"summer. The rainfall is very low. This is true of the southwest as well, where steppes, deserts and semi-deserts border on one another. Agriculture is only possible in Siberia without artificial irrigation today between 50° and 60° north. The climatic situation is responsible for the different biomes of the region. In the northernmost section, there is tundra with minimal vegetation. The largest part of Siberia, aside from the mountainous regions, is taiga, northern coniferous forests. In the southwest this becomes forested steppe, and even further south it transitions to grass steppes and the central Asian desert. Before the beginning of"
"Taiga Taiga (; ; possibly of Turkic or Mongolic origin), also known as boreal forest or snow forest, is a biome characterized by coniferous forests consisting mostly of pines, spruces, and larches. The taiga is the world's largest biome apart from the oceans. In North America it covers most of inland Canada, Alaska, and parts of the northern continental United States. In Eurasia, it covers most of Sweden, Finland, much of Norway, some of the Scottish Highlands, some lowland/coastal areas of Iceland, much of Russia from Karelia in the west to the Pacific Ocean (including much of Siberia), and areas"
"an alternative stable state to the spruce–moss forests”. Taiga Taiga (; ; possibly of Turkic or Mongolic origin), also known as boreal forest or snow forest, is a biome characterized by coniferous forests consisting mostly of pines, spruces, and larches. The taiga is the world's largest biome apart from the oceans. In North America it covers most of inland Canada, Alaska, and parts of the northern continental United States. In Eurasia, it covers most of Sweden, Finland, much of Norway, some of the Scottish Highlands, some lowland/coastal areas of Iceland, much of Russia from Karelia in the west to the"
"Trans-Baikal conifer forests The Trans-Baikal conifer forests ecoregion (WWF ID:PA0609) covers a 1,000 km by 1,000 km region of mountainous southern taiga stretching east and south from the shores of Lake Baikal in the Southern Siberia region of Russia, and including part of northern Mongolia. Historically, the area has been called ""Dauria"", or Transbaikal (""the land beyond Lake Baikal""). It is in the Palearctic ecozone (WWF System Biome), and mostly in the Boreal forests/taiga ecoregion with a subarctic, humid climate. It covers . The ecoregion is centered on the Yablonoi Mountains, a range that reaches heights of , and runs"
"Scandinavian and Russian taiga The Scandinavian taiga is an ecoregion within the Taiga and Boreal forests Biome as defined by the WWF classification (ecoregion PA0608). It is situated in Northern Europe between tundra in the north and temperate mixed forests in the south and occupies about 2,156,900 km² (832,800 mi²) in Norway, Sweden, Finland and the northern part of European Russia, being the largest ecoregion in Europe. In Sweden the taiga is primarily associated with the Norrland terrain. The Scandinavian and Russian taiga consists of coniferous forests dominated by ""Pinus sylvestris"" (in drier locations), often with an understory of ""Juniperus"
"Scandinavian coastal conifer forests The Scandinavian coastal conifer forest ecoregion or the Norwegian coastal conifer forest ecoregion, a Palearctic ecoregion in the temperate coniferous forests biome, is located in along the coast of Norway. Within it are a number of small areas with botanical features and a local climate consistent with a temperate rainforest. The Scandinavian coastal conifer forest PA0520 is a terrestrial ecoregion as defined by WWF. and National Geographic. The broad definition is based on climatic parameters and includes a long area along the western Norwegian coast from Lindesnes and north to approximately Senja (further north summers are"
"Sayan montane conifer forests The Sayan montane conifer forests ecoregion (WWF ID:PA0519) covers the mid-elevation levels of the Sayan Mountains, the high mountain range between the taiga of Siberia, Russia to the north, and the steppes of Mongolia to the south. The slopes of the mountains at the mid-altitudes are covered by Temperate coniferous forest. The ecoregion is in the Palearctic ecozone, with a Cold semi-arid climate climate. It covers . The ecoregion stretches some 2,500 km from the Kuznetsk Alatau mountains in the west, across the western and eastern Sayan Mountain ranges, to the southeastern shores of Lake Baikal."
