Taiga covers 17 million square kilometres (6.6 million square miles) or 11.5% of the Earth's land area, second only to deserts and xeric shrublands. The largest areas are located in Russia and Canada. In Sweden taiga is ass… See more

Taiga soil tends to be young and poor in nutrients, lacking the deep, organically enriched profile present in temperate deciduous forests. The colder climate hinders development of soil, and the ease with which … See more

Since North America and Eurasia were originally connected by the Bering land bridge, a number of animal and plant species, more animals than plants, were able to colonize both land masses, and are globally-dis… See more

The boreal forest/taiga supports a relatively small variety of highly-specialized and adapted animals, due to the harshness of the climate. Canada's boreal forest includes 85 species of mammals, 130 species of fish, and an esti… See more

Fire has been one of the most important factors shaping the composition and development of boreal forest stands; it is the dominant stand-renewing disturbance through much of the Canadian boreal forest. The … See more