The Taiga is the largest biome in the world and covers 50 million acres of land. It extends over North America and Eurasia and it is found in places such as mountain tops, deserts and tropical forests. The Taiga is found just below the Tundra biome.
The Taiga consists of many growing coniferous trees.
Most plants growing in this biome are coniferous trees, which include:
pine, white spruce, hemlock and douglas fir. These coniferous trees are known as evergreens.
Evergreens have long and thin waxy needles. The wax offers protection from freezing cold temperatures that may dry them out. Evergreens, unlike other trees do not lose their leaves in the winter, meaning they keep their needles all year. This helps the evergreens to begin photosynthesising from when the weather starts to warm. The dark coloured needles allow the needles to absorb heat from the sun. Evergreens are mostly shaped like an upside down cone, to protect branches from breaking as a result of the weight of snowfall. This shape allows the snow to slide right off the branches without affecting them in any way.
The Taiga does not home as many plants and animals in comparison to tropical biomes, as the Taiga conditions are too harsh. Many plants cannot survive from the extreme cold.
"The taiga is a forest of the cold, subarctic region" -National Geographic.
The Taiga consists of many growing coniferous trees.
Most plants growing in this biome are coniferous trees, which include:
pine, white spruce, hemlock and douglas fir. These coniferous trees are known as evergreens.
Evergreens have long and thin waxy needles. The wax offers protection from freezing cold temperatures that may dry them out. Evergreens, unlike other trees do not lose their leaves in the winter, meaning they keep their needles all year. This helps the evergreens to begin photosynthesising from when the weather starts to warm. The dark coloured needles allow the needles to absorb heat from the sun. Evergreens are mostly shaped like an upside down cone, to protect branches from breaking as a result of the weight of snowfall. This shape allows the snow to slide right off the branches without affecting them in any way.
The Taiga does not home as many plants and animals in comparison to tropical biomes, as the Taiga conditions are too harsh. Many plants cannot survive from the extreme cold.
"The taiga is a forest of the cold, subarctic region" -National Geographic.