Taiga forests Flashcards
Where is the taiga located?
High latitudes (between 50°-70°)
Mostly in Northern hemispheres
Covers a huge area of the Earth
What are the characteristics of the Taiga?
- Very cold, long winters
- Mild, short summers with a short growing season
- Dominated by coniferous trees
What countries are Taiga forests located in?
Canada
Central Russia
Central Sweden
What is the climate like?
- Highly seasonal
- It affects other components of the ecosystem, such as nutrient recycling and plant and animal behaviour
What is winter like in the Taiga?
- Temperatures are consistently below freezing for 8-9 months of the year
- Low temperatures can range from -20°c to -40°c
- Very dry, with only 5-15mm of precipitation monthly, the majority of which is snow
What is summer like in the Taiga?
- Short but mild/warm, temperatures can rise to 20°c
- Much more precipitation, which helps with plant growth
- Soils can be boggy and waterlogged due to melting snow
What is productivity like in the Taiga?
(How much new plant and animal life there is in a given time)
- Very low productivity
- This is due to low temperatures, frozen ground and dry weather, which limits plant growth
What is biodiversity like in the Taiga?
- Low biodiversity
- Low productivity leads to a reduced food supply in winter, meaning only a few animals are able to survive
- Only highly adapted plants can survive (conifers, mosses, lichens), which only certain herbivores eat, which then affects the amount of carnivores in the ecosystem as their food supply is small
- Many animals migrate in winter to warmer areas, removing chains of the food web that other animals depend on
What are plant (specifically Conifer) adaptations?
- Cone shaped, which allows snow to slide off rather than collect and weigh down trees
- Conifer branches are flexible, allowing them to bend downwards when snow becomes too heavy
- Leaves are needle shaped, which reduces the water loss by reducing the surface area. They are also protected by a waxy outer coating, which retains water and reduces freezing
- Seeds are stored in cones, protecting them from the weather
- Roots are wide but shallow, stopping them from reaching the frozen subsoil whilst still supporting the tree
- Evergreen trees can photosynthesis all year round
In what 3 ways have animals adapted?
Migration
Hibernation
Physical features
How have animals adapted through migration?
- Many birds live in the Taiga during summer, feeding on insects and berries, and breeding
- The majority of these species have adapted to migrate South in winter to avoid harsh temperatures
How have animals adapted through hibernation?
- Many animals such as bears, chipmunks and squirrels sleep through the whole winter
- Their breathing, heart rate and metabolism slows down, which conserves energy supplies until they wake up in Spring
What physical features have animals in the Taiga adapted?
- Thick, oily fur to retain heat
- Large feet to be stable on icy ground
- Winter coats that are thicker and may be white for camouflage
What are stores and transfers like in the Taiga?
- Small biomass store due to limited vegetation, growth and biodiversity
- Large fallout due to needles falling off trees, adding nutrients to the litter store
- Large litter store as decay is very slow
- Soil is nutrient deprived as decay is limited
- Plant uptake is low as there is low biodiversity and plants only really grow in late Spring
What are Nutrition additions and removals like?
ADDITIONS:
- Low precipitation
- Slow chemical weathering
REMOVALS:
- Runoff only washes away litter in Spring, when there is high meltwater
- Leaching is limited as there is little precipitation
What are the direct threats to the Taiga?
Logging
Pulp and paper production
What is the taiga deforested for, and what are the uses of the wood harvested?
- Softwood and paper production
USES:
Doors, beams, frames
Furniture
Panels for flooring
Fences
Boats
Paper
What happens in the pulp-and-paper process?
- Softwood is turned into pulp then spread thinly to make paper
What are the indirect threats to the Taiga?
- Exploitation of mineral resources
- Extraction of fossil fuels
- Development of hydroelectric power
Why does mining for mineral resources take place in the Taiga and why is it harmful?
- Taiga contains mineral deposits such as iron, silver, gold and diamond
- Many abandoned mines are close to lakes and rivers, which means harmful chemicals are washed into river ecosystems
- Large areas of forest must be cleared to build the mines, and also the roads that lead to them
What are Tar sands and how is oil extracted from them?
