Taiga PERIOD 5

Taiga Suresh Budhram

Merina Cage

Tyler Tacornal

AKA Boreal Forest

Loca

tion

Taiga biomes are located

in: •  Russia •  Alaska •  Iceland •  Norway •  Sweden

Clim

ate

•  The taiga biome has the

lowest temperatures year-

round after the tundra and

polar ice cap regions. •  The average temperature

in the winter season is -6

degrees Celsius. •  The Taiga experiences

relatively low precipitation

throughout the year.

So

il Ty

pe

The soil in the Taiga is

nutrient-poor. In other

areas, a layer of bedrock

lies just beneath the soil.

Both permafrost and rock

prevent water from draining from the top

layers of soil. This creates

shallow bogs known as

muskegs, which are covered with moss, short

grass, and trees

Clim

ate

Gra

ph

Nut

rien

t Cyc

les

Ani

mal

s in

the

Taig

a

•  Moose Niche: To eat aquatic and

terrestrial plants •  Siberian tiger Niche: Top predator; protect their cubs •  Lynx Niche: Another top

predator •  Wild boars Niche: Destroys plants,

mobile disease reservoirs

•  Grey wolf Niche: Top predator, control population numbers •  Brown bear Niche: Top predator

Plan

ts in

the

Taig

a

•  Black Spruce Niche: Used to build houses, used as Christmas trees •  Jack Pine Niche: Used to

build houses & make pulp for paper •  White Fir Niche: provides

food for squirrels, porcupines

Fo

od W

eb

Food

Cha

in

Pop

ulat

ion

Pyra

mid

Prim

ary

Prod

uctiv

ity

•  Forest productivity in the middle

and northern taiga zones is

directly related to soil

temperature. Warmer soils

decompose organic matter more

quickly, releasing nutrients for

new plant growth and creating a

more productive site. Productive

forest types occupy warmer,

south-facing slopes and river

terraces, and less productive

dwarf or sparse forest occupies

the north-facing and basin sites.

•  GPP: 1144.3 g /m2/yr •  NPP: 408 g/m2/yr

Pr

imar

y Su

cces

sion

•  The pioneers came and

colonized the areas in the taiga

with fungi, lichen, grasses, and

wildflowers. These factors

started to react and recreated

the soil, which allowed small

vascular plants to grow. As the

plants grew and grew into

larger plants like trees, they

started to bring in animals

along into the biome.

Seco

ndar

y Su

cces

sion

•  As wildfires burn, they destroy most of the land in the Taiga ecosystem. Plants still grow in the areas in which the soil has been disrupted-this is called secondary succession. After wildfires, species like the Jack Pine release seeds into the soil.

Hum

an N

egat

ive

Imp

act

•  The taiga isn’t affected by humans

as much as the other biomes. In

the taiga, logging is probably the

main source of destruction.

•  Another industry that threatens

taiga species is hunting. The

Siberian tiger for example is

almost extinct due to poachers

hunting for its incredible coat.

Brown bears have seen a large

decline due to hunting and so

have many other large mammals

like the wolf, cougar, caribou,

moose etc. 

Hum

an P

ositi

ve

Imp

act

•  Humans also have a positive

impact on the taiga. Some people

are trying to reduce the amount

of hunting so animals will

proceed to live in the taiga.

•  The Forest Stewardship Council

is a logging organization that

ensures that the forest it logs

from are logged sustainably and

safely for the people who live in

the area and most certainly the

animals. •  The World Wildlife Foundation is

also working endlessly to keep

the Siberian tiger from going

extinct.