Also called taiga, the largest land biome on Earth by area, forming an unbroken belt of coniferous forest across the high latitudes of North America, Scandinavia and Siberia just south of the tundra. Long, severe winters and a short growing season favor needle-leaved evergreen trees such as spruce, fir and pine, whose narrow conical shape sheds snow and whose needles resist winter water loss far better than a broad deciduous leaf could. The boreal forest holds a large share of the world's terrestrial carbon stock in its trees and underlying peat, and supports wide-ranging predators such as the gray wolf across its full breadth.
Facts
Climate
Annual Precipitation (mm)Cited range runs roughly 300 to 840 millimeters a year across the taiga biome; 450mm sits within it as a representative figure, not a single measured site. Typical Low Temperature (C)Cited winter figures for taiga range from an extreme low near -54C up to an average around -3C; -30C represents a typical severe-winter figure between those bounds, not the extreme. Typical High Temperature (C) Boreal Forest
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Connections
Demonstrates
Source Encyclopaedia Britannica
Home To
Source Boreal Forest of Canada (Wikipedia)
Source Encyclopaedia Britannica
Source World Wildlife Fund
Source East Siberian Taiga (Wikipedia)
Sources
1. Taiga Climate (Blue Planet Biomes)
Blue Planet BiomesTaiga Climate - Precipitation
The taiga climate has an average annual rainfall of 12 - 33 inches (30 - 84 cm).
Taiga Climate - Summer Temperatures
Summer's LOWEST temperature is 30 F. Summer's HIGHEST temperature is 70 F.
Taiga Climate - Winter Temperatures
Winter's LOWEST temperature in taiga is -65F. Winter's HIGHEST temperature is 30 F. The average winter temperature is under 26.6F (-3C).
View the Source Encyclopaedia Britannica
Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.britannica.com/science/taiga, opening definition
taiga, biome (major life zone) of vegetation composed primarily of cone-bearing needle-leaved or scale-leaved evergreen trees, found in northern circumpolar forested regions characterized by long winters and moderate to high annual precipitation. The taiga, “land of the little sticks” in Russian, takes its name from the collective term for the northern forests of Russia, especially Siberia.
- Home To: Gray Wolf
- Demonstrates: Hibernation
View the Source Taiga (Encyclopaedia Britannica)
Encyclopaedia BritannicaOpening definitionQuote, Opening definition
taiga, also called boreal forest, biome (major life zone) of vegetation composed primarily of cone-bearing needle-leaved or scale-leaved evergreen trees
East Siberian Taiga (Wikipedia)
Boreal Forest of Canada (Wikipedia)
World Wildlife Fund
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