Taiga

=**//__Taiga, Also Known as The Boreal Forrest!__//**=

FACT: Did you know that most of saskatchewan and most of Canada is covered in taiga? Also "taiga" is Russian for forrest!



Climatogram

Plants (5 types) 1. Black Spruce Kingdom: Plantae Division: Pinophyta Class: Pinopsida Order: Pinales Family: Pinaceae Genus: Picea Species: P. mariana Scaly brown bark, slow growing, 5-15m tall 15-50cm diameter of trunk. Cones are smallest of all spruces. Photosynthesis for energy (food), Slow growing tree. Uses cones to reproduce (asexual/male cones and female cones) Cones disperse seeds over the area. Seedlings can take up to 3 years to grow 5 inches. 2. Siberian Spruce Kingdom: Plantae Division: Pinophyta Class: Pinopsida Order: Pinales Family: Pinaceae Genus: Picea Species: P. obovata Shape of branches helps remove snow and prevent loss of branches. Thick waxy water proof coating to prevent needles from drying out. 15-35m tall 1.5m diameter trunk. Photosynthesis for energy. Slow to medium growth. Reproduces same as black spruce 3. Tamarack Larch Kingdom: Plantae Division: Pinophyta Class: Pinopsida Order: Pinales Family: Pinaceae Genus: Larix Species: L.laricina. Tamarack is Algonquian for "wood used for snowshoes". Looks like an evergreen but isnt (needles turn yellow and fall in the fall). 10-20m height 60cm trunk diameter. Smallest cones of all larch. Fast growing tree. Photosynthesis for energy. Male and female flowers to produce cones (reproduction) 4. Bog Labrador Tea Flowering plant (rare to find anything other then trees) Small shrub that grows to around 50cm. Has evergreen leaves. The leaves are strongly aromatic and are high in vitamin C. They are used to make a medicinal tea. Photosynthesis for energy. Slow growth rate. Reproduces vegetatively (?). Produces sprouts from rhizomes or the root crown. Grows rapidly after a fire. Can also reproduce with seeds. 5. Fireweed Flowering plant (rare because of climate) Anywhere from .5-3m tall. Flowers are a bright pink to purple colour. Grows very quickly in places after fires (hence the name). photosynthesis for growth. Produces fruit which make small fluffy white seeds. Needs to be polinated. Bees make a very sweet honey from this plant Soil profile (A on top E middle B low) A. Top layer is darker because of rick humus formed from decomposition of leaf litter. E. Mineral components of soil (eluvial horizon whitish) B. Overlays bed rock. Soil is somewhat acidic (low pH). Thats caused by the compostion of the litter formed by needles and leaves of trees. 
 * Kingdom: || [|Plantae]  ||
 * (unranked): ||  [|Angiosperms] ||
 * (unranked): ||  [|Eudicots] ||
 * (unranked): ||  [|Asterids] ||
 * Order: || [|Ericales]  ||
 * Family: || [|Ericaceae]  ||
 * Genus: || // [|Rhododendron] // ||
 * Species: || //**R. groenlandicum**// ||
 * Kingdom: || [|Plantae]  ||
 * Division: || [|Magnoliophyta]  ||
 * (unranked): ||  [|Eudicots] ||
 * Order: || [|Myrtales]  ||
 * Family: || [|Onagraceae]  ||
 * Genus: || // [|Epilobium] // ||
 * Species: || //**E. angustifolium**// ||

Relationships Mutualism: One example of mutualism in the taiga is moss growing on a tree. This protects the tree, and makes a house for the moss. Another is the tachnid fly and the hemlock looper. The tachnid fly parasitizes the pupae of the hemlock looper, an example of mutualism. One more is black spruce and lichen. Lichen gets food from the dead matter of the tree and gives the tree nutrients. Parasitism: One example of parasitism is brainworms and caribou. The brainworm eats the brain of the caribou, and the caribou dies. Another is that grape vines are turning into hosts for the parasite aphid, and, as a result, dies because the aphid infected them. Commensalism: One example of commensalism is parasitic fungi and trees. The fungi gets food from the decomposing tree, but the tree is not helped nor hurt. Because it's dead. Pred Prey: Some examples of predator-prey relations are the lynx and the snowhare, and the falcon and the other birds that they eat. Food web (prolly needs to have a different picture....) ** Eurasian Beaver **
 * ** Class: ** Mammalia: Mammals || ** Diet: ** Plants ||
 * ** Order: ** Rodentia: Rodents ||
 * ** Size: **73 cm - 1.3 m (28 3/4 in - 4 1/4 ft), tail: 21 - 30 cm (8 1/4 - 11 3/4 in) ||
 * ** Family: ** Castoridae: Beavers || ** Conservation Status: ** Near threatened ||
 * ** Scientific Name: ** Castor fiber || ** Habitat: ** rivers, lakes, with wooded banks ||
 * ** Range: ** Now only in parts of Scandinavia, Poland, France, Southern Germany, Austria and Russia ||

