Download Taiga Biome

Taiga Biome
It’s the world’s largest biome!
Think, Pair, Share
What do you think of when hear
coniferous forest?
Where would the location be?
What might the climate be like?
Where’s the Taiga Biome
located?
General Climate
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The taiga is a wet subarctic forest that begins
where the Tundra ends. The taiga climate is
dominated by cold arctic air. Because of
earth's tilt, the taiga is turned away from the
sun in the winter. Therefore, less of the sun's
radiation reaches the ground to warm it up.

Thin layer of soil – Due to the cold, it takes a
lot of time for decomposers to put nutrients
into the soil.
General Climate
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The taiga climate has an average annual rainfall
of 12 - 30 inches. The type of precipitation that
falls in the taiga climate are rain in summer and
mostly snow in winter.
Winter's LOW is -65°F.
Winter's HIGH is 30° F.
Summer's LOW is 30° F.
Summer's HIGH is 70° F.

The forests of the taiga are coniferous, dominated
by larch, spruce, fir, and pine. Evergreen species in
the taiga (spruce, fir, and pine) have a number of
adaptations specifically for survival in harsh taiga
winters. Jack Pines have cones which only open to
release their seed after a fire, dispersing their seeds
onto the newly cleared ground.
Plants in the Taiga
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White Poplar
Eastern Red Cedar
Jack Pine
White Spruce
Black Spruce
Think, Pair, Share
 Now
that you have seen
some plants in the taiga,
what type of animals do you
think could be found there?
Animals in the Taiga
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Snowshoe Hare
River Otter
Gray Wolf
Bald Eagle
Red-Tailed Hawk
Great Gray Owl
Lake Whitefish
Northern Pike
Lake Trout
Round Whitefish
Adaptations
Animal adaptations:
 Most animals migrate to warmer climates once the cold
weather climates set in.
 Some animals have adapted by hibernating when
temperatures drop.
 Other animals have adapted by producing a layer of
insulating feathers or fur to protect them from the cold.
Plant Adaptations:
 Evergreens use a wide variety of physical adaptations.
Some of these adaptations include their shape, leaf type,
root system, and color.
 Lichens and mosses are present, but most plants are
coniferous trees like Pine, White Spruce, Hemlock, and
Douglas fir.
 There are not a lot of species of plants in the taiga because
of the harsh conditions.

Some types of adaptations in the animals
are migration, heavier coats of fur, and
some change color, such as the snow-shoe
rabbit. Mice and moles live in tunnels under
the snow. Some animals that live in the
taiga are bears, badger, beavers, reindeer,
foxes, wolverine and squirrels. Many birds
migrate to the taiga during the spring
because there are so many insects to feed
on after the snow melts.
Dominant Animals

Lynx---Colored Fox---Great Grey Owl---Red-Tailed
Hawk---Least Weasel.