Download Boreal forest - Mercer Island School District

BOREAL FOREST
THE WORLD’S NORTHWOODS
LOCATION
FEATURES
• Characterized by coniferous forests
consisting mostly of pines, spruces, and
larches
• Large biodiversity
• Largest terrestrial biome
• The taiga is found throughout the high
northern latitudes, between the tundra, and
the temperate forest, from about 50°N to
70°N, but with considerable regional
variation
FEATURES
• In North America it covers most of inland
Canada and Alaska as well as parts of the
extreme northern continental United States
• Northern Minnesota through the Upper
Peninsula of Michigan to Upstate New York
and northern New England
• known as the Northwoods
FEATURES
• In Eurasia, it covers most of Sweden,
Finland, much of Norway, some
lowland/coastal areas of Iceland,
much of Russia from Karelia in the west
to the Pacific Ocean (including much
of Siberia), and areas of northern
Kazakhstan, northern Mongolia, and
northern Japan
SOIL TYPES
• Tends to be young and poor in nutrients
• Lacks deep, organically enriched profile present in
temperate deciduous forest
• Its thinness is due largely to the cold, which hinders
the development of the soil and the ease with
which plants can use its nutrients
• Fallen leaves and moss can remain on the forest
floor for a long time and they don’t contribute to
the soil
• The acids from evergreen needles damage the soil
CLIMATE
• The overall climate of the Boreal Forest is cold, cold,
cold! The winter season takes up 6-7 months of the
year, and is a very cold, yet dry, time. The summer
consists of rain and relatively warm weather.
Temperatures only get up to around 70 degrees
Fahrenheit in the summer, but in winter can drop to
around -65 degrees Fahrenheit.
CLIMATE
SEASONAL INFORMATION
• Winters freezing
• Spring/summerflowers bloom,
animals come out of hibernation,
frost melt off of lakes and rivers
UNIQUE FEATURES
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•
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Worlds largest land-based biome
Represents 29% of the world's forest cover
Temperature can drop to -65 degrees Fahrenheit
There are only 50-100 frost-free days in the Taiga
PLANT SPECIES
• Conifers: Firs, pines, spruces, hemlocks, larches
• Mosses and lichens
ANIMAL SPECIES
• Lynx, bobcat
-Feeds on rodents, hares, and other small prey
• Elk
• Snowshoe hare
-Brown fall coat to white winter coat for camouflage
• Grizzly bear
-Large prey, fish, plant material
• Wolves, foxes
-Important carnivores
PLANT ADAPTATION
• Coniferous trees
-They shed snow easily and retain their needles through the winter. The needles
themselves are well-adapted, with thick waxy coatings and small surface area,
to resist cold conditions and minimize water loss, an important consideration in
the Boreal where water may be frozen much of the year. Together, these
adaptations mean that even in cool conditions, if the temperature rises above
freezing during the day photosynthesis can proceed. Broadleaf plants usually
lose their leaves at the start of freezing conditions in the fall and will not regrow
them until most of the danger of frost has passed. This means that the growing
season of broad-leafed trees is much shorter than it is for coniferous trees, and
the advantage the coniferous trees gain allows them to dominate in the cold
taiga climate
ANIMAL ADAPTATION
• Insulation
-An insulating layer keeps an animal's body warm in winter,
and cool in summer. Caribou have dense coats of hollow hairs
that not only provide superb protection from the cold, but also
help them stay afloat as they cross lakes and rivers. Wolves have
excellent fur insulation, enabling them to hunt on all but the
coldest days. Ptarmigan and grouse grow thick layers of down.
CONIFEROUS CANOEING
• Canoeing enthusiasts find the boreal a great place to paddle.
More than 1,600 miles of lake and river travel includes canoe
routes along several the Allanwater, Flindt, Pikitigushi and
Ogoki rivers that flow through the boreal forest. Paddlers might
spot caribou swimming across the lakes or along the shores of
the rivers. The Boreal contains an expansive area of dry lichen,
a favorite food of caribou. Moose, bears, lynx, timber wolves
and snowshoe hares also live in the region.
SOURCES
• http://www.marietta.edu/~biol/biomes/boreal.htm
• http://www.nrdc.org/land/forests/boreal/intro.asp
• https://php.radford.edu/~swoodwar/biomes/?pag
e_id=92
• http://wwf.panda.org/about_our_earth/ecoregions
/canadian_boreal_forests.cfm
BY LANA KLEINER-KANTER, MAKENNA
PELLERIN, AND ERVIN HAM