- Natural deposits of oil mixed with sediments and water
- The oil can be extracted through Open-Cast mining, where the surface of an area is cleaned then mined, rather than mining underground
Why is open-cast mining bad for the Taiga?
- Produces toxic waste
- Uses huge amounts of water
- Requires the clearing of large areas of forest
Why is hydroelectric power generated in the Taiga and how does it impact it?
- Although the Taiga has low precipitation, they still have a lot of water, especially during Spring
- Huge areas of land need to be flooded to create the reservoirs behind dams
What environmental conditions affect the Taiga?
- Acid Rain
- Pests and diseases
- Forest fires
How does acid rain affect the Taiga?
- Weakens trees, damages needles and can react with soils to form harmful compounds
- It can affect biotic components that rely on the now dead or damaged trees, and increase acid-tolerant plants, which can disrupt the food web
How is acid rain formed?
- Forms when chemicals such as sulfur dioxide and nitrous oxides are released from burning fossil fuels
- These chemicals then react with water in rain clouds to form acidic compounds
How do pests and diseases affect biodiversity?
- Reduce biodiversity by killing large amounts of trees, which reduces food supplies for animals that depend on these trees and their seeds
- As the Taiga already has a low biodiversity, it has a low tolerance for pests and diseases
How do forest fires affect the Taiga?
- A natural process in Taiga forests, and the biome is adapted to cope with them
- However climate change is altering the pattern of wildfires, specifically their range, intensity and time between fires
How do forest fires affect Taiga biodiversity?
- Forest may not have time to regenerate, meaning less tolerant species of trees may die out, which can cut off a food supply for many animals
- Fire-tolerant vegetation may become more dominant, especially shrubs, so only animals that eat these shrubs will be able to survive
What are some areas of the Taiga classed as, and what does this do?
- Classed as Areas of Wilderness
- This means they are untouched by humans, and remain unaffected by human activity
What are two ways of protecting the Taiga?
Wilderness Areas and National Parks
Sustainable Forestry
What can restrictions in wilderness areas and national parks include?
- Bans on motorised transport or heavy vehicles
- Restrictions on recreational activities (such as camping)
- Complete bans on logging, mining, resource extraction and road building
What is sustainable forestry?
- Where forestry activities such as logging are carried out with low environmental impact
What are some examples of sustainable forestry practices?
- Limits on the amount of trees allowed to be cut down
- Selective logging rather than clear cutting
- Tree replanting to balance deforestation
- Monitoring of forestry businesses and practices
What is an example of a Sustainable Forestry practice? (one)
- Forest Certification scheme
- This is where businesses can be certified as a sustainable forestry business if they prove their practices are environmentally, economically and socially beneficial
What challenges are protection efforts presented with?
- Taiga forests are massive areas to monitor, which requires huge amounts of time, money and resources.
- There can be conflicts between land-owners and local businesses, and governments
- Replanting is slow
- Money and resources are needed for all protection and conservation efforts
Who believes in protection of the Taiga?
Indigenous people
Environmental groups
Tourists
Climate scientists
Who believes in exploitation of the Taiga?
Oil companies
Logging companies
HEP companies
Mining companies
Why do indigenous people want the Taiga to be protected?
- Many rely on the goods and services of the land to live (e.g hunting, gathering, firewood)
- In indigenous culture, the forest is often viewed spiritually, so degradation of the forest goes against their spiritual values, heritage and tradition
Why do Environmental groups want to protect the Taiga?
- Groups like WWF and Greenpeace want to protect areas from exploitation due to endangered species and the vulnerable ecosystem
- Exploitation also contributes to fossil fuel emissions and climate change
Why do tourists want to protect the Taiga?
- Some want to visit the area for recreational activities like camping, birdwatching and hiking, so they want the area to be protected so they can enjoy the natural environment
- However, this means they don’t want the forests to be restricted protected areas
Why do climate scientists want to protect the Taiga?
- They understand the taiga’s importance to the environment, especially as a carbon sink and store
