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Chapter One FORESTS OF NORTH AMERICA W hen you think of a forest, you probably imagine tall trees hovering over the cool ground Words to Understand

biodiversity: all the living things in an area, or on Earth as a whole. conifer: a tree that stays green all year. deciduous: to lose something at a certain point in development. precipitation: water that falls from the clouds in the form of snow, sleet, hail, or rain. taiga: an ecosystem found in the northernmost regions of Canada and Alaska; also called boreal forest. underbrush: small shrubs and trees that make up the undergrowth in a forest.

that is covered in soft pine needles. Or maybe you envision a thick underbrush with dead logs and branches everywhere. Or perhaps a quiet pathway with gently falling colored leaves scattered around. The forest of North America can look like any of these.

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