What is taiga? Coniferous forests of the taiga: description, flora and fauna. Coniferous forests of Russia Small coniferous forest
Vast and picturesque coniferous forests stretch between the tundra in the north and the deciduous forest in the south. One type of such forest is called northern boreal, it is located between 50° and 60° north latitude. Another type - temperate coniferous forest, grows in lower latitudes of North America, Europe and Asia, at high mountain elevations.
Coniferous forests are found mainly in the northern hemisphere, although some can be found in the southern hemisphere.
This largest terrestrial biotope in the world consists primarily of conifers—trees that grow needles instead of leaves, cones instead of flowers, and seeds that develop in cones. Coniferous trees tend to be evergreen, meaning their needles remain on their branches year-round. The only exception can be considered the genus of larches, whose needles turn yellow and fall off at the end of each summer. Such adaptations help plants survive in very cold or dry areas. Some of the most common species are spruce, pine and fir.
Precipitation in coniferous forests is from 300 to 900 mm per year, and in some forests of the temperate zone - up to 2000 m. The amount of precipitation depends on the location of the forest. In the northern boreal forests, winters are long, cold and dry, and summers are short, moderately warm, with plenty of moisture. At lower latitudes, precipitation is evenly distributed throughout the year.
The air temperature in the areas where pine and spruce forests grow is from -40° C to 20° C, the average summer temperature is 10° C.
Coniferous forests - an evergreen kingdom
Conifers grow where summers are short and cool and winters are long and harsh, with heavy snowfall that can last up to 6 months. The needle-shaped leaves have a waxy outer coating that prevents water loss in frosty weather. The branches, in turn, are soft and flexible and usually point downwards, so that snow easily rolls off them. Larches have been found in some of the coldest regions of our planet.
Evergreen forests consist mainly of species such as spruce, fir, pine and larch. The leaves of these trees are small and needle-like or scale-like, and most remain green all year round (evergreen). All conifers are able to live in cold and acidic soil.
All coniferous forests in the world are classified according to the following types:
- Eurasian coniferous forest with Siberian pine, Siberian fir, Siberian and Daurian ( LAndsister-in-law Gmelin) larches. Scots pine and Scots spruce are important forest-forming species in Western Europe.
- WITHNorth American coniferous forest with a predominance of white spruce, black spruce and balsam fir.
- Tropicalth and subtropicalth coniferous forest with an abundance of cypresses, cedars and redwoods.
Northern coniferous forests, such as the coniferous forest in Siberia, are called taiga or boreal forests. They cover large areas of North America from the Pacific to the Atlantic Ocean and are located throughout Northern Europe, Scandinavia, Russia and throughout Asia through Siberia and Mongolia to northern China and northern Japan.
The duration of the growing season in boreal forests is 130 days.
Cypress trees, cedars and sequoias grow strictly vertically. The tallest of them can reach 110 m in height. The trees are usually pyramidal. The short side branches grow quite close together, but they are so flexible that the snow simply slides off.
(pine and larch predominate):
(spruce and fir predominate):
Life in a coniferous forest
The biome is noticeably higher compared to the tundra: there are 120-150 species of nesting birds alone, and up to 40-50 species of mammals. At the same time, the biodiversity of coniferous forests is significantly inferior in its richness to tropical regions.
Even evergreen trees eventually lose their leaves and grow new ones. The needles fall to the forest floor and form a thick, springy carpet of pine needles. The light, usually acidic soils of coniferous forests are called podzols and have a compacted layer of humus that contains many mushrooms. Filamentous mushrooms help decompose needles that have fallen to the ground. These organisms provide nutrients from fallen needles back to the tree roots. But since the needles decompose very slowly, the soils under such trees have a low content of minerals and organic matter, and the number of invertebrates such as earthworms in them is extremely small.
Mosquitoes, flies and other insects are common inhabitants of the coniferous forest, but due to low temperatures, few cold-blooded vertebrates such as snakes and frogs are present. Birds of coniferous forests include woodpeckers, crossbills, wrens, hazel grouse, waxwings, grouse, hawks and owls. Common mammals include shrews, voles, squirrels, martens, moose, deer, lynxes and wolves.
