The Taiga

Connor Jara

• Taiga is the world's largest terrestrial biome.• In North America it covers most of inland

Canada and Alaska as well as parts of the extreme northern continental United States and is known as the Northwoods.

• When people refer to the southern part of the biome they generally call it the Boreal Forest.

• The Taiga covers over 29% of the worlds forest.

• Taiga is the Russian word for forest.• It stretches over Eurasia and North America.

The taiga is located near the top of the world, just below the tundra biome.

• The winters in the taiga are very cold with only snowfall. The summers are warm, rainy, and humid.

• The average temperature is below freezing for six months out of the year.

• The spring and autumn are so short, you hardly know they exist. It is either hot and humid or very cold in the taiga.

• Not many plants can survive the extreme cold of the taiga winter.

• The common plants are the Balsam Fir, Black Spruce, Douglas- Fir, Eastern Red Cedar, Siberian Spruce, and the White Fir, Poplar, and Spruce

• The taiga is the biome of the needleleaf forest.• Because of cool temperatures decomposition is

slow in the taiga. Undecayed vegetation builds up on the forest floor, making it feel like a sponge. As a result of this, the soil is thin and lacking in nutrients.

• The taiga is susceptible to many wildfires. Trees have adapted by growing thick bark.

• The fires will burn away the upper canopy of the trees and let sunlight reach the ground.

• In order for the soil to get a little bit of sunlight, forest fires are required in order to preserve the ecosystem.

• Animals of the taiga tend to be predators like the lynx and members of the weasel family like wolverines, bobcat, minks and ermine.

• They hunt herbivores like snowshoe rabbits, red squirrels and voles.

• Red deer, elk, and moose can be found in regions of the taiga where more deciduous trees grow.

• The seasons of the Taiga vary little as mostly they just sway from extreme hot to bitter hold.

• The Taiga experiences very little precipitation and when it does occur, it is mostly in the summer months.

• Snow may remain on the ground for as long as nine months in the northernmost extensions.

• Large areas of Siberia’s taiga have been harvested for lumber since the collapse of the Soviet Union.

• In Canada, eight percent of the boreal forest is protected from development.

• More than 90% of boreal forest products from Canada are exported for consumption and processing in the United States.

• The world's oldest trees can be found in the taiga.

• The taiga has fewer plant and animals species than most other biomes.

• This climate is classified as Dfc, Dwc, Dsc, Dfd and Dwd in the Köppen climate classification

• Dfd and Dwd climate are mostly just continuous permafrost.

• The world's boreal forest wraps around the northern hemisphere like a green cloak. This is easily seen from space and is sometimes referred to as Earth's green halo.

• The boreal forest is a key resource for all citizens of this globe. It filters our water, keeps our air clean, helps regulate climate and sustains a vast variety of living organisms, including human beings.

• Many Aboriginal communities call the Boreal forest their home and to this day protect and survive off it.