| Broadleaf forests grow in regions that have a fairly long growing season and plentiful rainfall. Every continent except Antarctica has broadleaf forests, which are also called hardwood forests. In areas with cold, snowy winters, almost all the trees in broadleaf forests lose their leaves each autumn. In tropical areas, most broadleaf trees are evergreen.
Before the 1800's, broadleaf forests covered much of the Eastern United States. They included such trees as ashes, birches, maples, and oaks. During the 1800's, most of the trees in these forests were cut down to provide lumber and fuel and to make room for farms and cities. Today, only a few parts of the Eastern United States have large broadleaf forests.
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Western Europe also had great forests of broadleaf trees, including ashes, beeches, and oaks. But most of these forests have been cut down.
Broadleaf forests that consist largely of quaking aspens and balsam poplars cover parts of southern Canada and large areas of southern Siberia. Forests of birches and oaks grow in eastern Europe and along the Yellow Sea coast of China and Korea. Southeastern Australia has valuable forests of eucalyptus trees. These broadleaf trees grow nearly as tall as California's needleleaf giants, the redwoods. Some eucalyptus trees stand more than 300 feet (91 meters) tall. About 600 kinds of eucalyptus trees grow in Australia. Almost all of these trees are evergreen.
In many areas, mixed forests of broadleaf and needleleaf trees grow alongside broadleaf or needleleaf forests. Central Canada, the Eastern United States, central and southern Europe, and eastern Asia all have large mixed forests.
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Remarkable broadleaf forests grow in tropical regions where the weather is always hot and rain falls regularly every month of the year. In these tropical rain forests, many of the trees look alike. They are tall, and many tower more than 150 feet (46 meters). The trees have leathery, dark-green leaves. Because the trees receive plenty of moisture throughout the year, most of them are evergreen. The trees may thus look alike, but they belong to many species. Many palms grow among the broadleaf trees in the tropical rain forests. The largest rain forests are in South and Central America, central Africa, and Southeast Asia.
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Contributor: Richard H. Waring, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus of Forest Ecology, Oregon State University.
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