We live in a region called a forest biome. A biome is a very large are that has a similar type of plants, animals, and most of all the same kind of climate. The plants and animals in these places have adapted to the climate of that region.

There are many different biomes in the world. There are desserts, tundras, savannas, rain forest, taiga, alpine, grasslands, and of course the deciduous forest. The climate has a lot to do with why that area is that biome. each of the biomes are made up of smaller ecosystems all of these are made up of mini communities where the pants and animals have adapted to the differences in landforms, natural resources, and weather or the climate. All the living things in each mini community is dependent on each other to survive. If one pare of the ecosystem is damaged well that damages the rest of the ecosystem. So if a pond dries up all the plants and animals that lived in the pond suffer and all the other animals that need the animals the creatures living in the pond suffer. It is like the poem “The Old Lady Who Swallowed the Fly”.

Climate is very important. It decides what animals can live in an area and what plants will grow in that area. Climate is the weather over a long time as least 30 or more years. It it also includes seasons, extremes like hurricanes, droughts, or rainy periods. Two of the most important items in telling climate are air temperature and the amount of precipitation. The world biomes are controlled by climate, the plants that grow there, and the animals that live in that area.

The Koppen Climate Classification system is used to classify the world’s climate. It list five major climate types. Moist Tropical Climate is know for hot temperatures year round and for large amount of rain during the year. The Dry Climate had little rain very different daily temperatures. The Humid Middle Latitude Climates have warm dry summers and cool wet winters. Continental Climates has four different seasons. and the last is the Cold Climates where there are freezing temperatures most of the year.

Our home is in the continental climate. It is in a forest biome. The climate of the deciduous forest cause this biome to have four seasons. Warm humid summers, cool falls, cold winters with snow, and warm wet springs. This climate is just right for evergreen trees and broadleaf trees. Some of the most common evergreen trees in our area are pine, fir, spruce, cedar, and hemlock. Our area supplies many Christmas trees to neighboring states. Maine is called the pine tree state for a good reason, we have lots of pine trees.

The most common broadleaf trees are oak, elm, poplar, ash, and maple which also supplies us with tasty maple syrup. These broadleaf trees lose their leaves in the fall when the weather gets colder. The chlorophyll in the leaves dies with the arrival of colder nights, shorter days, and less sunlight. Soon all the broadleaf trees turn beautiful colors of read, orange, yellow, and later brown. Fall is a very colorful time of year.

The four seasons of the deciduous forest means that there are four very different kinds of weather. The spring is a time when the snow melts and the ground is wet and soggy from melting snow. Summer is warm and humid with a few very hot days. This makes for a very short growing season. The main crops of our local area are corn and potatoes. Many families enjoy planting a vegetable garden for fresh tasting and affordable veggies. Many people prefer buying their vegetables at local fruit stands and at supermarkets like Shaw’s or Hannaford. Many apple orchards can be found in our area. The short summers and cold weather are perfect for producing big juicy McIntosh apples. Oh, we must not forget the maple syrup that comes from the sugar maple trees. In early spring the sugar maple trees are tapped and the clear sap is collected in buckets. Did you know that forty gallons of maple sap will produce one quart of pure golden sweet maple syrup? Yummy syrup on pancakes and waffles. Wild Maine blueberries and strawberries are small but very sweet.

Our most famous products have to do with the the fishing industry. Maine Lobsters are know world wide for their sweet taste. This is due to the very cold waters of the Atlantic Ocean that borders the stat on the east coast. In addition to lobsters, clams, scallops, cod, and haddock are only a few of the seafood's harvested off our coast.

The four seasons also means we have to build our homes to keep us toasty warm in the winter and cool in the summer. Since we live in a forest biome you can guess that most of our homes are built of wood. Wood , brick, and stone are the most common building materials because that is what we have the most of in our area. Our homes must have good insulation to keep the cold temperatures from cooling off our homes in winter and to keep the hot humid temperatures from heating our homes in summer. The houses thick insulation as well as pitched roofs. These triangular shaped roofs copy the conifers or cone bearing evergreens. The snow and ice slide off the steep sides of the roof protecting homes from water and snow damage. All of our homes have furnaces to keep us warm during autumn, winter, and spring. Some furnace burn oil, some use electricity, some use natural gas, sand many have wood burning stoves as a source of heat.