Too little light penetrates through the thick canopy of coniferous trees. Due to the constant darkness, only ferns and very few herbaceous plants grow in the lower tier. Mosses and lichens, on the contrary, are found everywhere on forest soil, trunks and branches of trees. There are very few flowering plants.
Currently, extensive logging in the boreal forests may soon lead to their extinction.
The importance of coniferous forests
Coniferous forests are the world's main source of commercial timber. Their use has many advantages:
- Except in very cold areas, they grow quickly and can be cut down every 40-50 years.
- Many conifers make good neighbors.
- Frozen soil makes it easier for machinery and vehicles to access wood in winter.
- Softwood has many different uses - paper, construction and furniture, etc.
- Coniferous wood can be easily harvested like a crop using modern technology.
Acid rain
Over the past 50 years, coniferous forests around the world have been affected by acid rain. The main reasons for which are:
- Air emissions sulfur dioxide power plants, industrial enterprises
- Increased emissions from power plants as well as from cars nitrogen oxides
These pollutants are transported by air masses to areas of Western Europe. Fifty million hectares of forested areas in 25 European countries are affected by acid rain. For example, coniferous mountain forests in Bavaria are dying. There have been cases of damage to conifers, as well as deciduous trees in Karelia and Siberia.
The most common conifers:
- Norway spruce
- White spruce
- Black spruce
- Canadian hemlock
- Cedar of Lebanon
- European larch
- Common juniper (heather)
- Fir
- Podocarp
- Western pine
- Caribbean pine
- Scots pine
- lodgepole pine
- Fitzroya cypress
Coniferous forests are a natural area that consists of evergreen plants - coniferous trees. Coniferous forests grow in the taiga of Northern Europe, Russia and North America. In the highlands of Australia and South America there are coniferous forests in some places. The climate of coniferous forests is very cold and humid.
According to the international classification, there are the following types of coniferous forest:
- evergreen;
- with falling needles;
- present in swampy forests;
- tropical and subtropical.
Based on canopy density, light coniferous and dark coniferous forests are distinguished.
There is such a thing as artificial coniferous forests. Coniferous trees have been planted in mixed or broadleaf forests in North America and Europe to reforest areas where they have been heavily logged.
Coniferous forests of the taiga
In the Northern Hemisphere of the planet, coniferous forests lie in the taiga zone. Here the main forest-forming species are as follows:
In Europe there are pure pine and spruce-pine forests.
Pine forests
Western Siberia has a wide variety of coniferous forests: cedar-pine, spruce-larch, larch-cedar-pine, spruce-fir. Larch forests grow in Eastern Siberia. In coniferous forests, the undergrowth may be birch, aspen or rhododendron.
In Canada, black spruce, white spruce, balsam fir and American larches are found in the forests.
White spruce
Also found here are Canadian hemlock and lodgepole pine.
Aspen and birch are found in admixtures.
Tropical coniferous forests
In some parts of the tropics there are coniferous forests. Caribbean, western and tropical pine grow on the islands of the Caribbean.
Sumatran and island pine are found in South Asia and on the islands.
South American forests contain coniferous plants such as Fitzroya cypress and Araucaria brasiliensis.
In the tropical zone of Australia, coniferous forests are formed by podocarp.
The importance of coniferous forests
There are quite a lot of coniferous forests on the planet. As trees were cut down, people began to create artificial coniferous forests in place where broadleaf trees grew. A special flora and fauna have formed in these forests. The coniferous trees themselves are of particular value. People cut them down for construction, furniture making and other purposes. However, in order to have something to cut, you first need to plant and grow, and then use coniferous wood.
A coniferous forest is a natural area consisting of evergreen plants. Their unpretentiousness, lack of fear of excess moisture and large temperature changes, as well as the need for natural light, determined their growing area and unique characteristics.
