Cameron B. Welch - Taiga presentation

Taiga is a Russian word that means, a forest which covers so much of that

country.

The boreal forest is mostly consisted of coniferous forest.

It is a continuous belt from North America to Eurasia. Totally absent in the

southern hemisphere because of narrowing trend of the continents towards the

South Pole.

Abiotic (non-living) factors: Temperature, sunlight, soil, air, water.

Very long, bitterly cold winter, always below freezing point, soil water is frozen

for 5-7 months during winter, and heavy snow fall.

Cool, brief summers with precipitation in liquid form.

The Living Factors of an Environment

In the taiga biome, the water cycle is very active. It helps circulate the water in the biome to create a stable source of water. With the forests’ cold state and low growing seasons, the cycle of water is very important to help support a lively ecosystem and produce a good community of species.

http://www.southtippcoco.ie/water/images%5CwaterCycle.png

The nitrogen cycle helps to transform the non-usable nitrates in the ground to useable nitrogen for the plants’ intake. If the cycle was not present, then the dead and decayed organisms would overflow the increase of useless nitrates in the soil and plants and animals would die due to the increase in nitrates. Creating these nitrates help the plants constantly have a supply of nitrogen.

http://www.h2ou.com/h2images/NitrogenCycle-lgr-F.jpg

Effects of an Earthquake (Natural Disaster): With this natural disaster, most tall plant life will be destroyed, causing tall trees and shrubs to fall over. In higher altitudes, it will cause a possible crack in ice or there could be an avalanche in the mountainous regions. With the loss of the habitat of trees and shrubs, and the possible damage from flooding and avalanche, the normal ecosystem of life will be affected greatly. Birds and other animals with homes in the trees will die out or migrate. Other animals that rely on those animals will lose their food source and dwindle in size. In this scenario, there would be no sign of primary succession in this biome. In secondary succession, the boreal forest would look like a normal forest up to the day of the earthquake. The forest would be densely populated, covered in evergreen trees, with pine needles and pine cones on the floor of the forest. Then when the earthquake hits, plant life will be uprooted, animals killed and scared away, and predators starved. In order for the biome to rebuild its structure, 1st, the decomposing bacteria will decompose animals and dead plant life that litters the forest floor, causing nutrients to be given off, and used by the soil to re-grow plants. Scavengers like squirrels will appear and pick the extras from the debris and help carry seeds/pollen to recreate growth in the area. They will find acorns and bury them, which will grow new trees. Also, animals that come across a pine cone will have its seeds stuck to their bodies, spreading the seeds across the deserted forest, and planting new flora. With the large trees out of the way, most of the undergrowth will have a time to thrive. And with sunlight, grasses and shrubs will thrive and create rooted areas for animals to live and regroup their population.

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