Coniferous Forest

Have you ever heard of ‘coniferous forest’? Now, I am going to talk about the interesting facts about the coniferous forest (also called ‘taiga’ or ‘boreal forest’). The coniferous forest is mainly in the northern hemisphere, and some in the southern hemisphere. It is mostly in North America (US), Canada, Europe and Asia. The coniferous forests are usually in cold places. Did you know that the average temperature in the coniferous forest is below freezing? In the coniferous forest, winter and summer are the two main seasons. Spring and autumn are so short that it is hard to know if they exist. Winters are extremely long, freezing and dry. Winter lasts about five to seven months. It snows often, and the average temperature is 14°C. The temperature is -54°C to -1°C in winter. Summers are short, humid, warm and rainy. It is about fifty to one hundred frost-free days. The temperature is -7°C to 21°C, and the average temperature is 10°C (50°F). In the coniferous forest, the average precipitation is 83.8 cm (33 in). There is 300 to 900 mm (40 to 100 cm) of rain per year. The amount of precipitation depends on the forest’s place. Some temperate coniferous forest gets 2000 mm of rain per year.

In the coniferous forest, it is likely that the precipitation will fall mainly as snow. The soil in the coniferous forest is poor and rocky. This happens because the tree’s roots (especially pines’) are deeply shallow. So the plants in the coniferous forest adapt to survive in these conditions. This biome is similar to tundra and deciduous forest, but there are some differences. The differences between the coniferous forest and tundra: In the tundra, it is windy like the coniferous forest. In the coniferous forest, it rains and snows. In the tundra, there are about two months of frost-free days. In the coniferous forest, there are about fifty to one hundred frost-free days (as said in the ‘introduction’). The tundra has very less trees than coniferous forest. The coniferous forest is at lower latitudes than the tundra. That makes the sunlight hit the coniferous forest more, and the temperature becomes higher. Also, because the temperature is higher in the coniferous forest, there are more animals and plants.

The differences between the coniferous forest and deciduous forest: Unlike the deciduous forest which has winter, spring, summer and fall for the main seasons, the coniferous forest has winter and summer for the main seasons. The deciduous forest is a forest that the leaves of the trees changes color, and falls down when it is winter and fall. The coniferous forest has trees which the leaves stays the same shape. The coniferous forest is in colder place than the deciduous forest. In the coniferous forest, there is a long-eared owl. The long eared owls are the medium-sized owls (35 cm in length). The ears of the long-eared owls are both not the same shape. One is about half times bigger than the other. The size and the ears are an adaptation to hunt better in dark places. In the coniferous forest, there is a snow shoe rabbit. The snow shoe rabbits are larger than the normal rabbits (50.8 cm in length). In the summer, the snow shoe rabbits change their fur color to grayish-brown. In the winter, the snow shoe rabbits change their fur color to snow-white. They do this in order to protect from the predators. In the coniferous forest, there is a gray wolf. The gray wolves are the biggest wild canine. They have sharp hearing, smelling sense, and reflective retina for adaptation. In the coniferous forest, there is a black bear.

The black bears have round ears, short claws, and short tails. They are omnivorous, and they eat the sugar-rich cambium layer, under the bark of coniferous trees. In the coniferous forest, there is a bald eagle. The bald eagle is the national bird of United States. The bald eagle has a curved beak that is large and strong. Because of the harsh weather, not many plants can survive in the coniferous forest. The common plants in the coniferous forest are the coniferous trees (evergreens). The coniferous trees have long and thin needles. There is a wax on the needles; therefore, it protects from the harsh winds, and snow. The coniferous trees are cone-shaped. They stay their shape all year. There are many lichens and mosses in the coniferous forest. In the coniferous forest, there is a balsam fir. The thing that makes the balsam fir remarkable is that they grow up to 24.384 meters (80 feet). In the coniferous forest, there is a black spruce. The black spruce is astonishing because it is 25 meters long. It can grow in the poor soil and cold temperature.

The pine cones of the black spruce are vital food for birds. In the coniferous forest, there is a jack pine. There are 27 meters long ones and shorter ones. The leaves and cones of the jack pines are food for rodents and the others. The coniferous forest is the largest biome in the world!! We can find the world’s oldest trees in the coniferous forest!! The cool temperature in the coniferous forest keeps decomposition slow!! We use the coniferous trees to produce the paper we use every day!! The coniferous forest has fewer plants and animals than the other biome!! Now you know many interesting facts about the coniferous forest. Don’t you agree that the coniferous forest is interesting? I think that the most interesting part is that the coniferous forest is the largest biome in the world! Thank you for reading the ‘Coniferous Forest’!