"are mostly forested in pine or spruce, but with widespread patches of alder and birch in disturbed areas. Nurgush is located in the ""Scandinavian and Russian taiga"" eco-region. It is situated in Northern Europe between tundra in the north and temperate mixed forests in the south. It is covers parts of Norway, Sweden, Finland and the northern part of European Russia, being the largest eco-region in Europe. Coniferous forests dominated by Pinus sylvestris (in drier locations), often with an understory of Juniperus communis, Picea abies and Picea obovata and a significant admixture of Betula pubescens and Betula pendula. Larix sibirica"
"is a widely distributed conifer family, with a near-global range in all continents except for Antarctica, stretching from 71°N in arctic Norway (""Juniperus communis"") south to 55°S in southernmost Chile (""Pilgerodendron uviferum""), while ""Juniperus indica"" reaches 5200 m altitude in Tibet, the highest altitude reported for any woody plant. Most habitats on land are occupied, with the exceptions of polar tundra and tropical lowland rainforest (though several species are important components of temperate rainforests and tropical highland cloud forests); they are also rare in deserts, with only a few species able to tolerate severe drought, notably ""Cupressus dupreziana"" in the"
"taiga forests which change to mixed and deciduous forests in the south. The eastern mountain slopes have light coniferous taiga forests. The Northern Urals are dominated by conifers, namely Siberian fir, Siberian pine, Scots pine, Siberian spruce, Norway spruce and Siberian larch, as well as by silver and downy birches. The forests are much sparser in the Polar Urals. Whereas in other parts of the Ural Mountains they grow up to an altitude of 1000 m, in the Polar Urals the tree line is at 250–400 m. The polar forests are low and are mixed with swamps, lichens, bogs and"
"the additional of two more realms: Oceania and the Antarctic realm. The Palearctic realm includes mostly boreal/subarctic-climate and temperate-climate ecoregions, which run across Eurasia from western Europe to the Bering Sea. The boreal and temperate Euro-Siberian region is the Palearctic's largest biogeographic region, which transitions from tundra in the northern reaches of Russia and Scandinavia to the vast taiga, the boreal coniferous forests which run across the continent. South of the taiga are a belt of temperate broadleaf and mixed forests and temperate coniferous forests. This vast Euro-Siberian region is characterized by many shared plant and animal species, and has"
"Boreal forest of Canada Canada's Boreal forest comprises about one third of the circumpolar boreal forest that rings the Northern Hemisphere, mostly north of the 50th parallel. Other countries with boreal forest, also called taiga, include Russia, which contains the majority, the United States in its northern most state of Alaska, and the Scandinavian or Northern European countries (e.g. Sweden, Finland, Norway and small regions of Scotland). The boreal region in Canada covers almost 60% of the country's land area. The Canadian boreal region spans the landscape from the most easterly part of the province of Newfoundland and Labrador to"
"in the world. During the last glacial maximum, the area was not glaciated, allowing for the development of a complex ecosystem containing species with origins in Siberia’s boreal forest and Manchuria’s subtropical forests. Historically these forests ranged from the southeastern Pacific coast of Russia, North Korea, and into northern China, however large amounts of human development (in China especially) has limited the forest to its current range in the Russian Far East. In 2001, UNESCO recognized a 1.5 million hectare area of forest in the central part of the Sikhote-Alin mountains as a World Heritage Site in Russia, citing the"
"areas of the southern boreal forest in central Alaska, western Canada and portions of far eastern Russia. Precipitation is relatively abundant in Scandinavia, Finland, northwest Russia and eastern Canada, where a longer growth season (i.e. the period when sap flow is not impeded by frozen water) accelerate tree growth. As a consequence of this warming trend, the warmer parts of the boreal forests are susceptible to replacement by grassland, parkland or temperate forest. In Siberia, the taiga is converting from predominantly needle-shedding larch trees to evergreen conifers in response to a warming climate. This is likely to further accelerate warming,"
"height is only 2 – 4 m. Outside Norway (and adjacent areas in Sweden), the only other areas in the world with the tree line mostly made up by a small-leaved deciduous tree like birch - in contrast to conifers - are Iceland and the Kamtschatka peninsula. A conifer tree line is sometimes used (""No: Barskoggrense"") to divide this zone into two subzones, as the conifers will (usually) not grow as high up as the mountain birch. Spruce and pine grow at nearly 1,100 m above sea level in some areas of Jotunheimen, down to in Bergen (900 m at"
"Scandinavian Montane Birch forest and grasslands The Scandinavian Montane Birch forests and grasslands ecoregion, a Palearctic ecoregion of the Alpine tundra and Boreal forest Biomes, located in Norway, Sweden, and Finland. It is one of the terrestrial ecoregions determined and defined by the World Wildlife Fund. The Scandinavian Montane Birch forests and grasslands is one of the Global 200 ecoregions, and is thus regarded as a high priority for conservation. The ecoregion follows the Scandinavian Mountains, and spans 11 degrees of latitude from the south to the north. Abouth two-thirds of the ecoregion are located in Norway, about one-third in"
