AY Honors/Taiga/Answer Key
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1. What are the characteristics of a taiga?
The taiga is the largest terrestrial biome and represents 29% of the world’s forest cover. This biome is dominated by coniferous trees (needle-leafed trees). The taiga is located from about 50 degrees N to 70 degrees N. There is no taiga in the southern hemisphere. The taiga has extreme temperature variation between the seasons with long cold winters dominating the climate. Low precipitation and shallow soils are also common in these areas.
2. What or other names are used for the taiga biome?
- Boreal forest
- Northwoods
3. What two countries contain most of the taiga?
Canada and Russia contain most of the taiga. Much of Alaska is taiga, and some is also located in the northernmost reaches of the continental United States.
4. What biome is found north and south of the taiga?
Tundra (no trees) to the north; temperate deciduous forest to the south.
5. What biome is often found in low-lying pockets within the taiga?
Bogs are common in those areas. For more information about bogs, see the Bogs & Fens honor.
6. What is permafrost and where can it be found?
Permafrost is where the ground remains frozen year round. During the summer the top layers may melt but the soil below remains frozen all year. Tundra and portions of the Taiga have permafrost.
7. What trees are commonly found in the taiga? Be able to identify them.
Coniferous trees such as pines, spruces, firs and tamarack (Larch) are common.
White pine
Spruce
Balsam Fir
Tamarack
Where there is more moisture and protection from the extreme cold there will also be birches, alders and poplars.
Birch
Alder
Aspen
8. Which coniferous tree in the taiga looses its needles in the fall and grows new ones in the spring?
Tamarack (Larch)
9. What non-flowering plants are common in the taiga? Be able to identify them.
Ferns
Lichens
Mosses
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10. What animals are commonly found in the taiga? Be able to identify them.
Brown Bear
Moose
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Woodland Caribou
Wood Bison
Snowshoe Hare
Pine Martin
Red Squirrel
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11. What birds are common in the Taiga? Be able to identify them.
Canada Jay
Black-throated Green Warbler
Spruce Grouse
Black-backed Woodpecker
White-crowned Sparrow
Black-capped Chickadee
Common Loon
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12. How does fire affect the taiga?
Natural fires from lightning occur every 70-100 years in the taiga. Many of the trees and plants of the taiga are fire resistant (their bark does not burn well), or like the Jack Pine, require fire to open the cones to replant the forest.
13. What two important resources are provided to us by the taiga?
- a. Softwood for lumber and paper.
- b. Vast wilderness and forests for outdoor recreation.
14. Learn about one invasive species that affect the taiga.
White Pine Blister Rust – This fungus was introduced from Asia. The spores from this fungus first infect Gooseberries and/or Wild Currents. It then spreads to the needles of white pines (pines with 5 needles in each cluster) and eventually kills the pine tree when it gets to the bark of the trunk of the tree.
15. Prepare an object lesson about a plant or animal or bird that lives in the taiga. Tell this lesson at a club worship. Be sure to include a bible text in this presentation.
Here is one example:
It is only when burned by fire that a cone from a Jack Pine will open (explode from the heat). The seeds are released from the cone and new life begins. Like the fire, trials in our lives sometimes cause us to do or learn new things that can truly bless us if we rely on God for our strength and direction.
"And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God" - Romans 8:28
16. Do at least two of the following activities:
A. Visit an exhibit or conservatory of coniferous tree species.
B. Make a collection of at least 5 types of coniferous tree leaves.
C. Visit a zoo where there are animals typical of the taiga biome.
Adventist Youth Honors Answer Book/Zoo Visit
