WETLAND, FOREST & OTHER BIOMES

BIOMES: "A major community of living or-
ganisms; a complex of climax communities
of plants and animals in a major region."
"A major life zone, biotic formation."
"A major ecological community type."

NORTHERN FOREST BIOMES
Northeastern forest hardwoods with bright fall leaves, conifers that range far north, and tall, slow growing pine forests high on Western mountains. 4 pgms. 80 slides.
EP #106X SLIDES
$129.95

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SAVE OVER $32.00 ON 4 SLIDE SET BUNDLE ORDER EP #106X.........$129.95
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ECOLOGY OF THE NORTHEAST FOREST Order #106.............$42.50

Introduces the rich variety of plant and animal life of the typical mixed conifer-
hardwood forest. Includes maples, pines, beeches, black cherry, fungi, lichens, mosses,
grubs, pinesaps, strawberries, bracken fern, bee balm, bobcat, beetle, and seasonal
changes. 2O slides and guide.

CONTENT SAMPLE: 11561 At the other extreme of the wildlife are the small things.
The northeastern forest is home to hundreds of kinds of insects, spiders and miscellaneous
invertebrate animals. This one is a longhorned pine sawyer beetle. It is quite common in the
white pine forest areas.

The larvae of this beetle feed on pine--usually freshly cut pine that is on the ground. The
adults are large, over an inch long and males may have antennae twice as long as they are. They
fly noisily and when they alight near you, you cannot long remain unaware of them.

This beetle is representative of the whole host of little creatures whose home is the
forest, who feed there, usually on the plant life, and whose inconspicuous lives are important in
the overall health and balance of the forest.
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THE MONTANE FOREST BIOME Order #121............$42.50

Below the alpine tundra is our last wilderness, a cool, moist region dominated
by the large evergreens which provide the bulk of our timber. Detailed information on
plant utilization and succession, Douglas fir, western larch, quaking aspen, plant decay,
puffball mushrooms, yellow skunk cabbage, fairy slippers, wakerobin, Indian pipe, flying
squirrel, darkeyed junco, Stellar's jay, blue grouse, great gray owl, black bear, and
moose. 20 slides and detailed guide.

CONTENT SAMPLE: 20516 The montane forest, or any forest, is a fantastically intri-
cate community. A natural catastrophe like a forest fire, will seriously disrupt all life in a forest,
but nature in time mends itself. What cannot be as easily overcome is man’s continuous assault
on this complex but delicate ecosystem. From the days when the first settlers came to this
continent, the forest became “an endangered species.” Today, under greater economic pressures
than ever, we look to our remaining rich forests with envy and greed.

Indiscriminate logging is potentially more destructive than fire, however. Roads and
heavy machinery, which are necessary to logging, disturb and compact soil, further increasing
the chances of serious erosion and interfering with regeneration. The most profitable logging
removes for use as much of the tree as possible. The nutrients tied up in the useable wood are
therefore not recycled to the next stand of vegetation. Whereas in the old days loggers took only
what could be used for lumber, today’s advanced, sophisticated technology can make use of the
whole tree, from the ground to the topmost twig. Today, not only is lumber harvested, but wood
pulp, mulch material and fuel as well, leaving little to return to the soil. But the danger is now
apparent even to the logging industry.

REVIEWS: "Accompanying notes are wonderfully detailed.....Recommended." Previews.
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CONIFER COLLECTION Order #255X........$72.50

Conifers are among the world's most commercially significant trees, and
include some of the largest trees as well. They cover the northern part of North
America, northern Europe and northern Asia. These programs differentiate conifers
from broadleafed, evergreen from deciduous trees. Pictured are white, pitch, Scotch,
ponderosa, whitebark, lodgepole, pinyon and Caribbean pines; redwood and bald
cypress; white, black, Colorado blue, Englemann and red spruce; spruce gall; tamarack;
hemlock; Douglas fir; balsam fir; Rocky Mountain juniper; common juniper; eastern red
cedar, and white cedar. 4O slides, 2 guides.

CONTENT SAMPLE: Introduction: The coniferous forest of the taiga zone was huge,
dark and lush long before man ever knew of it. This is the northern forest shown on many plant
distribution maps. It has a short growing season surrounded by low temperatures that last well
into the summer and return early in fall. In its northernmost areas the conifers are joined by birch
and willows. Further south, where climate is less harsh, many beautiful hardwood trees mingle
with the dark conifers.

