Final answer:
A deciduous tree is one that sheds its leaves annually during cold or dry seasons to minimize water loss. The trees store energy to regrow leaves in the spring, which defines the seasonal behavior in temperate forests. This cycle affects the forest's productivity and biodiversity compared to tropical wet forests.
Step-by-step explanation:
A deciduous tree is one that experiences an annual period in which all leaves die and usually fall from the tree, due to either a cold season or a dry season. Deciduous trees go through dramatic seasonal changes throughout the year, with their leaves turning color in the fall and shedding to reduce water loss during times of extreme dryness. In the spring, these trees must expend a significant amount of energy and matter to grow new leaves. They often bank energy over the winter by storing food, enabling them to regenerate their foliage with the arrival of warmer temperatures. Deciduous trees are typically found in temperate forests that experience moderate annual rainfall and temperatures. In such biomes, they are dominant over evergreen conifers and exhibit a distinct seasonal pattern: leaf loss in the fall, a leafless dormant period in winter with no photosynthesis, and new leaf growth in spring. This cycle of growth and dormancy impacts the net primary productivity of temperate forests, making it less than that of tropical wet forests which have more diverse tree species and do not experience a seasonal loss of leaves associated with changes in temperature and sunlight.