taiga

taiga (tī`gə), northern coniferous-forest belt of Eurasia, bordered on the north by the treeless tundra and on the south by the steppe. This vast belt, comprising about one third of the forest land of the world, extends south from the tundra to about lat. 62°N in Norway, Sweden, and Finland, but dips still farther south to about lat. 53°N in the Urals. It extends through northern European Russia across the Ural Mountains and over most of Siberia. It has a continental climate, with long, severe winters of 6 or 7 months. Thawing occurs during late April or early May, and the growing season is short. The mean average summer temperatures are fairly high, but there are night frosts. Podzols are the soils of this zone. Only the hardier cereals and roots, such as barley, oats, and potatoes, can be cultivated. The principal species of trees are cedar, pine, spruce, larch, birch, and aspen. The taiga has many swampy areas formed during the spring.

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taiga

 or boreal forest

Open coniferous forest (see conifer) growing on swampy ground that is commonly covered with lichens. It is the characteristic vegetation of the subpolar region of northern Eurasia (principally Russia, including Siberia, and Scandinavia) and northern North America, bounded by the colder tundra to the north and the warmer temperate zone to the south. Spruces and pines are the dominant trees. Soil organisms are protozoans, nematodes, and rotifers; larger invertebrates (e.g., insects) that decompose plant litter are lacking, so humus accumulates very slowly. The taiga is rich in fur-bearing animals (e.g., sable, fox, and ermine) and is home to elks, bears, and wolves. Siberian taiga alone accounts for 19% of the world's forested area and possibly 25% of total forest volume. Despite the remoteness of the taiga, it is a major source of lumber for construction, and huge expanses have been clear-cut.

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taiga

the coniferous forests extending across much of subarctic North America and Eurasia, bordered by tundra to the north and steppe to the south

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Taiga

A zone of forest vegetation encircling the Northern Hemisphere between the arctic-subarctic tundras in the north and the steppes, hardwood forests, and prairies in the south. The chief characteristic of the taiga is the prevalence of forests dominated by conifers. The dominant trees are particular species of spruce, pine, fir, and larch. Other conifers, such as hemlock, white cedar, and juniper, occur locally, and the broad-leaved deciduous trees, birch and poplar, are common associates in the southern taiga regions. Taiga is a Siberian word, equivalent to “boreal forest.” See Tundra

The northern and southern boundaries of the taiga are determined by climatic factors, of which temperature is most important. However, aridity controls the forest-steppe boundary in central Canada and western Siberia. In the taiga the average temperature in the warmest month, July, is greater than 50^°F (10^°C), distinguishing it from the forest-tundra and tundra to the north; however, less than four of the summer months have averages above 50^°F (10^°C), in contrast to the summers of the deciduous forest further south, which are longer and warmer. Taiga winters are long, snowy, and cold—the coldest month has an average temperature below 32^°F (0^°C). Permafrost occurs in the northern taiga. It is important to note that climate is as significant as vegetation in defining taiga. Thus, many of the world's conifer forests, such as those of the American Pacific Northwest, are excluded from the taiga by their high precipitation and mild winters.