Where are Jack Pine Coniferous Forests Found?
Most of jack pine coniferous forests are stretched across Canada, from the Mackenzie River in the Northwest Territories to Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia. The range also extends through Maine, New Hampshire, northern New York, Quebec and northern Ontario, Michigan, northwest Indiana, northeast Illinois, then through Wisconsin, Minnesota, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, central Alberta, and then to British Columbia. It can also be found by Alaska as well.
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What are the Native Plants and their Adaptations to live in Jack Pine Forests?
Jack Pines
These trees can survive/grow in dry areas. In fact, the cones that are on older Jack Pine Trees need intense heat (fire) to open to spread their seeds. Controlled prescribed burns do take place for this to happen. They are also shade intolerant. |
Black Spruce
These trees were codominant for about 90 years to the Jack Pine and often seeds at the same time. They grow slower, but live longer and can handle the same dry areas as Jack Pine. |
Red Pines
These are codominant with Jack Pine and White Pine. Also, they are shade intolerant (even more than Jack Pines) and can handle dry areas. |
White Pines
Their needles are not highly flammable and, especially older trees, can handle intense heat. Can dominate or codominate dryer northern pine forests. |
What are the Native Animals and their Adaptations to live in Jack Pine Forests?
Kirtland's Warblers
Rare species of bird that only breed in Jack Pine ecosystems. According the the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, "This forest species is adapted to dry land conditions and has been present on the sandy outwash plains of northern Michigan since the retreat of the Wisconsin ice sheet about 14,000 years ago." |
Snowshoe Hares
These animals are mostly found in boreal (like Jack Pine Coniferous Forests) and mixed deciduous forests. They live in northern areas, like Michigan and Canada, in these forests because: 1) They prefer brushy undergrowth, which can be found in Jack Pine Coniferous Forests. 2) It snows in these areas during the winter season. Their fur coat turns white during the winter and a light brown color when the snow melts. |
How is Energy Transferred in the Ecosystem?
There are many species of animals and plants in Jack Pine Forests and they all have to receive energy from something. Bellow is a Food Web and Energy Pyramid of many of the animals and plants found in this habitat. In the Food Web, the arrows represent the transfer of energy. The darker orange arrows represent the energy that is given to the organisms that decompose them when they die (Bacteria, Stinkhorn Fungus, and the Lichen). They then transfer that energy and nutrients back into the soil, which the plants use to grow (blue arrows).
The Energy Pyramid, or Ecological Pyramid, shows the different levels of energy each one receives in the Food Web. It all depends on where the organisms stand in the Food Web. The bottom level consists of producers, which are plants. The second level are the primary consumers who eat the producers, third are secondary consumers, and forth are the tertiary consumers. The producers start off the most amount of energy (100%) then it decreases based off the 10% rule. The primary consumers only get 10%, secondary consumers with 1%, and tertiary consumers get 0.1%. A consumer can be on two or more levels on the pyramid due to being in different parts of different food chains. This one shows only one food web from the bigger food web shown before this.
Jack Pine Coniferous Forest Energy Pyramid By Isabella Mahuad
Jack Pine Coniferous Forest Energy Pyramid By Isabella Mahuad
*Mice can also be considered secondary consumers