Geography (U.G), SEM- VI, Paper – DSC 3T: Soil and Bio-Geography (Taiga Biome) The terrestrial world can be divided into areas called biomes, which is made up of many ecosystems. The Taiga exists as a nearly continuous belt hosts by the coniferous trees some parts deciduous, this habitat extending across much of subarctic North America, Eurasia and near mountain tops, bordered by tundra to the north and steppe to the south. So it is restricted to the Pre-glacial region of the Northern Hemisphere. Overlying formerly glaciated areas and areas of patchy permafrost on both continents, the forest is mosaic of successional and subclimax plant communities sensitive to varying environmental conditions. The word “Taiga” was originated from Russian and Turkic languages or name for this forest which covers so much of that country. The taiga, “land of the little sticks” in Russian, takes its name from the collective term for the northern forests of Russia, especially Siberia. The Taiga is also known as the “Boreal Forest” or “Snow forest”, used in the United States and Canada to refer to only the more southerly part of the biome, while “Taiga” is used to describe the more barren areas of the northernmost part of the biome approaching the tree line and the tundra biome. It is characterized by open coniferous forests consisting mostly op pines, spruces and larches. It is the world’s largest terrestrial land biome (covering 17 million square kilometres or 6.6 million square miles or 11.5% of the Earth's land area.) and makes up 29% of the worlds forest cover. It has a subarctic climate with a large temperature range. The taiga stores more Carbon (C) than the temperate and tropical forest combined.

GEOGRAPHY (U.G), SEM - V I , P A P E R – DSC 3T: SOIL AND BIO - GEOGRAPHY (TAIGA BIOME) Learning objectives

 To explain what a biome is.  To explain the animals, plants, and climate of the taiga biome.  To recognize a taiga biome in comparison to others.  To describe what the climate like in this biome.  To explain how plants and animals adapt to the ecosystem of this biome.  To design a zoo habitat for an animal that lives in their chosen biome.  To conduct research and create a design using a combination of writing, drawing, model building, drama, and proposal presentation.

white throated

GEOGRAPHY (U.G), SEM - V I , P A P E R – DSC 3T: SOIL AND BIO - GEOGRAPHY (TAIGA BIOME) The Taiga region is located in the Northern Hemisphere. In the northern regions of North America, Europe, and Russia. The latitude rage is between 50ON – 60O N. It makes up 29% of the worlds forest cover. Some areas where taiga can be found include: Canada's Northwest Territory, Scandinavia, Western Russia, British Columbia, Northern North America, Ontario, Manitoba, Northern Eurasia, New Brunswick, Lamar Valley in Yellowstone National Park, Banff National Park in Canada, Denali National Park in Alaska, Verkhoyansk in Russia, and Hamilton Inlet in Canada.

Cancer

Equator (0O) Capricorn

Geography (U.G), SEM - V I , P a p e r – DSC 3T: Soil And Bio - geography (Taiga Biome) Characteristics of subarctic climate of this taiga region: Temperature:

 The taiga corresponds with regions of subarctic and cold continental climate (Koeppen’s Dfb, Dfc, and Dwd climate types).  Long, severe winters (up to six months with mean temperatures below freezing) and short summers (50 to 100 frost-free days) are characteristic, as is a wide range of temperatures between the lows of winter and highs of summer.  Climate in the taiga is cold with annual temperatures 5 OC to -5 OC.  The winters are cold and long; summers are relatively short and cool. Winter – 65 OF – 30 OF and summer – 20OF – 70OF.  130-day growing season.  Average temperature is 0O C. Average temperature is below freezing for half of the year. Precipitation:  Mean annual precipitation 12 – 33 inches (30 – 85 Cm.) in rain, dew and snow (some areas 10 Cm.), average precipitation for the summer is is 15 to 20 inches, but low evaporation rates make this a humid climate.  Annual precipitation is about 20 cm per year to over 200 cm.  Winters are long, cold and dark with lots of snow that lasts for six to seven months.  Summer is a rainy, hot and short season in this region.  High humidity.  Very cold in winter with just snowfall and warm-rainy -humid in Summer.  Spring and autumn are so short. Amount of Light:  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. There fore, less of the sun’s radiation reaches the ground to warm it up.  Because of the tilt of the earth on its axis, in the taiga you'll find long nights in the winter and long days in the summer.  Angle of sun creates decent amount of light but little but little heat energy.  The taiga receives more light in the summer months and less light in the winter months.  Sunlight is more direct during the summer because it is the closest part of the earth to the sun.  Day light of the summer can be up to 20 Hours long.  Polar rights and midnight suns are common in arctic Zone.  Recently glaciated creating depressions in the topography.

