A temperate hardwood forest is a type of forest found in temperate zones around the globe. These are forests, generally mesic, where hardwood or broadleaf trees, mostly deciduous, form vast forests. These forests support ecosystems that are very different from temperate and cold-climate evergreen forests, and from most tropical forests, exhibiting an extreme cycling involving leaf fall, a cold winter and dormancy. The duff layer, mostly due to fallen tree leaves, is a critical component in the ecosystems of these forests. In many regions of these forests, a particular type known as oak-hickory forest dominates.
There are three main regions of hardwood forests in the world, in North America, east Asia, and Europe.
This forest type is included in the biome labeled Temperate broadleaf and mixed forests.
