The forest

The forest biome

About 420 million years ago, during the Silurian Period, ancient plants and arthropods began to occupy the land. Over the millions of years that followed, these land colonizers developed and adapted to their new habitat. The first forests were dominated by giant horsetails, club mosses, and ferns that stood up to 40 feet tall.
Life on Earth continued to evolve, and in the late Paleozoic, gymnosperms appeared. By the Triassic Period (245-208 mya), gymnosperms dominated the Earth's forests. In the Cretaceous Period (144-65m mya), the first flowering plants (angiosperms) appeared. They evolved together with insects, birds, and mammals and radiated rapidly, dominating the landscape by the end of the Period. The landscape changed again during the Pleistocene Ice Ages — the surface of the planet that had been dominated by tropical forests for millions of years changed, and temperate forests spread in the Northern Hemisphere.
Today, forests occupy approximately one-third of Earth's land area, account for over two-thirds of the leaf area of land plants, and contain about 70% of carbon present in living things. They have been held in reverence in folklore and worshipped in ancient religions. However, forests are becoming major casualties of civilization as human populations have increased over the past several thousand years, bringing deforestation, pollution, and industrial usage problems to this important biome.
Present-day forest biomes, biological communities that are dominated by trees and other woody vegetation (Spurr and Barnes 1980), can be classified according to numerous characteristics, with seasonality being the most widely used. Distinct forest types also occur within each of these broad groups.
There are three major types of forests, classed according to latitude:

Tropical forest

Tropical forests are characterized by the greatest diversity of species. They occur near the equator, within the area bounded by latitudes 23.5 degrees N and 23.5 degrees S. One of the major characteristics of tropical forests is their distinct seasonality: winter is absent, and only two seasons are present (rainy and dry). The length of daylight is 12 hours and varies little.


Temperature is on average 20-25° C and varies little throughout the year: the average temperatures of the three warmest and three coldest months do not differ by more than 5 degrees.
Precipitation is evenly distributed throughout the year, with annual rainfall exceeding 2000 mm.
Soil is nutrient-poor and acidic. Decomposition is rapid and soils are subject to heavy leaching.
Canopy in tropical forests is multilayered and continuous, allowing little light penetration.
Flora is highly diverse: one square kilometer may contain as many as 100 different tree species. Trees are 25-35 m tall, with buttressed trunks and shallow roots, mostly evergreen, with large dark green leaves. Plants such as orchids, bromeliads, vines (lianas), ferns, mosses, and palms are present in tropical forests.
Fauna include numerous birds, bats, small mammals, and insects.
Further subdivisions of this group are determined by seasonal distribution of rainfall:
evergreen rainforest: no dry season.
seasonal rainforest: short dry period in a very wet tropical region (the forest exhibits definite seasonal changes as trees undergo developmental changes simultaneously, but the general character of vegetation remains the same as in evergreen rainforests).
semievergreen forest: longer dry season (the upper tree story consists of deciduous trees, while the lower story is still evergreen).
moist/dry deciduous forest (monsoon): the length of the dry season increases further as rainfall decreases (all trees are deciduous

Temperate forest
Temperate forests occur in eastern North America, northeastern Asia, and western and central Europe. Well-defined seasons with a distinct winter characterize this forest biome. Moderate climate and a growing season of 140-200 days during 4-6 frost-free months distinguish temperate forests.

Temperature varies from -30° C to 30° C.
Precipitation (75-150 cm) is distributed evenly throughout the year.
Soil is fertile, enriched with decaying litter.
Canopy is moderately dense and allows light to penetrate, resulting in well-developed and richly diversified understory vegetation and stratification of animals.
Flora is characterized by 3-4 tree species per square kilometer. Trees are distinguished by broad leaves that are lost annually and include such species as oak, hickory, beech, hemlock, maple, basswood, cottonwood, elm, willow, and spring-flowering herbs.
Fauna is represented by squirrels, rabbits, skunks, birds, deer, mountain lion, bobcat, timber wolf, fox, and black bear.
Further subdivisions of this group are determined by seasonal distribution of rainfall:
moist conifer and evergreen broad-leaved forests: wet winters and dry summers (rainfall is concentrated in the winter months and winters are relatively mild).
dry conifer forests: dominate higher elevation zones; low precipitation.
mediterranean forests: precipitation is concentrated in winter, less than 1000 mm per year.
temperate coniferous: mild winters, high annual precipitation (greater than 2000 mm).
temperate broad-leaved rainforests: mild, frost-free winters, high precipitation (more than 1500 mm) evenly distributed throughout the year.
Only scattered remnants of original temperate forests remain.