GEOGRAPHY (U.G), SEM - V I , P A P E R – DSC 3T: SOIL AND BIO - GEOGRAPHY (TAIGA BIOME) GEOGRAPHY (U.G), SEM - V I , P A P E R – DSC 3T: SOIL AND BIO - GEOGRAPHY (TAIGA BIOME)  Podsolization occurs as a result of the acid soil solution produced under needle leaf trees. The main soil order associated with the taiga is spodosol.  Because it is close to the tundra biome, some parts of the taiga have permafrost. Parts that do not have permafrost have a hard layer of rock that is close to the surface. Like permafrost, this rock prevents water from escaping the surface and leaves the soil soggy in the spring and summer seasons.  Since coniferous trees are the dominant plant in the taiga, the soil is mainly needles. These needles are waxy and fragrant and take a long time to decompose. As they decompose they release acid into the soil. It forms very slowly in the taiga because of this. Soil that is formed has a very high acid content. As a result, the soil is very infertile and very few plants can grow. Podsolization occurs because of the acid in the soil.  Nutrient levels are generally poor but in areas with lots of organisms, decayed matter can give it more nutrients.  Soil are young, acidic (due to the falling pine needles), and poor in nutrients.  Decomposition of vegetation on the forest floor is slow due to cold weather.  Thinness of the soil is due largely to the cold.  Fallen leaves and moss can remain on the forest floor for a long time.  Diversity of soil organisms are high.  Diversity of soil organisms in the boreal forest is high, comparable to the tropical rainforest.

GEOGRAPHY (U.G), SEM - V I , P A P E R – DSC 3T: SOIL AND BIO - GEOGRAPHY (TAIGA BIOME)  The landscape of the taiga is very unique. It has only a few species of trees that are unique to its location. Eastern Asia has larches and spruce trees, Western North America has jack pines and spruces, and in Eastern North America, the balsam fir is the dominating tree. These trees are accompanied by other small plants on the forest floor.  The ground in the taiga is made up of different bog stages. One area may be a small clear water lake, while another place may be a shallow pond covered in water plants.  Muskeg can also be found in the taiga. Muskeg is ground covered in moss, grass, and even trees, that looks solid but is actually wet and has a jello-like consistency. An example of muskeg is the Drunken Forest in Manitoba, Canada. When you step on certain mats of moss on the floor, the trees begin to move. This happens because trees in the muskeg have very shallow roots. Also because the ground is so saturated with water, that when the ground is disturbed, a ripple moves through the soil, and the trees move.

GEOGRAPHY (U.G), SEM - V I , P A P E R – DSC 3T: SOIL AND BIO - GEOGRAPHY (TAIGA BIOME) Biodiversity is the variation of organisms within an area or ecosystem. An area with many different species of organisms is said to have a high biodiversity. Higher biodiversity means results in a more stable and healthy ecosystem. In the taiga, biodiversity is fairly low. The Taiga or Boreal forest is the largest untouched ecosystem on the planet. There is a very low amount of reptile and amphibian species are found. The amount of mammal, bird, and insect species is also quite low compared to other biomes. Additionally, with the rapid increase of foresting in recent years, the biodiversity of the ecosystem is going down. Also the world’s largest storehouse of carbon, meaning if disturbed, it will cause a lot of greenhouse gases. There are over 85 mammal species, 130 fish species, over 300 bird species, and around 32,000 different species of insects. However, because of deforestation and climate change, biodiversity in the taiga is beginning to decrease. An example of a niche in a taiga is that of moose which eats aquatic plants helping to regulate their population while also acting as a food source for predators such as grizzly bears and grey wolves. Another niche in a boreal forest is the grizzly bear which eats berries and by doing so, disperses their seeds which helps them grow.

