Nearctica - Biomes - Northern Boreal Forest - Trees - Variation in the Northern Boreal Forest (Taiga)

Some Examples of Northern Boreal Forest (Taiga)

Special Segments General Topics

Return to Northern Boreal Forest

The Northern Boreal Forest is dominated by only two species of trees; Black Spruce (Picea mariana) and White Spruce (Picea glauca). Nearly pure stands of these two species can extend for hundreds of miles. The general elevation of the Northern Boreal Forest is constant and the topography is relatively flat.

Although the Northern Boreal Forest has much less precipitation than the Eastern Deciduous Forest, water seems to be everywhere in the form of streams, marshes, bogs, lakes, and just plain soggy ground. The picture on the left shows a meandering stream, a typical feature of the forest.

Lakes are a common feature of the Northern Boreal Forest, but are most common in the southern half of the biome. Most of these lakes were carved by the glaciers and are relatively young and cold. The ideal place to go see this form of the Northern Boreal Forest is the Boundaries Water region of Minnesota and Ontario, a massive interconnected series of lakes in the Northern Boreal Forest

A bog is a standing body of water typically without drainage and without a source of water except drainage from the surrounding forest. Bogs often form in the holes created by melting blocks of ice left by receding glaciers. Bog water is typically cold, very acidic, and low in oxygen. A form of moss called sphagnum moss, over time, develops a floating mat of vegetation. This mass of vegetation can support shrubs and small trees. Bogs are sometimes called quaking bogs because the "ground" qivers when you walk on it. It is not uncommon to break through the overlying sphagnum layer into the water below. A number of plant species are unique to bog areas because of the acid condition of the water and its other unique physical conditions.

Much of the soil layers of the northern half of the Northern Boreal Forest is permanently frozen, permafrost. When the glaciers retreated they left behind a sheet of water which could not drain into the underlying rock strata because of the permafrost. The layer of cold water was colonized by sphagnum moss until the habitat was a solid mass of sphagnum moss with a few small conifers for company. This type of habitat is called muskeg. The combination of the permafrost and the boggy condition of the unfrozen top layer of soil make it difficult for trees to properly root. Trees are small, widely spaced, and often fall over if they get too tall.

In Alaska a combination of Northern Boreal Forest habitats can be found. The photograph on the left shows a glacier in Alaska. Normal Northern Boreal Forest is found in the foreground, but is replaced with muskeg half way to the glacier. Surrounding the glacier is tundra vegetation.

This picture shows the Northern Boreal Forest in winter.

At the southern boundary of the Northern Boreal Forest is a transition zone to Eastern Deciduous Forest. The picture on the left shows such a transitional forest in New Hampshire formed from Black Spruce and Red Spruce mixed with maples and a few other species of deciduous trees.