=
** T **he largest European rodent, the Eurasian beaver has the same habits and much the same appearance as the American beaver, and they are considered by some experts to be only one species. Like its American counterpart, this beaver builds complex dams and lodges but, where conditions are right, may simply dig a burrow in the riverbank which it enters underwater. It feeds on bark and twigs in the winter and on all kinds of vegetation in summer. Beavers are monogamous animals, and females are believed to mate for life: the male may mate with females other than his partner. Pairs produce litters of up to 8, usually 2 to 4, young in the spring. Kingdom: Animalia, Phylum: Chordata, Class: Mamalia, Order: Rodentia, Family: Castoridae, Genus: Castor, Species C Fiber.======

The Hawk Owl is unique to the Taiga because it is the only owl which hunts by day. It has abnormaly long tail feathers and a light face which makes it look like a hawk in flight, hence the name. The female lays anywhere from 5-9 eggs at a time in old hollow tress, old nests or old wood pecker holes. The female incubates teh eggs for 25-30 days before hatching. On the 21rst day of the owlets life they leave the nest for the first day (aprox.) then return to learn how to hunt and liveon their own from their parents. Kingdo: Animalia, Phylum: Chordata, Class: Aves, Order: Strigiformes, Family: StrigiforGenus Surnia, Species S. ulula.
 * Hawk Owl **

** Ermine ** T he ermine is a highly skilled predator. It kills by delivering a powerful and accurate bite to the back of the prey's neck. Rodents and rabbits are the ermine's main diet, but it will also kill and eat other mammals -- including some bigger than itself -- as well as birds, eggs, fish and insects. At the beginning of winter, in the northern part of its range, the ermine loses its dark fur and grows a pure white coat, only the black tail tip remaining. This white winter pelt is prized by the fur trade. Ermines produce a litter of 3 to 7 young in April or May. The male assists in caring for and feeding the young, which are helpless at birth. Their eyes do not open until they are about 3 weeks old, but at 7 weeks young males are already larger than their mother. There are 15 species of Mustela, including the minks now farmed for their dense fur. Kingdom: Animalia, Phylum: Chordata, Class: Mamalia, Order: Carnivora, Family: Mustelidae, Subfamily: Mustelinae, Genus: Mustela, M. erminae.
 * ======** Class: ** Mammalia: Mammals====== || ======** Diet: ** Small mammals====== ||
 * ======** Order: ** Carnivora: Carnivores====== ||
 * ======** Size: **body: 24 - 29 cm (9 1/2 - 11 1/2 in), tail: 8 - 12 cm (3 - 4 3/4 in)====== ||
 * ======** Family: ** Mustelidae: Mustelids====== || ======** Conservation Status: ** Non-threatened====== ||
 * ======** Scientific Name: ** Mustela erminea====== || ======** Habitat: ** forest, taiga, tundra====== ||
 * ======** Range: ** Europe, Asia, Northern U.S.A., Greenland; introduced in New Zealand====== ||

=
** Marten ** A n agile, acrobatic creature with a bushy tail, the marten spends much of its time in trees, where it preys on squirrels. It also hunts on the ground and eats small animals and insects, fruit and nuts. Martens den in hollow trees and produce a yearly litter of 2 to 4 young, usually in April. The young are blind and helpless at birth; their eyes open at 6 weeks, and they attain adult weight at about 3 months. The closely related fisher, M. pennanti, is one of the few creatures that preys on American porcupines. Kingdom: Anamalia, Phylum: Chordata, Class: Mamalia, Order: Carnivora, Family: Mustelidae, Genus: Martes====== ||  ||   ||
 * ** Diet: ** Small mammals ||  |||| ** Order: ** Carnivora: Carnivores ||   |||| ** Size: **body: 35.5 - 43 cm (14 - 17 in), tail: 18 - 23 cm (7 - 9 in) ||   || ** Family: ** Mustelidae: Mustelids || ** Conservation Status: ** Non-threatened ||   || ** Scientific Name: ** Martes americana || ** Habitat: ** forest, woodland ||   |||| ** Range: ** Canada, Northern USA || [[image:marten.jpg width="249" height="133" align="center"]]

** U **ntil the arrival of the North American gray squirrel in Britain at the beginning of this century, the only European species was the red squirrel. Populations are now declining in Britain, but red squirrels are still abundant in Europe and Asia. Conifer cones are their main food, although in summer they also eat fungi and fruit. The length of the breeding season is dictated by local climate: in a good year a female may produce two litters of about 3 young each. The young are born in a tree nest, called a drey, which also doubles as winter quarters. Kingdom: Animalia, Phylum: Chordata, Class: Mammalia, Order: Rodentia, Family: Sciuridea, Genus: Sciurus, Species: S. vulgaris.
 * European Red Squirrel ** [[image:red squirrel.jpg width="250" height="164"]]
 * ** Class: ** Mammalia: Mammals || ** Diet: ** Conifer cones, fungi, fruit ||
 * ** Order: ** Rodentia: Rodents ||
 * ** Size: **body: 20 - 24 cm (7 3/4 - 9 1/2 in), tail: 15 - 20 cm (6 - 7 3/4 in) ||
 * ** Family: ** Sciuridae: Squirrels || ** Conservation Status: ** Near threatened ||
 * ** Scientific Name: ** Sciurus vulgaris || ** Habitat: ** evergreen forest ||
 * ** Range: ** Europe, east to China, Korea and Japan: Hokkaido ||