Boreal forest (taiga)
Boreal forests, or taiga, represent the largest terrestial biome. Occuring between 50 and 60 degrees north latitudes, boreal forests can be found in the broad belt of Eurasia and North America: two-thirds in Siberia with the rest in Scandinavia, Alaska, and Canada. Seasons are divided into short, moist, and moderately warm summers and long, cold, and dry winters. The length of the growing season in boreal forests is 130 days.
Temperatures are very low.
Precipitation is primarily in the form of snow, 40-100 cm annually.
Soil is thin, nutrient-poor, and acidic.
Canopy permits low light penetration, and as a result, understory is limited.
Flora consist mostly of cold-tolerant evergreen conifers with needle-like leaves, such as pine, fir, and spruce.
Fauna include woodpeckers, hawks, moose, bear, weasel, lynx, fox, wolf, deer, hares, chipmunks, shrews, and bats.
Current extensive logging in boreal forests may soon cause their disappearance.

Auto Insurance

Next to your home, your automobile is often the most expensive piece of property you own. As a result, it is important to seek the best value when buying your insurance. To ensure that you have the proper protection, there are a number of ways that you can reduce the cost of your auto insurance premiums while obtaining the coverage that you need, including:

Deductibles

Choosing higher deductibles for collision and comprehensive coverage is an easy and cost-effective way to lower your auto insurance bill. In many cases, the premium savings realized by switching to a higher deductible may be enough to offset the cost difference of an increased deductible in just a few years.

Discounts

Multi-policy – By insuring your auto and home with ERIE, you will receive a discount on your auto premium as well as your homeowners insurance premium.
Multi-car – If you insure two or more cars with ERIE and they are owned and used by the individual and/or relatives living in the same house, you receive a discount.

Driver-related Discounts

Good drivers who have no accidents or violations receive the most competitive rates, but there are other factors that can reduce your premiums even further, including:

Passive restraints – If your vehicle is equipped with factory-installed automatic seat belts or air bags, you will receive a discount on the medical payments or personal injury protection portion of your premium.

Anti-theft devices – You may receive a discount on the comprehensive portion of your premium if your vehicle has active or passive anti-theft devices.
Anti-lock brakes – Vehicles with factory-installed anti-lock brake systems on all four wheels are eligible for this discount that applies to the bodily injury and property damage coverages.

Peace Through Development

December 6, 2007 - The World Bank today extended its largest ever support package to . The aim is to improve living conditions through better education, roads, and irrigation, and empowerment among the rural poor.Susan Goldmark, World Bank Country Director for Nepal said development progress is vital for sustaining peace in the country. “At this critical juncture in Nepal’s history it is very important to demonstrate the impact on the ground. It is time for a peace benefit to emerge.”Goldmark said inequality and social exclusion are among Nepal’s foremost development challenges. The poverty rate in rural areas is much higher than in urban centers, and inequality and rural-urban disparities are increasing. Everywhere in the country, ethnic groups, low caste ‘dalit’ communities, and women lag behind in terms of incomes, assets, and most human development indicators.“Through improved schools, roads, water provision, and income-generating activities, we hope these projects will help the country step up the delivery of basic services, particularly in areas that have lost over a decade to the conflict,” Goldmark said.

