An impressive part of Europe lives in a temperate continental climate. Its uniqueness is present in only one hemisphere - the Northern. What features distinguish the temperate continental climate? What animals and plants are characteristic of it? Understanding this is not difficult at all.
Key Features
The temperate continental climate is located only in the Northern Hemisphere. It is characteristic both for the Cordillera region and for Central Europe. The moderate continental climate of Russia is manifested in Yakutia, the Magadan region, in Siberia and Transbaikalia. Moving deep into the mainland, the air loses moisture, making the climate more severe. Therefore, the more distant the region is from the sea or ocean, the more continental the climate will manifest itself.
Winter months
The temperate continental climate has a pronounced seasonality. The main seasons of the year - summer and winter - should be considered separately. In the cold season, the earth's surface and atmosphere cool, leading to the emergence of the Asian anticyclone. It extends to Siberia, Kazakhstan and Mongolia, and sometimes reaches southeastern Europe. As a result, a harsh winter occurs with strong air fluctuations within a few days, when the thaw sharply turns into frost to minus thirty. Precipitation falls in the form of snow, which is steadily stored in areas east of Warsaw. The maximum height of the cover can reach ninety centimeters - such snowdrifts occur in Western Siberia. A large amount of snow protects the soil from freezing and provides it with moisture when spring comes.
Summer months
The temperate continental climate of Russia and Eastern Europe is characterized by a fairly rapid onset of summer. The increasing amount of solar heat warms the air masses entering the mainland from the ocean. The average monthly temperatures in July are slightly less than twenty degrees. The annual amount of precipitation, most of which falls precisely during the summer period, ranges from three hundred to eight hundred millimeters in these regions. The amount varies only on the slopes of the Alps. There may be more than two thousand millimeters of precipitation. It is worth noting a decrease in their number in the direction from west to east. In North America, the situation is inversely proportional. In Asian temperate zones, evaporation exceeds natural precipitation and droughts can occur.
Features of vegetation
The temperate continental climate is characterized by deciduous forests. They consist of two tiers - trees and shrubs. Grass cover is distinguished by a greater number of species than other varieties of flora. In addition, it is also divided into several tiers. The deciduous forest tree is branched with a dense crown. Seasons do not contribute to year-round vegetation. In winter, trees drop leaves - simple, jagged or lobed, thin and unable to tolerate either drought or frost. The temperate continental climate of the temperate zone can differ both in broad- and small-leaved rocks. The former include ash, maples, oaks, linden, elms. The second - aspen, alder and birch.
In addition, the forest can be divided into species such as monodominant and multidominant. The former are characteristic of Europe - a specific species prevails there. The second are found in Asia, North America and Chile: the forest consists of many different species. In warm areas, among deciduous trees there are evergreen species, as well as vines - grape, bean, honeysuckle or euonymus. Despite the annual falling of leaves, the forests of these zones are characterized by underdeveloped litter: a temperate continental climate contributes to its rapid decomposition. This creates excellent conditions for bacteria and earthworms. At the same time, the foliage layer becomes an obstacle for moss, which grows in such a forest only at the roots of trees and in places protruding from the soil. The earth in this climate is podzolic, brown, carbonate or gley.
Characteristic animals
The fauna of the continental climate is very homogeneous in the forests. This is a combination of woody, terrestrial, herbivorous, carnivorous animals. In areas of deciduous forests there are a lot of amphibians and reptiles - there are twice as many here than in the tundra. The abundance of light, dense undergrowth, lush grasses become excellent conditions for different animals. Here there are animals that feed on seeds and nuts - rodents, squirrels, birds are numerous, for example blackbirds, Western nightingales, small robes, great tits, blue tit. In almost every forest you can find a finch and greenfinches, the Oriole, and in the remote corners of the forest pigeon. Larger animals are represented by ermines, badgers, wolves, foxes, lynxes and bears. They live throughout Europe and a large territory of Asia. In the uninhabited corners there are unique species - wild cats, martens, ferrets. The presence of herbivores is great - red deer, red deer, bison and chamois are found.