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In comparison with other biomes, however, the taiga has low botanical diversity. Coniferous trees are the dominant plants of the taiga biome. Very few species, in four main genera, are found: the evergreen spruce, fir and pine, and the deciduous larch. In North America, one or two species of fir, and one or two species of spruce, are dominant.
Other species that can tolerate the acidic soils of the taiga are lichens and mosses, yellow nutsedge, and water horsetail. The depth to bedrock has an effect on the plants that grow well in the taiga as well. A shallow depth to bedrock forces the plants to have shallow roots, limiting overall stability and water uptake.
Many species of trees inhabit these forests including pine, cedar, fir, and redwood. The understory also contains a wide variety of herbaceous and shrub species. Temperate coniferous forests sustain the highest levels of biomass in any terrestrial ecosystem and are notable for trees of massive proportions in temperate rainforest regions. [1]
The water from rain and snow collects, forming permanently waterlogged vegetation and stagnant pools. Muskeg is wet, acidic, and relatively infertile, which prevents large trees from growing, although stunted shore pine, cottonwood, some species of willow, and black spruce are typically found in these habitats. [2]
A spruce is a tree of the genus Picea (/ p aɪ ˈ s iː. ə / py-SEE-ə), [1] a genus of about 40 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal regions of the Northern hemisphere. Picea is the sole genus in the subfamily Piceoideae.
Spruce–fir forests can be found in cold regions at high latitudes or high altitudes throughout the Northern Hemisphere. [1] This includes both areas throughout the high latitude boreal forest of Canada and Russia, [2] [3] as well as mountain ranges at lower latitudes, such as the Rocky Mountains in North America, the Tian Shan in Asia, and the Carpathian Mountains in Europe.
Spruce–fir on the slopes of Kuwohi. The southern Appalachian spruce–fir forest is an ecoregion of the temperate coniferous forests biome, a type of montane coniferous forest that grows in the highest elevations in the southern Appalachian Mountains of the eastern United States.
White spruce, black spruce and tamarack are most prevalent in the four northern eco-zones of the Taiga and Hudson Plains, while spruce, balsam fir, jack pine, white birch and trembling aspen are most common in the lower boreal regions. Large populations of trembling aspen and willow are found in the southernmost parts of the Boreal Plains. [12]