The four seasons of our climates also means we need tour different kinds of clothing. One wardrobe for each season. In winter people need to wear long sleeves, and layers. Turtlenecks, sweaters, jackets, gloves, mittens, hats or hoods, wool socks, and snow boots. It takes a long time to dress for the weather. In spring warmer weather means some of the layers can come off. Long sleeves, sweaters, and light weight jackets replace the heavy winter jackets. As it gets warmer and closer to summer the layers get lighter and shorter. Shorts, light weight jeans, short sleeve or even sleeveless shirts. It is time for bathing suits and fun splashing in pools or the jumping waves at the ocean! The sun feels so nice after the long cold winter.

All to soon summer leads into autumns, warm days and cold nights bring about a bright burst of color from all the broadleaf trees. So as the color comes to the trees the warmer sweaters, turtleneck shirts, and warm jackets come out of the closet. It is getting colder again. Time to rake the leaves and run and play jumping into big piles of colorful leaves.

There is a saying here in Maine. “If you don’t like the weather, just wait five minutes and it’ll be changing.” Rain storms can happen all year long. Hail in summer when the air is colder than the ground. We have had hail the size of a quarter and as round as a golf ball. Ouch, hail hurts! Winter brings sleet, snow, and gray clouds. Our area can get up to 72 inches of snow every winter. That means we do a lot of shoveling, sliding, skiing, ice-skating, and don’t forget that all time favorite snow ball fights, at home of course. Snow ball throwing is not allowed at school.

Where does our weather come from? Well most of it comes from he ocean of course. The storms that come from the west are not too bad. Storms that move over the Atlantic Ocean and come on land are the worst. These are call Northeasters. These storms bring snow, snow, snow, and more snow in the winter. The fierce cold winds from the northeast can turn into a blizzard. Those are just blinding white storms. In late summer and fall the storms from the Atlantic Ocean bring in heavy rain and strong gusting winds called hurricanes. We sometimes get these in August or September.

The meteorologist help us prepare for the weather. They warn us of coming storms. Small rain showers, hurricanes, northeasters, and best of all those winter snowstorms. A
winter snowstorm means a “Snow Day”, a day off from school! Everyone wants a snow day . A day off perfect for playing in fluffy white stuff making snow angels and snowmen.
No one can control the weather. However thanks to the meteorologists we can prepare for the weather. They give us our daily forecast we can dress for the weather and prepare for storms. The televisions meteorologist even let us know when school has been canceled because of storms. Our area doesn’t have earthquakes or volcanoes or things like that can be scary. We have thunderstorms, snowstorms, an occasional hurricane, a few northeasters that bring very large amounts of snow at one time, ice storms, a few blizzards. We can plan because the news media, television, and radio give us plenty of warning. We can prepare by going to the store and stocking up on food, supplies, and batteries for when we lose electrical power.

Weather is always changing. It seems like winter is long and cold but it has been getting warmer and shorter. Most years we do not have major snow amounts until after Christmas. It use to be snow accumulations started in early November. By March the snow is melting rapidly. So are winters are getting shorter and warmer. Over the last 25 years the winters have gotten shorter, warmer, and with less snow fall amounts. This is also seen as a problem for our ground water supplies. Even though we have a lot of lakes, ponds, and rivers, Maine is dependent on snowfall amounts to replenish ground water supplies. So warmer winters may feel better, it is not so good for our water needs.

Long ago during the Ice Age Maine was covered by a sheet of ice. Today these glaciers have all melted. Our climate is changing. Pollution and global warming are likely to be responsible for climate changes. The planet has gone through many climates changes over thousands of years. Is our current climate change just Mother Nature doing her age old thing? Can we change or control climate? These are just a few questions we ask ourselves as we do our research.

Authors
Each student was responsible for one paragraph.
Tyler Bernier
Russell Courbron
Taylor Dube
Steven Howhannesian
Jordan Hunt
Jacob Kendall
Zoe Laatsch
Nathan McWilliams
Conor O’Malley
Ravina Patel
Robert Pinson

Editors

Ravina Patel & Jordan Hunt

References

Forest Biomes [on-line http://biomes.org/biomes_forest.htm]
World Biomes [ on-line http://blueplanetbiomes.org/world_biomes.htm]
Biomes of the World by Dennis Paulson [on-line http://www.ups.edu/biology/museum/worldbiomes.htm]
Worldbiomes.com [on-line http://biomes.org/]
Deciduous Forest Biomes [on-line http://www.blueplantebiomes.org/deciduous_forest.htm]
Temperate Deciduous Forest Animals Printouts [on-line http://www.enchanted learning.com/]

L.L. Bean Catalogues, Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter , seasonal pictures

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