Lynx

GEOGRAPHY (U.G), SEM - V I , P A P E R – DSC 3T: SOIL AND BIO - GEOGRAPHY (TAIGA BIOME)  Vegetation found in this biome is adapted to a cold climate and low nutrient availability. Many of the plants have shallow root systems which work together with mycorrhizal fungi to get the most nutrients they can out of the organic matter in the soil.  There are two major types of taiga: A. Closed forest: Consisting of many closely-spaced trees with mossy ground cover. B. Lichen Woodland: With trees that are farther-spaced and lichen ground cover.  The conical or spire-shaped needle leaf trees common to the taiga are adapted to the cold and the physiological drought of winter and to the short-growing season: Conical shape – Promotes shedding of snow and prevents loss of branches. Needle leaf – Narrowness reduces surface area through which water may be lost (transpired), especially during winter when the frozen ground prevents plants from replenishing their water supply. The needles of boreal conifers also have thick waxy coatings–a waterproof cuticle–in which stomata are sunken and protected from drying winds.  The forest of the taiga are coniferous, dominated by Larch, White & Black spruce, Fir, Jack pine, White Poplar and Eastern Red Cedar.  Evergreen species in the taiga (spruce, fir and pone) have a number of adaptations specifically for survival in harsh taiga winters, though larch, the most cold-tolerant of all trees, is deciduous. Jack pine have cones which only open to release their seed after a fire, dispersing their seeds onto the newly cleared ground.  Evergreen habit – Retention of foliage allows plants to photosynthesize as soon as temperatures permit in spring, rather than having to waste time in the short growing season merely growing leaves. (Note: Deciduous larch are dominant in areas underlain by nearly continuous permafrost and having a climate even too dry and cold for the waxy needles of spruce and fir.)  Dark color – The dark green of spruce and fir needles helps the foliage absorb maximum heat from the sun and begin photosynthesis as early as possible.

GEOGRAPHY (U.G), SEM - V I , P A P E R – DSC 3T: SOIL AND BIO - GEOGRAPHY (TAIGA BIOME)  Needleleaf and Conifers (Gymnosperm) are the most dominant plant species of Taiga Biome.  A very few species in four main genera are found:  1. The evergreen spruce (Picea),  2. Fir (Abies), and  3. Pine (Pinus), and  4. The deciduous larch or tamarack (Larix).  Other Trees: include Norway and Siberian Trees, Evergreen Trees, Broadleaf Deciduous Trees such as Alder Trees, Birch Trees, and Aspen Trees , Sphagnum Moss, Larix Larichina, Larix Dihurica, Lichens, Shrubs, Cotton Grass, Heath, Berries etc.  Broadleaf deciduous trees and shrubs are members of early successional stages of both primary and secondary succession. Most common are alder (Alnus), birch (Betula), and aspen (Populus).

GEOGRAPHY (U.G), SEM - V I , P A P E R – DSC 3T: SOIL AND BIO - GEOGRAPHY (TAIGA BIOME) Larch Alder

Giant Sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum)

White Spruce Fir (left) & pine (right) (Picea Glauca) Pine Cone

Tamarack Birch Plant Aspen trees

GEOGRAPHY (U.G), SEM - V I , P A P E R – DSC 3T: SOIL AND BIO - GEOGRAPHY (TAIGA BIOME) Polytrichum Moss. British Soldiers, a Lichen Another Lichen Pine

Colourful sphagnum moss Larix Larichina Cotton Grass Lichens

Heath Alder Trees Berries Jack pine

GEOGRAPHY (U.G), SEM - V I , P A P E R – DSC 3T: SOIL AND BIO - GEOGRAPHY (TAIGA BIOME)  Sun often low in the sky, Not many nutrients.  Growing new leaves = Energy keep leaves all year.  Branches flexible to withstand the weight of heavy snow.  Trees can reproduce by layering in muskegs.  Evergreen Trees: shed snow in winter (prevents them from breaking), do not drop their leaves in the winter so they do not have to regrow them in the spring, little sap in needles (helps prevent freezing),  Carnivory, parasitism, and mycorrhizae are used by plants to compete for the small amount of nutrients in the soil.  Needle-like leaves limits water-loss through transpiration.  Needles contain chemical that repels animals from eating it.  Needle – like structures limit water loss.  Evergreens have little sap so the needles dno’t freeze.  Evergreens grow thin and close together to protect from cold / wind.  Conical shape allows snow to slide off and not break branches.

Endangered Plants: Labrador Tea, Lady’s Slipper Orchid, Helleborine Orchid, Longleaf Pine Tree, Balsam Fir Tree

GEOGRAPHY (U.G), SEM - V I , P A P E R – DSC 3T: SOIL AND BIO - GEOGRAPHY (TAIGA BIOME)