The Boreal and Taiga Forests

The coniferous forest biome is also known as boreal forest, or taiga. It is unique because of its location (mostly in the far northern, sub-arctic, areas of Eurasia and North America), and because of the fact it forms an almost complete ring of coniferous vegetation around the northern hemisphere. Towards the northern part of this biome, the continuous tree cover gives way to forest mixed in with tundra vegetation. This biome is economically important because much of the timber used in building homes (mostly fir) comes from it.

The coniferous forest is located between the Tundra to the north and the deciduous forest to the south and covers about 14.7 million square kilometers. One type of coniferous forest is Boreal which is located from 50° to 60°. The other type of coniferous forest is the temperate coniferous forest. The temperate coniferous forest grows in the lower latitudes of North America, Europe and Asia. Although in Asia, the coniferous forest is referred to as Taiga.

A common pinecone and needle-like leaves.

Coniferous forests are made up mainly of cone-bearing or coniferous trees, such as spruces, hemlocks, pines and firs. These trees have small needle-like leaves that stay green all year around, shallow root systems, and soft wood. Coniferous forests are found mainly in the northern hemisphere, although some are found in the southern hemisphere.

Coniferous trees flourish where summers are short and cool and winters long and harsh, with heavy snowfall that can last as long as six months. The needle-like leaves have a waxy outer coat which prevents water loss in freezing weather and the branches are soft and flexible, so that snow slides off them. Larches are coniferous trees found in some of the coldest regions. They shed their leaves in winter. Coniferous trees such as cypresses, cedars and redwoods are found in warmer regions.