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =**Adaptaion**= The trees found in the Taige are mainly long needle pine trees. THese tree's have adapted by growing close together to stop wind and bad weather. Also the needles make so that their is less water loss and frevents a lot of snow building up on them. The Black Spruce grows in the Taiga, it has adapte because it can grow in cold conditions and is poor soil conditions. Gray wolf, the biggest wild canine, is found in the taiga biome. It is easily identifiable by its yellow eyes and pointed ears. Gray wolf has rough and woolly fur coat that may be white, gray, brown, or black in color. The thick coat provides insulation to this animal during the cold winter seasons. Also, the long legs and large paws help them travel in the areas covered with thick snow. Other adaptations of gray wolf include a sharp hearing and smelling sense with reflective retina. Male gray wolf is bigger than the female. They hunt in groups and feed on moose, deer, caribou, and other weak animals. Long-eared owl is a medium-sized owl that measures to about 35 cm in length. Its ears are not similar; one is about half times bigger than the another. This is an adaptation to hunt better in the dark conditions. Despite the name, this owl does not have long ears, rather it has long feathers in the head portion that appears like ears. Other identifying traits of the long-eared owl are yellow-colored eyes and black beaks. The jack pine tree grows to about 27 meters tall, while there are shorter, shrub species too. Young jack pine has reddish colored barks, whereas an older tree has gray barks. The branches are long and slender that bear needle leaves. These two characteristic features of jack pine allow them to adapt during the snowfalls and cold weather conditions. It is found in semi-cold regions of taiga with sandy soils. The pinecones develop near the branch and are curved at the tip. Leaves and cones of jack pine are a source food for the rodents and other animals inhabiting the taiga biome.



Pollution and stuff The Taiga is affected by many things, yet the largest impact on it is us humans. The largest impact humans have on the Taiga is our way of harvesting wood. Commonly known as “clear cutting.” Clear cutting is when you cut down large sections of lumber at once then re-plant the area with a single type of tree the following season. It destroys the soil, kills the eco system and destroys all animal habitats. Another impact we have, is that that we havetrapped and hunted many animals to exstinction. One of larger animals is the siberian tiger which was hunted until almost extinction in the Taiga. In more recent years there have also been problems with insects. Certain insects are causing forest destroying plagues. Some of those insects are the spruce bark beetle and the larch sawfly.

One thing humans are doing to try and protect the forest is seting laws to prohibit logging, mining, oil and gas production. In Canada they recently established 13000 square kilometers as two national parks. One 10700 km2 in the Mealy Mountains and 3000 km2 alongside the Eagle River from head waters to sea

Fungi Fungi found in the Taiga come in three different kinds, these are threadlike, club and sac fungi. From the threadlike type of fungi there is Saprolegnia declina, it is a water mold that causes sickness/disease. Another type is the club fungi and a very common example of club fungi from the taiga is lichen. Lastly there is the sac fungi an example of sac fungi from the taiga is Leccinum versipelle, there are two other very common types of sac fungi in the taiga such as honey fungus and armillariella mellea.

Overall there are not too many problems facing the taiga. The main ones would be deforestation. For a large number of Canadians the lumber industry is a main source of income for them. Each year 7500 square kilometers of land are cut down. This equals up to around 0.2% of Canada's total taiga. Of all of Canadas taiga, only 1/4 is used for lumber uses. The other 3/4 are being protected by the government in forms of parks. This is a very good thing because there is a huge amount of wild life to be found in the taiga. There are some people who say that from European colonization, there is still 91% of the taiga remaining. There are laws related with the lumber industry that all the trees removed have to be replaced either by being planted or from natural restoration. Many people claim that because of this it isn't considered deforestation and that the greatest damage is caused by the roads constructed to transport the fallen trees after they have been cut. A big problem for certain species like the woodland caribou is habitat destruction. They are losing numbers because of hunting, wolves and their habitat being destroyed by deforestation, roads and pipelines. Sources [] (climatogram) [] (plants black spruce) [] (plants black spruce) [] (sib spruce) [] (sib spruce) [] (sib spruce) [] (tamarack) [] (tamarack) [] (lab tea) [] (lab tea) [] (lab tea) [] (fireweed) [] (fireweed) [] (foodweb) [] (Eurasian Beaver) [] [] [] [|http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070522193650AA6WvvW](soil profile) http://www.forestry.gov.uk/images/ssus_typical_podzol.jpg/$FILE/ssus_typical_podzol.jpg (soil profile pic) http://biomesfourth.wikispaces.com/Taiga+Facts (relationship) http://biomesfirst.wikispaces.com/Taiga+Facts(Fungi)
 * __Environmental Concerns__**