By: Ariana C

• the average temperature is below freezing for six months of the year. Total yearly precipitation in the taiga is 12 - 33 inches. Sometimes snowfall.

• Humid summer months

• There is not much diversity in the taiga, because many

plants cannot survive such harsh conditions. Lichens and

mosses are important, but most of the plants are

evergreen trees. There are many types of coniferous trees such as pine, spruce, hemlock,

and fur. • The trees are narrow and grow

very close together. This is so they can help protect each

other from the weather. That snow and wind can be really

cold!

Herbivores –American Elks-plants and grass

Yellow Bellied Sapsuckers-sap, grass, and plants

American Dippers- grass and plants

Carnivores – The black bear- eats fish and small mammals

Hawk owl- small mammals Red throated loon- fish

• Life in the taiga can be cold and dreary. Snow, cold, and a scarcity of food make life very difficult, especially in the winter. Some taiga animals migrate south, others go into hibernation, while others simply cope with the environment.

• Global Warming - Biologists and scientists think temperature changes over the next century may occur at rates 15 to 50 times faster than historical averages. Organisms will have trouble responding to these changes and will face even greater odds of surviving. Extreme changes in temperature and precipitation could cause climatic zones to shift several hundred kilometers toward the poles over the next 50 years. Climatologists are also predicting that the area covered by the taiga will be lowered by 50-90%.

• 1. The winters are up to six months with mean temperatures and short summers. They have 50-100 frost free days.2. The worlds oldest trees are the bristlecone pines. One of them is 4,600 years old, and it is located in a Taiga.3. Needless actually help keep coniferous tree warm during the winter.