Coniferous forests in Russia make up 2/3 of the country's total forest area. In this regard, Russia is a world leader. Of the world heritage of coniferous forests, the Russian part makes up more than half.
All coniferous forests in Russia are taiga, which extends mainly in the northern part of the country, occupies its European zone, the territory of Western and Eastern Siberia, as well as the Far East.
Coniferous forest zone
There are three subzones of the taiga, each of which is characterized by its own special vegetation:
- Northern.
- Average;
- South;
(Northern taiga)
The northern subzone of the taiga is predominantly dominated by spruce forests and low-growing vegetation. On the tundra side they are sparse, but towards the south they gradually become denser.
(Pine forest of the Urals)
The coniferous forests of the Urals are characterized by pine forests; the Far Eastern region of Siberia is represented mainly by larch
(Southern taiga forest)
The southern taiga boasts a wide variety of vegetation. Fir, spruce, cedar and larch grow here.
Forests in Russia are formed by only one type of tree or are mixed forest stands. Depending on the composition of the coniferous forest, it is also divided into light coniferous forests (pine and Siberian larch), as well as dark coniferous forests. The latter are fir, cedar and spruce.
(Typical coniferous forest)
In coniferous forests, the trees are usually tall with straight trunks and a large, dense crown. Some of them, such as pine trees, can reach a height of 40 meters. Such conditions do not allow a diverse undergrowth to form. It is represented mainly by moss, low berry bushes and mosses. New, young trees that also need light cannot always break through, and therefore more often grow on the outskirts of the forest and at the edges.
Coniferous forest climate
The coniferous forests of Russia have a special climate, characterized by warm and sometimes hot summers and frosty, harsh winters. Maximum temperatures reach 45 degrees with a plus and minus sign, respectively. This climate is suitable for coniferous species, which are undemanding to such temperature changes. For them, the main thing is sufficient natural light.
Another feature of the climate of the Russian taiga is high humidity. Precipitation rates here exceed the actual volume of evaporation. It is not uncommon, especially in Siberia, to find large areas of wetlands. This is partly due to the close approach of groundwater.
Human economic activity
The taiga territory is represented by wood, the volume of which exceeds 5.5 billion cubic meters.
Such resources, as well as the presence of oil, gas and coal reserves in the depths of the regions, determined the main types of economic activity in the taiga:
- oil, gas and mineral extraction;
- logging;
- timber processing.
For example, pine wood is used to make building materials, furniture, it is valued as fuel, it is also used to produce cellophane, rayon and, of course, paper.
Spruce and fir are also used as construction materials. Their wood is used to make paper, artificial viscose, etc. An interesting feature of spruce is its resonant wood, which is used to make musical instruments.
Hello, dear readers of the Sprint-Response website. In this article you can find out the answers to the questions of the Super Game in the program “Field of Miracles” on October 27, 2017. The winner of the game agreed to the Super Game, so it took place. Answers to all Supergame questions can be found on our website in the same section. By the way, the winner won the Super Game, she guessed the main word.
Here are the questions in the Super Game "Fields of Miracles" 10/27/2017
Word horizontally (11 letters). What was the coniferous forest called in the European part of Russia and the Urals?
The word on the left vertically (5 letters). What was the name of the area under forest, bushes, cleared for arable land?
The word on the right vertically (6 letters). An old Russian proverb says: “There is space in the steppe, in the forest...”?
Answers to questions from the Super Game "Fields of Miracles" 10/27/2017
RED FOREST, -I, Wed. Coniferous forest. All species of resinous trees, such as pine, spruce, fir, etc., are called red forest, or red forest. S. Aksakov, Notes of a rifle hunter. I don’t want to say that the red forest is worse, but the aspen forest is also beautiful. (Soloukhin, The Third Hunt.)
Fight- the same as cleansing; a place where the forest is cut down, uprooted and burned for crops; arable land cleared from under the forest.
There is space in the steppe, in the forest land.
- Krasolesye
- Fight
- Land