This huge expanse of pines, spruces, firs, hemlocks, and larch, growing often in nearly
pure stands, was irresistible to the loggers and lumber industry. As early as the 1600’s extensive
logging began in the white pine forests of the East and moved gradually westward, leaving
desolate havoc behind. Gradually the forest has come back where the land is not used for
farming, but it has yet to recover its virgin magnificence.

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RELATED PROGRAMS WORTH NOTING
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COMMON DECIDUOUS TREE COLLECTION Order #250X..........$99.95

Details a variety of commonly encountered wild and cultivated broad-leafed
trees, mostly of the eastern U.S., their habitat, commercial value and unusual
characteristics. Coverage includes weeping willow, poplars, cottonwood, sugar and red
maple, tulip, basswood, shagbark hickory, Ohio buckeye, royal paulownia, eucalyptus,
cockspur hawthorn, apple, staghorn and poison sumac, dogwood, Japanese cherry,
ginkgo, black walnut, American and ornamental beeches, chestnut, various oaks
including flowers and acorns, elm, mulberry, magnolia, sassafras, mountain ash,
mimosa, holly, fringetree, ash, catalpa, sycamore, sweet gum, birches (white, paper,
yellow, black and gray), ailanthus, honey locust, black locust, sourwood, and autumn
color changes. 6O slides, 3 guides.

CONTENT SAMPLE: 19966 Maples are among the most common and easily recog-
nized trees and shrubs in North America. There are nearly 150 species, most of which are found
in eastern Asia. About a dozen species are native to the U.S., most of which grow in the East,
and a number of species have been introduced as ornamentals.

Almost all maple leaves are palmately-shaped, like a palm with outstretched fingers. The
leaf of the sugar maple (Acer saccharum) (left) is typical. An exception is ash-leaved maple
(Acer negundo) commonly referred to as box elder. Its foliage is pinnately compound (feathery),
with three leaflets forming the leaf. Most maple leaves are simple, a single leaf attached to the
twig. All the leaves grow opposite along the twig, another identifying characteristic, with generally
three or five lobes.

The double-winged maple seed or key, known as the samara, forms different angles in
different kinds of maples. Here we see samaras of the red maple (Acer rubrum) (right). The wings
aid in propelling the seeds far from the parent tree so a new maple can find favorable conditions
for growth. These seeds need not be buried in the soil to sprout. Maples are quite prolific and can
be seen sprouting in many unlikely places, such as in hedges, sidewalk cracks and rotting tree
stumps.
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BRISTLECONE PINES: WORLD'S OLDEST LIVING THINGS Order #254......$42.50

Describes the life history, morphology and special adaptations to a highly
adverse habitat (the White Mountains of Nevada) of these picturesque, gnarled
Methuselah’s. Shows how they are adapted to the environmental extremes of altitude,
cold and dryness, and discusses how extreme age is a consequence of their way of life,
some having lived almost 5,000 years. 2O slides and guide.

CONTENT SAMPLE: 21514 The high-altitude habitat of bristlecone pines presents
them with a number of challenges. Since temperature drops 3° C (5.5° F.) for every 300 m (1,000
ft.) rise in altitude, it is below freezing in the White Mountains for much of the year and the
growing season lasts only three short months. Even during summer nights, temperatures
frequently drop below freezing because the high, thin air cannot hold the day’s warmth, and
without cloud cover to act as a reflector, heat is rapidly radiated back into space.

The bristlecone pines meet these challenges by becoming dormant during the winter
except for a small amount of respiration. But when summer arrives, these pines are able to grow
and produce and store food for the following winter, all within a short warm period. During the rest
of the year, they simply bide their time.

REVIEWS: "...a rare and unusual treat. This look at the world's oldest known living
organism is done with style and visual acumen, clarity and superior detail...well written and easy
to follow.... Recommended." Previews.
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~0072-001~ Long-horned pine sawyer beetle (Monochamus sp.). photo by Educational
Images Ltd.

Copyright (c) MCMXCVII Educational Images Ltd., Elmira, NY, USA. All rights reserved.

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