"the head of Sognefjord), 900 m in Lillehammer (mountains near Oslo too low to observe a tree line), 500 m in Trondheim (750 m in Oppdal), 350 m in Narvik, 200 m in Harstad, in Alta and the most northerly pine forest in the world is in Stabbursdalen National Park in Porsanger. There are some forestry in this part of the NB zone; some conifers can grow quite large even if growth is slow. The boreal zones in Norway belongs to three ecoregions: The area dominated by spruce forests (some birch, pine, willow, aspen) mostly belong to the Scandinavian and"
"Okhotsk-Manchurian taiga The Okhotsk-Manchurian taiga ecoregion (WWF ID:PA0606) is an area of coniferous forests in the Russian Far East, covering the Amur River delta, the west coast of the Okhotsk Sea, and the rugged extension of the northern Sikhote-Alin Mountains that run southwest-to-northeast through the Primorsky and Khabarovsk regions. It is the southernmost taiga forest in Eurasia. The ecoregion is distinguished from surrounding ecoregions by the slightly warmer climate due to the maritime influence and the shield of the mountains to the west, and by the mixing of flora and fauna species from Okhotsk-Kamchatka communities to the north and Manchurian"
"Sarmatic mixed forests The Sarmatic mixed forests constitute an ecoregion within the Temperate broadleaf and mixed forests Biome, according to the World Wide Fund for Nature classification (ecoregion PA0436). This ecoregion is situated in Europe between boreal forests/taiga in the north and the broadleaf belt in the south and occupies about 846,100 km² (326,700 mi²) in southernmost Norway, southern Sweden (except southernmost), southwesternmost Finland, northern Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, northern Belarus and the central part of European Russia. It is bordered by the ecoregions of Scandinavian and Russian taiga (north), Urals montane tundra and taiga (east), East European forest steppe (southeast),"
"with sharp edges only on stream banks. The shapes of the lake shorelines are heavily influenced by the activities of beavers. The forest cover is middle and southern taiga, in the Unzha River valley. The reserve itself has only small tributaries of the Unzha flowing through it. Kologrivski Forest is located in the ""Sarmatic mixed forests"" ecoregion. This ecoregion is a belt of forest running from southern Norway, across European Russia to the Ural Mountains. The region lies between boreal forests/taiga in the north and the broadleaf belt in the south The ecoregion is characterized by mixed forests dominated by"
"Birds of North American boreal forests The boreal forest or taiga of the North American continent stretches through a majority of Canada and most of central Alaska, extending spottily into the beginning of the Rocky Mountain range in Northern Montana and into New England and the Adirondack Mountains of New York. This habitat extends as far north as the tree line (replaced by the High Arctic tundra) and discontinues in mixed deciduous-coniferous forests to the south. The ""taiga"", as it is called there, of Eurasia occupies a similar range on those continents. Throughout the Northern Hemisphere, the boreal forest covers"
"and one can even see european beavers although more rarely. There are also some amphibians including the common frog and the smooth newt; the european viper can be seen south of the Arctic circle. Scandinavian coastal conifer forests The Scandinavian coastal conifer forest ecoregion or the Norwegian coastal conifer forest ecoregion, a Palearctic ecoregion in the temperate coniferous forests biome, is located in along the coast of Norway. Within it are a number of small areas with botanical features and a local climate consistent with a temperate rainforest. The Scandinavian coastal conifer forest PA0520 is a terrestrial ecoregion as defined"
"Siberia. The continental interiors are the driest areas. From north to south the East European Plain, also known as Russian Plain, is clad sequentially in Arctic tundra, coniferous forest (taiga), mixed and broad-leaf forests, grassland (steppe), and semi-desert (fringing the Caspian Sea), as the changes in vegetation reflect the changes in climate. Siberia supports a similar sequence but is largely taiga. Russia has the world's largest forest reserves, known as ""the lungs of Europe"", second only to the Amazon Rainforest in the amount of carbon dioxide it absorbs. There are 266 mammal species and 780 bird species in Russia. A"
"Abies sibirica Abies sibirica, the Siberian fir, is a coniferous evergreen tree native to the taiga east of the Volga River and north of 67°40' North latitude in Siberia through Turkestan, northeast Xinjiang, Mongolia and Heilongjiang. The tree lives in the cold boreal climate on moist soils in mountains or river basins at elevations of 1900–2400 m. It is very shade-tolerant, frost-resistant, and hardy, surviving temperatures down to −50 °C. It rarely lives over 200 years due to the susceptibility to fungal decay in the wood. Siberian fir, ""Abies sibirica"", grows 30–35 m tall with a trunk diameter of 0.5–1"
