Picture: Red Legged Frog

This is a picture of the Red Legged Frog!!!!!!!!!!!!

What a Taiga is and the Location

A Taiga is the Subarctic Coniferous forests located south of the tundra in North America, northern Europe, and Asia.

Location: The taiga can be found in areas in the Northern Hemisphere. Some areas where taiga is found includes: Canada's Northwest Territory, Scandinavia, western Russia, British Columbia in Canada, Northern areas in North America, Ontario in Canada, Manitoba in Canada, northern parts in Eurasia, New Brunswick in Canada, Lamar Valley in Yellowstone National Park, Banff National Park in Canada, Denali National Park in Alaska, Verkhoyansk in Russia, and Hamilton Inlet in Labrador, Canada.

Climate in Taiga

Climate: The taiga's climate is quite unlike any other biome. In the winter
season, the taiga's temperatures can drop below -76°F (-60°C). However, in the summer season temperatures can jump above 104°F (40°C). Because of this extreme difference in seasonal temperature, plants and animals need to be able to adapt to such variations. The sun also influences the way plants and animals live in the taiga. During the summer, because the taiga is located in the Northern Hemisphere and because the northern part of Earth is tilted towards the sun, the taiga sometimes receives twenty hours of sunlight a day. However, during the winter, because the Northern Hemisphere is tilted away from the sun, the taiga sometimes remains dark for twenty hours a day. This lack of sunlight causes the biome to become a dark, cold, and bleak place. During the winter, because of the extreme cold temperatures, the taiga does not receive much snow. However, the snow that does fall and reaches the ground remains there for several months. This layer can be seven feet thick in some places. Snow layers are used by animals and plants to insulate and keep them warm when outside air temperatures drop below freezing. The air trapped in snow crystals remain at a constant 32°F (O°C), sometimes significantly warmer than the frigid outside air.

Soil and Land Formation in Taiga

Soil and Land Formation: The soil of the taiga is similar to that of the tundra's. Because of the harsh temperatures during the winter, some parts of the taiga have permafrost, or a permanently frozen layer of soil. Water from precipitation and melting snow in warmer seasons cannot seep through the permafrost, so the taiga ground remains soft and damp in some parts. Other areas that do not have permafrost (like the Canadian Shield in North America) have a layer of hard rock that remains close to the surface. Like permafrost, this dense rock prevents water from escaping the surface and, therefore, leaves the soil soggy in the spring and summer seasons. Since coniferous trees are the dominate plant in the taiga, the soil is mainly composed of needles. These needles are very waxy and fragrant and take a long time to decompose. Due to this, soil forms very slowly in the taiga. The soil that does form has a very high acid content. This is because the acid in conifer needles is released into the soil as they decompose. As a result, the soil is very infertile and very few plants can grow. The uncommon soil of the taiga makes the landscape unique to the world. The taiga is dominated by only a few species of trees depending on location. In eastern Asia larches and spruce control the taiga landscape. In western North America, jack pines and spruce are common, and in eastern North America, the balsam fir is the dominating tree. These trees are accompanied by moss, bushes, and other small plants on the forest floor. What is most exciting about the taiga's landscape is not its lack of tree variety, but the ground itself is quite amazing. This is because the ground is made up of different bog stages. One area may be a small clear water lake, while another place may be a shallow pond covered in water plants. Still another unique feature of the taiga landscape is called muskeg. Muskeg is ground covered in moss, grass, and even trees that looks solid but actually remains at a wet and jello-like consistency. An example of muskeg is found in Manitoba, Canada in a place appropriately named the Drunken Forest. It was named this because when stepping on certain mats of moss, the trees begin to move. This happens because trees in the muskeg sometimes only have one-inch (2.5 centimeters) deep roots. Also because the ground is so saturated with water, that when the ground is disturbed, a ripple moves through the soil, and the trees move.

PLants in Taiga

You can find the Balsam Fir in northeastern North America, from Virginia to Newfoundland and northwest towards Yukon and Labrador. The balsam Fir can be found in many biomes including the Taiga biome. The Balsam Fir is a small to medium sized native evergreen tree. It can grow to be 40 to 80 feet tall. The Balsam fir has a wide base and a narrow top that ends in a slender, spire like top. The branches grow from the trunk at right angles, with the lower branches spreading and drooping to the ground when the tree grows in the open. In a dense stands, many of the lower branches are dead. It can grow to be a maximum of 200 years old. The Balsam Fir's needles are 1 1/2 inches long. They are flat, rounded at the tip, and normally have a strong curve. They are dark green above and whitened below. The balsam fir's bark is smooth thin and has a grayish color. Blisters of resin appear on the bark of old trees, from which it gets one of its common names. Balsam fir has a shallow root system that rarely grows deeper than 30 inches. The cones stand upright on the 1st year growth of the upper branches. The tree produces its first seeds when it is 20 years old or 15 feet tall. The seeds are winged and are mostly dispersed by the wind, traveling from 20 to 525 feet from the parent tree. The Balsam fir is a late succession, or climax growth tree. This means that they grow in old, undisturbed forests. The Balsam fir is the least fire resistant of evergreen in North America, and its seeds are destroyed by fire. Balsam firs first appear 30 to 50 years after a fire. Balsam fir is one of the major food supplies for moose in the winter. Caribou and white tailed deer leave it alone. Red squirrels will eat the male flower buds. Deer, caribou and moose use Balsam fir stands as cover in the winter because the snow is not as deep under them as in hardwood stands. The wood of the Balsam Fir is sometimes used as lumber. It is lightweight, low in bending and low in resistance to shock as well. The tree is often used as a Christmas tree, pulpwood, or cabin logs.

Animals in Taiga

Animals:

Animals need to be well adapted to survive in the taiga. With an extreme winter and a sizzling hot summer, animals must be specialized for all types of weather. In early March, some animals, like the red squirrel and wolverine, begin to give birth to their young. Although snow is still prevalent, the spring promises warmer weather and, therefore, more activity from animals. Other animals that have their young in the early spring are river otters, minks, martens, and ermines. Some animals, such as red foxes and gray squirrels, choose to have their young a little later to avoid the snow. Migrating animals include ducks, geese, and other water fowl, goshawks, red-tailed hawks, yellow-bellied sapsuckers, red-breasted nut-hatches, golden and ruby-crowned kinglets, robins, hermit thrushes, cedar waxwings, woodpeckers, and tits. Although the taiga's summer is plentiful, some animals, like wolves and caribou, travel north to the tundra for the summer. They migrate back to the taiga in the fall and winter to avoid the tundra's fierce winds and frigid temperatures.