| The boreal forest is a band of coniferous trees that spreads across North America, Europe, and Asia and, before logging and settlement, nearly encircled the northern latitudes of the globe. This is a land of "Christmas trees": spruce, pine, and fir. In more northern areas, the boreal forest gradually thins out into patches of small, scraggly trees, and eventually open tundra. There are also some areas at high elevations where the boreal forest can extend much farther south than usual, for example in the Appalachian Mountains. |
Needle-leaved but deciduous, tamarack are common trees in boreal forests. Photo copyright USDA, NRCS, 1997 - Northeastern Wetlands Flora - PLANTS database. |
Biodiversity generally appears to be low in this region, with large areas being dominated by a single species of tree. Much of the life in these forests is hidden. The numbers of large animals are relatively low, and in the winter there can be areas of seemingly "empty" forest. Although there may be as few as 10 tree species in an entire forest, there are several thousand species of mycorrhizal* fungi growing underground. |
Eastern white pine have long, tough needles. Photo copyright USDA, NRCS, 1997 - Northeastern Wetlands Flora - PLANTS database.
|
boreal forest -- page 1 of 5
[1] [2] [3] [4] [5]
sub-topic
[boreal bog forest]
related topics
[fungi] [biodiversity]
view the condensed version of the boreal forest article for faster printing/reading
return to the forest types article