What type of forest is boreal?

Introduction. Taiga (also known as boreal forest) is the northernmost and coldest forest on earth, dominated by species of evergreen conifers spruce, fir and pine, the deciduous conifer larch, and species of birch and aspen. It occurs in vast tracts across Alaska, Canada, Scandinavia, Russia and northeastern China.

Where are the boreal forests located?

The world’s boreal zone is often called “circumpolar” because it circles the Northern Hemisphere, forming a ring around the North Pole, just south of the Arctic Circle. Countries with forests and land in the boreal zone include Canada, the United States, Norway, Sweden, Russia, China and a few others.

What are some examples of boreal forests?

Full of deciduous trees and conifers, Boreal forests cover vast expanses in Canada, Alaska, and Russia. Boreal forests are also an important carbon sink.

What is unique about the boreal forest?

The boreal forest is considered to be a wonder of the natural world, spanning a great deal of the Northern Hemisphere’s land. The boreal forest is characterized by its diverse coniferous tree species, unique plants, animal species, bird species, and lakes and wetlands.

What are the characteristics of boreal forests?

The boreal forest is characterized by long, cold, and dry winters, and short, warm, and moist summers, with approximately 50 to 100 frost-free days per year (Lakehead University 2007).

What are the characteristics of a boreal forest?

Why is it called a boreal forest?

1. The boreal forest is named after Boreas, the Greek god of the Northwind.

How many seasons does the boreal forest have?

six seasons
In the boreal forest there are six seasons as identified by a race of people living in these forests called the Cree. The seasons are spring, break-up, summer, autumn, freeze-up, and winter. The period in October when the trees are losing their leaves and the lakes become frozen is known as freeze-up.

What climate zone is the boreal forest in?

Boreal forests are only found in the northern hemisphere of Earth, mainly between latitudes 50° and 60° N. With short, cool summers and long, cold winters, these forests form an almost contiguous belt around the Earth, sandwiched between temperate deciduous forests to the south and tundra to the north.

Why are boreal forests important?

Canada’s boreal forest, and more broadly the boreal zone, is crucial to the national economy because of the available timber and non-timber products, mineral and energy resources, and hydroelectric potential of regional rivers. The boreal forest provides food and renewable raw materials to Canadians.

Where is Canada’s boreal forest?

The boreal zone is Canada’s largest vegetation zone, making up 55 per cent of the country’s land mass. It extends from Yukon and northern British Columbia in the west to Newfoundland and Labrador in the east.

Is the boreal forest a rainforest?

This forest type—termed by the book’s authors as “temperate and boreal rainforests”—are essentially forests that receive high levels of precipitation but, unlike tropical rainforests, these forests are in high latitudes where the temperature remains cool.

What makes the boreal forest unique?

What is interesting about boreal forest?

Is the world’s largest intact forest ecosystem. It stretches across 1.2 billion acres (485 million hectares) of northern Canada, from the Yukon to Newfoundland and Labrador. Represents 25 percent of the world’s remaining intact forest, even more than the Amazon rain forest. Contains 25 percent of the world’s wetlands.

Are boreal forests hot?

Temperatures Temperatures of the boreal forest found below tundra region are cold and can last for eight months between the months of October to May. The average temperature is estimated between -30°F and -65°F. Also, an average of 16-39 inches of snowfall has been recorded in the forest during winter.