"Northeast Siberian taiga The Northeast Siberian taiga ecoregion (WWF ID:PA0605) is an area of ""sparse taiga forest"" between the Lena River and the Kolyma River in northeastern Siberia, Russia. The ecoregion's internal borders form a patchwork of territory constituting the lowlands around the ridges and peaks of the Verkhoyansk Range and the Chersky Range of mountains. On the southern border of the ecoregion is the north coast of the Sea of Okhotsk, giving the region maritime boreal forests as well as the continental forests situated inland. The ecoregion is one of the largest tracts of virgin boreal forest in the"
"of Buryatia, and Chita and Khilok in Zabaykalsky Krai. Otherwise, the region is sparsely populated. The Trans-Siberian Railroad bisects the region from west to east. Trans-Baikal conifer forests The Trans-Baikal conifer forests ecoregion (WWF ID:PA0609) covers a 1,000 km by 1,000 km region of mountainous southern taiga stretching east and south from the shores of Lake Baikal in the Southern Siberia region of Russia, and including part of northern Mongolia. Historically, the area has been called ""Dauria"", or Transbaikal (""the land beyond Lake Baikal""). It is in the Palearctic ecozone (WWF System Biome), and mostly in the Boreal forests/taiga ecoregion"
"fjords. The northern part follows the Kjølen mountains, and also goes down to the fjords in the west. The western part of the ecoregion, both in the south and north, borders on the Scandinavian coastal conifer forests ecoregion or directly on the fjords (Norwegian Sea and North Sea). The eastern part of the ecoregion, both in the south and the north, borders on the Scandinavian and Russian taiga ecoregion. In the far south it meets the Sarmatic mixed forest ecoregion, while the extreme northeasternmost part near the Barents Sea bordes on the Kola peninsula tundra ecoregion. Parts of the ecoregion"
"to even to depth of solid ice. Taiga is the largest forest in the world covering and accounts for 25% of world's wood reserves. Winter season is the harshest with biting cold conditions. When snow melts here it becomes a ""spongy wetland with lakes, pools and puddles"" The steppe land lies from Voronezh and Senatov to Kuban area to north of the Caucasus. It extends into south western Siberia. The topography is flat and undulating with dominance of black soil (""chernozen""). The region is drained by the Volga River forming a delta before it debouches into the Caspian Sea. The"
"West Siberian broadleaf and mixed forests The West Siberian broadleaf and mixed forests (also 'Western Siberian Hemiboreal forest') ecoregion (WWF ID:PA0444) is a thin band of mixed forest along the southernmost edge of the taiga (coniferous forests) in Western Siberia, just north of the forest-steppe region and south of the West Siberian taiga. The biodiversity of the zone is the highest in Siberia, due to its transitional position between many different ecoregions. The area acts as a long corridor for migration of animals along the east-west axis. The ecoregion is in the Palearctic ecozone, with a Humid Continental climate. It"
"frigida (Fringed sagebrush). There are portions of two significant protected areas in the Sayan intermontane steppe ecoregion: Sayan Intermontane steppe The Sayan intermontane steppe ecoregion (WWF ID:PA0815) is sometimes referred to as a ""steppe island"", being an expanse of grassland and shrubs surrounded by mountain forests in the Tyva Republic of south central Siberia, Russia. The Altai mountains are to the west, the Sayan mountains to the north, and the Tannu-Ola mountains to the south. The ecoregion is in the Temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome, and the Palearctic ecozone, with a Humid Continental climate. For much of its length,"
"alluvial sediments. The banks of the tributaries of the Kerzhenets are marked by outcrops of carbonate rocks. Kerzhinski is located in the Scandinavian and Russian taiga ecoregion. This is situated in Northern Europe between tundra in the north and temperate mixed forests in the south. It is covers parts of Norway, Sweden, Finland and the northern part of European Russia, being the largest ecoregion in Europe. Coniferous forests dominated by Pinus sylvestris (in drier locations), often with an understory of Juniperus communis, Picea abies and Picea obovata and a significant admixture of Betula pubescens and Betula pendula. Larix sibirica is"
"Western Himalayan subalpine conifer forests The Western Himalayan subalpine conifer forests is a temperate coniferous forests ecoregion of the middle and upper elevations of the western Middle Himalayas of Nepal, India, and Pakistan. The ecoregion forms a belt of coniferous forest covering on elevations between . It extends west from the Gandaki River in Nepal, through the Indian states of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh, and into Jammu and Kashmir eastern Pakistan. This belt of conifers is the highest expanse of woodland to be found on the slopes of the Himalayas, treeless alpine scrub lying just above its ecotopic frontier. It"
"Taymyr Nature Reserve Taymyr Nature Reserve () (also Taimyrsky) is a Russian 'zapovednik' (strict nature reserve) located in the northern lowlands of Siberia, on the Taimyr Peninsula, and on the coast of the Laptev Sea of the Arctic Ocean. The reserve includes the most northern forest of Dahurian larch in the world, and also the most northern mainland mountain range in the world. The protected area was established to protect the breeding grounds of the Red-breasted goose (Branta ruficollis) as well as the summer residences of wild reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) and the biodiversity of the Lake Taymyr. The reserve is"