Abiotic Factors
ABIOTIC FACTORS
The taiga or boreal forest is the world's second largest biome, stretching throughout North America, Europe and Asia and covering 11,5% of Earth's land. Canada, Alaska, the United States, Sweden, Finland, Norway, Scotland, Iceland, Russia, Kazakhstan, Mongolia and Japan all have taiga areas, although Canada and Russia have the largest areas by far. In the US and Canada, the terms taiga and boreal forest are not used interchangeably, and instead boreal forest refers to only the more southerly part of the biome.
Due to its high latitude, the taiga has the lowest average annual temperatures next to the tundra. Its climate can be described as subarctic, and is defined by long, cold winters, as well as short mild summers which are usually 1-3 months in length. Summer days can be long and some areas experience midnight sun in summer, as well as polar nights in winter. Permafrost or discontinuous permafrost occur in many regions.
Precipitation levels are generally low but slightly higher in summer. Snow may melt in this time which can contribute to swampy, moist grounds as it still too cool for much evaporation, although in comparison to winter the air is humid. Taigas have infertile, acidic, podzol soils, particularly as low temperatures slow decomposition processes and there is little nutrient gain by precipitation.
