Boreal Forest!
by Paul Wittle

This is more commonly known as the Coniferous Forest or Taiga.

Contents!

1. Location
2. Climate
3. Plants
4. Animals

Location

• It is found through most of Russia except for the most northern parts which are Tundra. Also found in northern North America and south and central Canada.

• Some examples are: Russia, parts of Norway, Sweden and Finland. Northern North America and parts of Canada.

• Important Note! No boreal forest is found in the southern hemispere (largely because there is no land at this longitude).

As always, try to remember two or three examples as they do ask for them in exams!

ALWAYS READ THE QUESTION CAREFULLY!

Climate

• The climate is warmer than the Tundra and has a longer growing season.

• The subsoil is able to thaw in the warmer temperatures which results in no permafrost.

• The rainfall is higher than that of the Tundra but most of it falls as snow during the long cold winters.

Plants

• The dominant type of tree is conifers, which are evergreen. There is usaully only one or two species in a particular area. Examples are Spruce, Firs and Pines.
• These coniferous forests are adapted to long winters because their triangle shape allows snow to fall of with out causing damage to the tree.
• There is very little other vegetation, although the trees shed a small amount of pines all the time, decomposition is low. This results in a layer of partly decomposed matter which is acidic. This means the soil in poor and acidic.

Animals

• Given the hostile environment there is a lot of animals in this biome. There are over 50 types of insect that feed on the conifers. Examples are the Pine Sawfly and the Spruce Budworm.
• Other mammals such as Bears and insect feeding birds also may be found in this environment to the south, although they may migrate south in the winter.

That's The Boreal Forest (also known as Taiga) biome.