RU-8995556

    From the Finnish to the Russian winter with a postcard of a taiga forest in Primorsky Krai,, located in the Far East region of the country. 

    The taiga, also known as coniferous forest, or boreal forest, is a predominant biome in regions located in the Northern Hemisphere, in latitudes whose typical climate is cold and polar continental, such as northern Alaska, Canada, southern Greenland, part of Norway, Sweden, Finland, Siberia and Japan.

 

RU-8995556, sent by Svetlana.

    In Russia, the world’s largest taiga stretches about 5,800 kilometers (3,600 miles), from the Pacific Ocean to the Ural Mountains. This taiga region was completely glaciated, or covered by glaciers, during the last ice age. 

    Taigas are thick forests. Coniferous trees, such as spruce, pine, and fir, are common. Coniferous trees have needles instead of broad leaves, and their seeds grow inside protective, woody cones. While deciduous trees of temperate forests lose their leaves in winter, conifers never lose their needles. For this reason, conifers are also called “evergreens.”

    Conifers have adapted to survive the long, cold winters and short summers of the taiga. Their needles contain very little sap, which helps prevent freezing. Their dark color and triangle-shaped sides help them catch and absorb as much of the sun’s light as possible. In the taiga, tree growth is thickest beside muskegs and lakes formed by glaciers. 

    Taigas have few native plants besides conifers. The soil of the taiga has few nutrients. It can also freeze, making it difficult for many plants to take root. The larch is one of the only deciduous trees able to survive in the freezing northern taiga. - in: https://www.nationalgeographic.org