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The boreal forest
Cold-temperate zonal vegetation
Boreal forest is also called "cold temperate bright coniferous forest" or "cold temperate bright coniferous forest".
Tegarin
"Is cold and warm zonality
vegetation
The forest vegetation type is mainly composed of hardy coniferous trees. The main tree species is
spruce
,
fir
,
larch
And most of them are single-dominant forests, which are mainly distributed in the high latitudes of the northern Hemisphere. The situation is dire and the species vulnerable.
In the northern taiga region, winters are cold and long, and summers are cool and short. Precipitation is relatively rich, with snowfall as the main form.
- Chinese name
- The boreal forest
- Foreign name
- boreal coniferous forest
- alias
- Bright coniferous forest in cold temperate zone , Tegarin
- Distribution area
- Be mainly distributed in The northern hemisphere High latitude region
- Morphological characteristics
- The trees are slender and 15 to 20 meters tall
The Taiga Belt
It is unique to the Arctic and refers to a belt of northern tower coniferous forests more than 1,000 kilometers wide from the southern boundary of the tundra tree line to the south. The trees in the Taiga forest are straight, 15 to 20 meters high, but most of them grow into dense forests, distributed in patches on the highlands, and interwoven with swamps in the low areas. The understory soil is acidic and barren. In the northern and elevated Taiga forests, there is also permafrost beneath the soil surface. One of the most obvious features of Taiga is its unique appearance, which makes it easily distinguishable from other forest types. Its appearance is often composed of a single tree species, and because of the different dominant species, each has its own characteristics.
The production of Taiga forest is less than 1% of leaf forest. According to the study, the average annual yield of organic material in the Taiga forest is 5.5 tons/ha, the timber yield is 3 tons/ha, and the southern part of the Taiga community can reach 5 tons/ha. The highest annual production of organic matter occurs after 60 years of forest age in the north and 30 to 40 years in the South.
Another characteristic of the Taiga is that the community structure is extremely simple, usually consisting of one or two tree species, with a lower layer of shrubs (various berry shrubs), a grass layer (raspberries, European overwoods, etc.), and a tundra layer (lichens, mosses, and such plants).
[1]
The northern coniferous forest is located in the cold temperate zone, with a wide latitude span and diverse climate conditions. Generally speaking, the continental climate is obvious, characterized by cool summers and severe winters. The average temperature in July is 10 ~ 19℃, and the temperature can sometimes reach more than 30℃. Winters are long, with average temperatures below 4 ° C for up to six months of the year, with the coldest month being 3 ° C in western Eurasia. In Siberia, the average temperature in January is as low as -43 ° C, and the temperature exceeds 10 ° C only for one to four months of the year.
Average annual rainfall
Below 50 mm, very dry.
Generally speaking, the growth period of plants in Taiga forest area is relatively short. The plants of Taiga forest are dominated by pine and cypress, and the leaves are all small and needle-like, with various drought and cold resistant structures, which are physiologically adapted to the short growing season and low temperature. The soil is mainly
Brown coniferous forest soil
The soil layer is shallow and there is permafrost. The coniferous forest ecosystem is evergreen all year round, but the biological composition is poor. The trees are mainly pine and fir. Mostly single-species forest, tree height of about 20 meters. Understory shrubs sparse, evergreen shrubs and herbs composed of the ground layer is very developed, often a variety of moss. There is a thick layer of leaf litter under the forest. To adapt to the frozen soil layer, trees have shallow roots.
in
Arctic tundra
It is separated from the temperate main continent by a belt of forest up to 1300 km wide. This is the famous Taiga Forest in Siberia, which stretches for 1,650 kilometers, north to the Arctic Circle. But in Canada's Hudson Bay region, the forest belt runs parallel to the south of the Arctic Circle in an east-west direction.
Include in our country
The Greater Khingan Mountains
and
The Ilhuli Mountains
The forests to the north belong to the Taiga Forest, as well as Xinjiang
Altai Mountain
northerly
Kanas
Kanas Valley is the most typical Taiga distribution area in our country, it is also
Siberia
Plant species The limit position of boreal plants extending southward along the mountains during the late Quaternary ice period.
