich biodiversity and also play an important economic role. 
 
   
 
Alabama's Forest Types
Alabama's forests are temperate. This means they are found between the tropical and boreal regions in areas neither extremely hot nor cold and have four distinct seasons.

In spring and summer, plants use sunlight to make food for themselves and grow. In fall and winter growth pauses and leaves begin to dry, change color, and drop from trees.

There are primarily two different types of trees in Alabama's forests.  Hardwoods are trees with broad leaves, true flowers, and seeds enclosed in a fruit or shell. Hardwood trees are also deciduous which means they shed their leaves seasonally.  

Alabama is also home to trees called conifers. These trees have needles (instead of leaves) and cones. They are typically evergreen and stay green year-round.
 
Source: Cartographic Research Lab
Department of Geography
University of Alabama
A forest with mostly conifers is called a coniferous forest. Generally speaking, these trees are considered to be softwoods (trees with "naked" seeds). 

Many of Alabama's forests are called "mixed forests", meaning they have both deciduous trees and conifers. The map shown above shows the distribution of the most dominant forest types across the state, but does not show all of Alabama's forest diversity. 

Alabama's landscape and forest types have experienced changes throughout history based on use and management practices. Forest types across the state chage as you move across the different ecoregions (shown on the map to the right).  
Alabama's Ecoregions
 
   
Fires In the Forest
Fire plays an important role in the types of forests present in Alabama and where they are found. Wildfires are and always have been essential for the health of many forest types.

Without fire, trees and shrubs can grow quickly, out of balance, and cause overcrowding. This can:
  • make trees weak or an easy target for diseases and pests
  • create a higher risk for catastrophic wildfires that affect humans
  • make it difficult for wildlife living there to move, eat, and reproduce

During the 1900's, forest fires were considered harmful and were prevented whenever possible. As a result, overcrowding occured across the state, and the plants that needed fire for growth as well as the animals that depended on them declined.
Nowadays, in areas where forests have become overcrowded and unhealthy, scientists can introduce fire in a controlled manner.

This is called prescribed burning, which is the controlled use of fire by a team of experts under specific weather conditions in order to restore forest health.
Prescribed burning has become an important forest management tool used by scientists across Alabama as many of our forests are fire-dependent but have been deprived of fire for a long time. 
   

Alabama's National Forests		  
National forests are areas protected by the US Forest Service, a government agency.

These areas are off limits to private ownership or development and are, most importantly, available for the public to enjoy activities such as hunting, fishing, hiking, camping, and boating.

Our 4 national forests span 17 counties across 667,000 acres. They are home to roughly 900 species of birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, and fishes.

During the early 1900's before National Forests were created, most of the land was eroded or heavily-cutover and generally in bad shape. The mindset at the time was to use the land as much as possible for farming, logging, or other activities that benefited humans.

Now these lands provide communities with clean air, water, and wildlife habitat. In fact, there are eight counties in Alabama that rely on national forests as a water source. 
   
 















 
     
 
Bankhead National Forest
  • Home to AL's only National Wild and Scenic River, the Sipsey Fork - one of the few places within the state to catch rainbow trout.
  • Known as the "land of a thousand waterfalls".
  • Popular for hiking, horseback riding, hunting, boating, fishing, swimming, canoeing and more. 
  • Premier site for prehistoric drawings and rock carvings.
 
 
  
Talladega National Forest
  • Excellent place for hunting and observing wildlife, camping, and hiking.
  • Features scenic waterfalls throughout.
  • Before becoming a protected national forest, the area was extensively logged and represented some of the most abused, eroded wastelands in all of Alabama.
  • Pine forest regrowth now hosts a diverse eco-system.
 
 
Conecuh National Forest
  • Mix of hardwood swamps, pitcher plant bogs, longleaf pine, winding creeks, and cypress ponds, and more.
  • Home to gopher tortoises, red-cockaded woodpeckers, and Eastern indigo snakes.  
  • Popular for a wide variety of recreational activities, including hunting, fishing, camping, hiking, backpacking, picnicking, bicycling, and wildlife viewing.
 
  
Tuskegee National Forest
  • Home to the Bartram National Recreation Trail.
  • This trail showcases a wide variety of wild flowers and flowering trees, including dogwood and magnolias.
  • Often hikers see deer, turkey, and other wildlife.
  • Also has many trails fit for mountain biking and horseback riding.

 


   
























































 

 
Importance of Forests
 
Forests provide habitat for wildlife.
  • They are home to 80% of the world's terrestrial biodiversity (animals that live on land).
  • More specifically, forests are home to 80% of all amphibians, 75% of all birds, and 68% of all mammals.
  • They are also extremely important for the well-being of humans.
  • Plants purify the air we breathe and the water we consume by taking in carbon dioxide and releasing oxygen during photosynthesis.
Photosynthesis
  • Photosynthesis is the process by which green plants and some other organisms use sunlight to create sugars from carbon dioxide and water. 
     
Forests also help prevent erosion.
  • The plants' roots hold soil together underground.
  • Without plants, the soil in that area is likely to wash away, potentially causing landslides and floods in our communities and agricultural lands.
  • Fallen trees and dead plants within forests go through a decomposition process that ultimately enriches the soil in that area, making it more fertile for other plants or humans to use. 
     
Forests are excellent at storing greenhouse gases.
  • Humans create greenhouse gases, or gases that trap heat in our atmosphere, through burning fossil fuels, farming livestock, etc.
  • Forests absorb these gases from the air and store them above and below ground.
  • This improves air quality.
  • It also means that when a forest is cut down, all of the greenhouse gases it once stored underground will be release into the air.
  • This is one of the main reasons deforestation (the clearing of a large area of trees) is a problem.

Humans also depend on the forest economically.
  • Trees are to thank for a long list of products we use in our everyday lives such as lumber, rubber, paper and books, corks, cosmetics, chewing gum and other food, beverages like coffee, flooring, furniture, cabinetry, and much more. 
  • In 2018, the forest products industry generated $12 billion in timber and related products and employed more than 36,000 Alabamians. 
 
Right now, forests across the world are at risk for many reasons. The biggest reasons include:
  • spread of invasive species that outcompete and kill native species, pests and diseases
  • increased pest and disease presence due to milder winters, warmer temperatures, and droughts
  • lack of funding for management and restoration initiatives

The loss of forests across the world has and will continue to impact wildlife and humans, but scientists and conservationists across the world are making great strides in slowing down loss and increasing restoration efforts. 
 
  


SOURCES USED FOR THIS PAGE:
 
National Geographic
Forest Biome
Controlled Burning
     
 
     
 
     
   




































 
.