Rural Communities in the Driver’s Seat December 7,

2007 - For years, Min Bahadur Magar, a 48-year old farmer in the remote Ramechhap district in eastern Nepal, had to borrow money from a local money lender – paying a 50 percent interest rate - to make ends meet.Today his life has fundamentally changed. With training and money given by the World Bank-funded Poverty Alleviation Fund (PAF), Magar started a vegetable business. He now earns nearly US$100 a month from selling vegetables alone.“I am able to feed my family all year round, and send all of my eight children to school.” said Magar. “Now I am borrowing from my community organization paying a small fee. In stead of collecting money, the man I used to borrow from comes over to buy vegetables.”Balram Sunuwar, a farmer in the neighboring village, also received training and assistance from PAF and said this has turned his life around. “There were no resources available to assist a person like me before this program. I received training which enabled me to set up my own nursery.Susan Goldmark, World Bank Country Director for Nepal said it is important for poor people, especially in rural areas, to feel that their lives are getting better in tangible ways. “It is vital to ensure they have a stake in the peace continuing. There are very high expectations after ten years lost to the civil war,” Goldmark said.

Poor people in charge of their own development

The PAF is a community-driven development project that operates on the belief it’s the poor who are best suited to manage their own needs and resources. They are organized into community groups and collectively identify, prioritize, plan, fund, and implement their development needs, free to choose from an open menu to correspond to local priorities.The PAF was designed to address the root causes of Nepal’s civil conflict - poverty, inequality, and lack of services - and the program began implementation at the height of the conflict about four years ago. It is a targeted program for the marginalized and the excluded, either because of gender, caste, ethnicity and location.Ramechhap is one of the least developed districts in Nepal - the poorest country in South Asia. One-third of Nepal’s population lives in absolute poverty with little access to basic services such as education, health, and drinking water.“69 percent of the households have food sufficiency for only three months of the year so income-generating activities are their first priority,” said Raj Babu Shrestha, PAF’s Executive Director.Through income-generating activities and community infrastructure projects, the PAF has reached over 900,000 rural Nepalese in 25 districts since it began operations. Incomes for beneficiary families have increased by some 15 percent. More than 15,600 households now have road access for the first time, and water supply, bridges, and sanitation have been provided for more than 32,000 households.With the US$100 million IDA grant approved by the World Bank on December 6 for the second phase of the project, the PAF will expand its reach to cover all of Nepal’s 75 districts, benefiting around one million households.

Empowering the Disempowered

Everywhere in the country, ethnic groups, low caste communities, and women lag behind in terms of incomes, assets, and most human development indicators. The PAF uses targets and incentives to encourage community organizations to include women, dalits and janajatis.“The results have been very encouraging,” said Geeta Sethi, the World Bank’s team leader for the project. “In Ramechhap district, for instance, over half the members of these community organizations are women, and nearly 90 percent are dalits or janajatis.”Saraswati Shrestha who works as a social mobilizer for the PAF says that women are playing a much more active role in the community.“Before, women would not go to meetings but this has all changed now. They regularly attend meetings and their voices are heard. There is a realization that men and women should work together for the community.”

Education for all Nepalese

Even during the civil war, Nepal’s education rates rose. Girls enrolled in primary school in equal number to boys, and with expanded educational reforms the country is likely to reach the target of 96 percent net enrolment rate. The US$60 million in additional financing for the IDA funned Education for All Project is designed to further improve access to basic and primary education for children, especially from disadvantaged groups. The project builds on the Community School Support Project, which has helped to significantly improve access of children from disadvantaged communities.

Irrigation for Farming

With 80 percent of the population relying on agriculture for their livelihoods, enhanced irrigation in Nepal is critical to increase incomes and reduce poverty. The US$50 million IDA grant for the Irrigation and Water Resources Management Project aims to improve irrigated agriculture productivity and management of selected irrigation schemes. It seeks to increase availability and reliability of supply of irrigation water, which is expected to lead to higher agriculture productivity and increased cropping intensity.

Access to all-season Roads

Nepal’s road density is well below those of its neighbors in South Asia. Of the75 districts of Nepal, 12 are not yet connected by road and another 14 are linked with seasonal tracks or dirt roads. The US$42.60 million IDA grant for the Road Sector Development Project supports upgrading roads in five hill districts which currently lack all-season road access, which will help improve access to economic centers and social services. It entails upgrading of about 297 km of existing dry-season roads/tracks to all-season standard with sealed gravel pavements selected from a pool of more than 1000 km of prioritized roads.