Kanas
Taiga is an important resource base and biological gene bank in China, which has important economic utilization and ecological environment value.
Much of the boreal taiga has been destroyed. According to scientists, logging, mining, oil and gas companies are cutting down vast areas of forest far beyond what the forest ecosystem can sustain. "In many parts of Canada, trees are being cut down faster than they can be regenerated," says David Schidler, an ecologist at the University of Alberta in Canada. But things are far from that simple. Because trees can absorb the energy that causes global warming
Carbon dioxide
The reduction of gases and forests will accelerate the process of global warming. The loss of forests will also affect hundreds of millions of animals that call the forest home to the north.
Vulnerable species
Each spring, up to three billion migratory birds that winter in South and southern North America depart for the boreal forests. Why do these birds -- including white pelicans and black-eyed rush finches -- fly hundreds or thousands of miles to the boreal forest?
Despite the destruction of vast tracts of forest, it is reassuring that 70% of the boreal forest remains intact. "It's one of the few ecosystems in the world that is largely undisturbed by humans," says Jeff Wells, a scientist at the Boreal Songbird Initiative in Seattle, Washington. When these starving migrants arrive in the boreal forests, they are fed by insects and fruit that have just come back to life after a harsh winter. These nutrients allow the birds to have a successful breeding season in the boreal taiga.
Other kinds of animals also depend on the boreal forest. Woodland reindeer, for example, feed on lichen plants that spread across the forest surface. These hybrid plants are composed of mutually dependent fungi and algae. The lichen plant, which reindeer eat, only appears when the forest has reached a medium age (at least 50 to 100 years).
Rapid deforestation in many parts of the boreal taiga is depriving animals, including birds and woodland reindeer, of food sources and habitats. "Human development means a decrease in the number of species of animals that depend on forests for survival, especially the large carnivores such as
Grizzly bear
Bobcats and wolves, "Schindler said.
Abundant natural resources
What is causing the boreal forest to disappear? That's because the area is rich in natural resources. "Every piece of paper that humans use comes from a tree - probably from the boreal forest," Schidler said. But that's not the only reason the band saw keeps turning. All kinds of minerals, oil and gas lie beneath the boreal forest. Much of North America's forests have been cleared to exploit these resources. In 1940, the Canadian province of Alberta had coniferous forests two-thirds the size of California. At that time, there were only two or three roads leading to the forest. "Today, the pace of logging is so fast that you can't walk 300 or 400 meters without hitting a road where you see people driving bulldozers to see if there's oil and gas in the ground," Schidler said.
Global warming
The destruction of boreal forests not only means the loss of homes for animals, it also contributes to global warming. Since every tree can transfer water and air through photosynthesis
Carbon dioxide
Into the energy the tree needs to grow. So as long as a tree lives, the carbon it absorbs through photosynthesis is kept in its trunk and leaves. This helps to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the air so that the Earth's temperature does not rise. The vast boreal forests of Canada and Russia store more carbon than any other region in the world.
And when industrial companies cut down large areas of forest, the forest system's ability to absorb carbon dioxide is greatly reduced, with disastrous consequences. As more hot clumps of carbon dioxide accumulate in the air, the boreal forest, and the planet as a whole, will warm up. High temperatures cause trees to lose water and become dry. And dry forests are more likely to catch fire than healthy forests. Once the forest catches fire, the trees release their stored carbon.
We still have hope.
Although deforestation is accelerating, much of the boreal forest remains untouched by humans. "We still have a chance to do the right thing to protect forests," Wells said. Each and every one of us can help protect the boreal forest. For example, Elizabeth Andenson, a sixth-grader from West Borough, Massachusetts, has placed boxes around town for people to put unwanted mailing catalogs in. Then she called the mailing catalog companies and asked them to cross out the names of people who didn't need the catalogs. Why eliminate these unwanted mailing lists? Five acres of boreal forest are cut down every minute for all kinds of paper and wood products, most of which are exported to the United States. "Everyone should do a little bit to protect the boreal forest," Elizabeth said.
