Taiga Flashcards
Taiga is
World largest Land biome
- covers 390 million square km
- makes up 30% of worlds remaining forest
Taiga latitude
50° and 70° latitude
Northern hemisphere
Countries in taiga
Russia and Canada
Taiga vegetation
Coniferous ( evergreen ) trees
Adapted to cold environment
Taiga summers (3 months)
Rise to 20°C
Taiga low precipitation
-below 20mm for 5 months
Taiga biodiversity
Low
Why is taiga biodiversity low
- plants and animals only survive I’d specially adapted
- growing season (4.5 months long)
Mammals adapt to winter
-thick oily fur (Retain heat, water proof) -hibernate (Food is low) -birds migrate
Taiga forest floor
One layer of vegetation
Coniferous trees
- cone shape (shed snow)
- talk and narrow (form dense canopy)
- branches are flexible (shed snow not break)
- waxy coating on leaves (prevent damage by frost)
- shallow and wide tree roots (supports)
Taiga nutrient cycle
- precipitation = lower
- chemical weathering = limited
- larger litter
- small biomass
Deforestation is less of a problem in taiga because
- vast biome
- most of taiga is isolated
- few cute and cuddly species
Tar sand
Mixture of fossil fuel oil and sediment
Tar san case study
Athabasca tar sands, Canada
Impact of tar sands on taiga
- lie under 150,000km2 of taiga
- 500km2 has been mined so far
- methods of extraction destroy forest
- toxic waste produced
HEP exploitation
James bay HEP project, Canada
HEP impact on Taiga
- worlds largest HEP plants.
- costs over $200 billion
- 11000 of taiga forest = flooded
- polluted rivers
Fire in 2011
Burned 700000 hectares of taiga
How can forest fires be a problem in cold and wet taiga?
- summers are hot and dry
- thick carpet of pine needle litter
- summer stormed create lightning strikes
- coniferous trees burn easily
Fires allow forest to regenerate
- trees sprout from burned stumps
- release of trees
Too many wildfires
- forest will not regenerate properly
- fire tolerant species dominate
Pests and disease consequences
- reduce commercial value of the forest
- dramatically alter ecosystem
- change landscape from dense to more open
Spruce bark beetle
Kills spruce trees
Mountain pine beetle
Introduce fungus to the tree
White pine blister rust
Fungal disease that attack’s white pine trees
Invasive species
Plant/ animal/ disease introduced from one area to another causing damage to ecosystem
Acid rains forms when
- fossil fuels are burnt
- Sulfur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide into the air
- react with water in clouds to form acids
- precipitation carries acids to surface
Acid rain affects
- lakes and wetlands
- weakens trees
- damage needles
- weaker roots
- weak trees
Pressures to develop in taiga
- oil, gas, HEP and mineral extraction
- timber for paper making and construction
In wilderness areas
- motorised transport not allowed
- recreation is allowed (no trace left)
- logging, mining, road building = banned
National parks
(USA, Canada, Russia)
- exceed 1000 hectares
- legal protection
- park rangers to protect
- open for recreation and leisure
Wood buffalo national park
(Canada)
-world second largest national park
Wood buffalo=
North of athabasca tar sands mining area
Wood buffalo threatened =
- pollution of river (tar sands)
- HEP dams
Clear cutting is
Logging of all trees in a wide area of forest
Clear cutting…
- makes soil erosion likely
- destroys mosses, lichen and other plants
- land slides and river bank erosion
Selective logging
-only removes large valuable trees
Law everymans right
Anyone in Finland can use the forest and people respect and conserve them
SFM Finland
- forest area growing
- logged areas replanted
- 8% protected areas
- 95% are sustainably managed
In favour to conserve biodiversity
- environmentalists
- indigenous groups
- scientists
Reasons to conserve biodiversity
- taiga is last untouched biome
- forest are vital carbon sinks
- culturally important for indigenous people
In favour to exploit biodiversity
- businesses
- local government
- residents
Reasons to exploit
- brings jobs and incomes to isolated areas
- boost gdp if resources are exported
