1. Boreal Forest
DeAngelo Martin
APES

2. World Distribution

3. Elevation & Geology
The boreal forest region ranges in elevation from about 150 m to over 1,100 m.
Dominant landscape features include accumulations of sediment deposited by glacial rivers and lakes. These sediments lie overtop of deeply buried bedrock, although bedrock outcrops can be found along major stream valleys.

4. Climate & Temp.
Climate in the taiga is cold, with average annual temperatures from about +5° to -5° C.
Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming, has an average annual temperature of only 1° C!
Verkhoyansk, Russia, has recorded extremes of minus 90 F and plus 90 F.

5. Rainfall/Snowfall Annual precipitation is 15 to 20 inches.
But low evaporation rates make this a very humid climate.
Much of the precipitation, of course, is in the form of snow.
There is approximately 50 to 100 frost-free days per year.

6. Seasonality & Winds
The boreal forest is characterized by long, cold, and dry winters, and short, warm, and moist summers.
Annual wind speeds are not high when compared to other regions. All time record wind gusts barely exceed 100 km per hour.

7. Plants & Animals
Many plant species are found in the Taiga, but coniferous trees are obviously the dominant plant form.
Composed mainly of spruces, firs, and conifers, with scatter of deciduous trees, mostly along waterways.
The cats range in size from the Siberian Tiger, down through the lynx to the bobcat.
Among the smaller mammalian herbivores are the arboreal Porcupine and the terrestrial Snowshoe Hare.

8. Indigenous People
Hundreds of distinct Aboriginal and Metis communities have lived in the boreal forest for generations. Their lives are intimately connected to the land, water, and birds, which are intertwined with their way of life, their survival and well-being.
To the boreal’s Aboriginal peoples, the forest ecosystem and their traditional culture are one and the same.

9. Problems
Air pollution from smelters and power plants are a serious problem. Large reserves able to maintain their ecological integrity are being adequately set aside.
Also radioactivity from atomic power and weapons testing is a big problem. Human industrial activity both inside and outside the boreal forest is being carefully regulated.

10. Graphs & Tables This graphs shows the annual precipitation
in a boreal forest as
well as the average
temperatures.

11. Graphs & Tables This graph shows the outline of a boreal forest
in Ontario, Canada.

12. Graphs & Tables This graph shows the average age of the trees in a
boreal forest in
proportion to the
amount of trees.

13. Sources