BIOMES CHAPTER 6

6.4 Taigas and Tundras

In this section, you will learn about the largest and coldest biomes on Earth. The
taiga is the largest land biome and the tundra is the coldest. taiga - the largest climate region,
found in the higher latitudes;
The taiga also known as a boreal or
coniferous forest.
The largest land The taiga, otherwise known as a boreal or coniferous forest, is the
biome largest land biome. The taiga can be found between the latitudes of
50° and 70° N in North America and Eurasia, including Canada
and Russia. The average temperature in the taiga is below freezing
for at least six months of the year. This makes it difficult for
animals to stay year-round. Some do stay put, some hibernate,
and some migrate (Figure 6.17). Annual precipitation averages
40 to 100 centimeters. Much of this falls during the short growing
season (approximately 130 days). Summer temperatures rarely
reach above 21°C.

Figure 6.17: Taiga animals. Which

of these animals might migrate during
the freezing months?

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Taiga life Evergreen trees with needle-like leaves are the most common type
of vegetation found in the taiga, which is the Russian word for
forest (Figure 6.18). These include pine, fir, and spruce trees. All of
these trees are cone-shaped, which helps them shed snow so its
weight doesn’t break their branches. The needle shape of the
leaves helps prevent moisture loss in the winter. This is important
because trees can’t take in water from frozen soil. The fact that
they don’t lose their needles in the fall means that they don’t have
to waste time in the early spring growing new ones, and can get
started on photosynthesis as soon as it is warm enough. The roots
of these trees are shallow and spread out wide. This makes it
possible for them to take in surface water from melting snow
and ice even though much of the ground underneath them is
still frozen.
Snow keeps Did you know that snow is a great insulator? In the taiga biome, a
things warm! thick layer of snow (often several meters deep) falls before the Figure 6.18: Evergreen trees with
coldest part of the winter. The air spaces between snow crystals needle-like leaves are the most common
prevent the ground underneath from losing more and more heat as type of vegetation found in the taiga.
the winter progresses (Figure 6.19).
Surviving the While air temperatures may be well below 0 °C for weeks on end,
winter in the taiga the ground temperature will remain right around freezing. Mice
and other small mammals make tunnels in the snow that link
their burrows and food stashes. The temperature in the
burrows remains fairly constant, even when the outside air
temperature plummets.

Figure 6.19: The air spaces between

snow crystals prevent the ground from
losing more and more heat as the
winter progresses.

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Tundra
Tundra Tundra is the coldest biome on Earth. The word tundra comes
from a Finnish word for treeless land. There are two types of tundra - a climate region located
tundra—Arctic tundra, found in a band around the Arctic Ocean, in high latitudes; known as the
coldest land biome.
and alpine tundra, found high in mid-latitude mountains.

Arctic tundra Arctic tundra has a growing season of

only 50 to 60 days. The average winter
temperature is –34 °C. Summer
temperatures rarely exceed 12 °C. As a
result of these cold temperatures, the
ground is permanently frozen from
25 centimeters to about 100 centimeters
below the surface. This frozen ground is Figure 6.20: This individual
called permafrost (Figure 6.20). There is is standing in a deep hole cut
a thin layer of soil above the permafrost into permafrost.
that does thaw in summertime, but it is
not deep enough to support the growth
of trees. Lichens, mosses, grasses, and a
few woody shrubs are the most common plants in the Arctic tundra.

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Permafrost Permafrost has a very important function on our planet: It stores

stores carbon carbon dioxide. Here’s how the process works. Usually, when What is a “carbon sink”?
dioxide plants die, they decompose into soil. This process releases carbon Permafrost is known as a “carbon
dioxide into the air. However, when an Arctic tundra plant dies, sink.” A sink is an area where
the cold temperatures prevent it from rapidly decaying into soil. more carbon is stored than is
Instead, at least part of its structure remains intact until it is released into the atmosphere.
frozen in the permafrost. In fact, remains of plants 1,000 years old Some scientists are concerned
have been found in the permafrost. Since the plant structures that if Earth warms up several
degrees, the permafrost will begin
don’t completely decay, carbon that would have been released into
to melt. If this happens, the frozen
the atmosphere as carbon dioxide stays in the ground. For this plants would decompose and
reason, permafrost is called a “carbon sink” (Figure 6.21). release carbon dioxide into the air.
The permafrost would no longer
Alpine tundra Alpine tundra occurs in middle-latitude regions, but at very high serve as a “sink.” It would
altitudes. Alpine tundra biomes occur in the Andes Mountains in become a source of carbon
South America, in the Rocky Mountains in North America, and in dioxide (a greenhouse gas) in
the Himalayan Mountains. Cold temperatures, windy conditions, the atmosphere.
and thin soil create an environment where only plants similar to
those in the Arctic regions can survive. In rocky alpine regions,
lichens and mosses are the dominant plants, but in alpine
meadows, grasses and small woody shrubs can be found.

Figure 6.21: Permafrost is a

carbon sink.

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6.4 Section Review

1. Why is it difficult for animals to live in a taiga biome year-
round?
2. If you have ever cared for a houseplant, you know that plants
need water. Describe how evergreen trees have adapted to
obtain enough water to survive in the taiga.
3. Snow is a cold substance, but it can keep the ground from
loosing heat. How does it do that?
4. The latitude for tundra was not given in the text. What do you
think the tundra latitude range would be? Check your answer
by researching this information on the Internet.
5. From the list of countries or regions below, list which ones fall
in the taiga biome.

a. Antarctica b. Australia
c. Canada d. Russia
e. United States f. Brazil

6. What characteristics would you expect Arctic tundra plants

to have?
7. Figure 6.22 shows an Arctic fox in the summer and then in the Figure 6.22: The Arctic fox in
winter on the tundra. From these photographs, state one way the summer (top) and in the
that this animal is adapted to live in this biome. winter (bottom).
8. Permafrost is known as a “carbon sink.”
a. What is a carbon sink?
b. Why is permafrost considered a carbon sink?
c. How will global warming affect tundra biomes?

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