Taiga - also known as Coniferous Forest
Climate: Very cold winters, cool, short summers. About 20 inches of precipitation per year.
Soil: Acidic, mineral poor. Decayed pine needles on top. Location: High latitudes of Canada, Europe, Asia, and the United States Plants: coniferous trees, evergreens (spruce and firs). Animals: Snowshoe hares, ermine, moose, deer, reindeer or caribou, mice and squirrels. Predators include wolves, lynxes, bears, foxes and wolverines. Wolverines are small, fierce carnivores that belong to the weasel and stoat family. Like the lynx, they have spread-out toes that enable them to move rapidly over deep snow without sinking. A few birds are permanent residents of the evergreen forest. They include woodpeckers, tits, crossbills, owls, hawks and grouse. The crossbill is a small finch with a peculiar crossed beak that it uses to tweak the seeds from pine or fir cones. Other: Coniferous forest regions have cold, long, snowy winters, and warm, humid summers; well-defined seasons, at least four to six frost-free months. Description: Between the tundra to the north and the deciduous forest to the south lies the large area of coniferous forest. One type of coniferous forest, the northern boreal forest, is found in 50° to 60°N latitudes. Another type, temperate coniferous forests, grows in lower latitudes of North America, Europe, and Asia, in the high elevations of mountains. Coniferous forests consist mostly of conifers, trees that grow needles instead of leaves, and cones instead of flowers. Conifers tend to be evergreen, that is, they bear needles all year long. These adaptations help conifers survive in areas that are very cold or dry. Some of the more common conifers are spruces, pines, and firs. Precipitation in coniferous forests varies from 300 to 900 mm annually, with some temperate coniferous forests receiving up to 2,000 mm. The amount of precipitation depends on the forest location. In the northern boreal forests, the winters are long, cold and dry, while the short summers are moderately warm and moist. In the lower latitudes, precipitation is more evenly distributed throughout the year. |