Taiga
Also called: Boreal forest · Topic: World Physical Features and Natural Regions · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
The taiga, or boreal forest, is a huge belt of coniferous forest. Conifers are cone-bearing trees with needle-like leaves, such as pine, spruce, fir and larch. The belt crosses northern North America, Scandinavia and Siberia, at about 50-70°N. Winters are long and very cold, and summers are short (Koeppen types Dfc and Dwc). It is the world's largest land biome. A biome is a large natural zone with similar plants and animals.
Example
In Siberia and Canada, the taiga supports lumbering, wood pulp for paper, and fur trapping. Warming temperatures are now bringing more forest fires to these areas.
Don't confuse with
- Tundra: lies north of the taiga. It is too cold for trees and has only mosses, lichens and dwarf shrubs on permafrost, ground that stays frozen all year.