Overview
The Challenging Part
The most challenging requirement of this honor is probably this:
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.
- d. Watch a DVD or video about the taiga or plants or animals that live in the taiga.
- e. Draw or paint a picture of something you had fun learning about while studying the taiga.
- f. As a group, make a short video about a real life taiga conservation project. Explain why this specific habitat should be saved.
- g. Visit a lumber store and learn to identify by their grain texture at least 3 species of trees that grow in the taiga.
- h. Visit the Taiga and take pictures of some of the plants and animals.
[[AY Honors/Taiga/Requirements|Tab Name/Printable Version]]
1. What are the characteristics of a taiga?
2. What other names are used for the taiga biome?
3. What two countries contain most of the taiga?
4. What biome is found north and south of the taiga?
5. What biome is often found in low-lying pockets within the taiga?
6. What is permafrost and where can it be found?
7. What trees are commonly found in the taiga? Be able to identify them.
8. Which coniferous tree in the taiga loses its needles in the fall and grows new ones in the spring?
9. What non-flowering plants are common in the taiga? Be able to identify them.
10. What animals are commonly found in the taiga? Be able to identify them.
11. What birds are common in the Taiga? Be able to identify them.
12. How does fire affect the taiga?
13. What two important resources are provided to us by the taiga?
14. Learn about one invasive species that affect the taiga.
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.
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.
- d. Watch a DVD or video about the taiga or plants or animals that live in the taiga.
- e. Draw or paint a picture of something you had fun learning about while studying the taiga.
- f. As a group, make a short video about a real life taiga conservation project. Explain why this specific habitat should be saved.
- g. Visit a lumber store and learn to identify by their grain texture at least 3 species of trees that grow in the taiga.
- h. Visit the Taiga and take pictures of some of the plants and animals.
Printable Answer Key Tab Name/Edit Answer Key
1
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
- Boreal forest
- Northwoods
3
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. Taiga is also typical in Finland, Norway and Sweden.
4
Tundra (no trees) to the north; temperate deciduous forest to the south.
5
Bogs are common in those areas. For more information about bogs, see the Bogs & Fens honor.
6
Permafrost (permanent frost) 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. Permafrost creates challenges for utility lines that can not be buried, foundations that warm up the soil and crack, roads and other construction that require special measures.
7
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 (such as the aspens).
Birch
Alder
Aspen
8
Tamarack (Larch)
9
Ferns
Lichens
Mosses
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10
Brown Bear
Moose
Caribou
Wood Bison
Snowshoe Hare
Pine Martin
Red Squirrel
11
Canada Jay
Black-throated Green Warbler
Spruce Grouse
Black-backed Woodpecker
White-crowned Sparrow
Black-capped Chickadee
Common Loon
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12
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. Fires clear underbrush, help fertilize the soil, and renew the forest. However fires also threaten homes, businesses and infrastructure. Fires burn wood that could be harvested. Therefore governments spend a lot of effort to reduce wildfire effects.
13
- a. Softwood for lumber and paper.
- b. Vast wilderness and forests for outdoor recreation.
14
White Pine Blister Rust – This fungus was introduced into the taiga of North America from Asia. The spores from this fungus first infect Gooseberries and/or Wild Currants. It then spreads to the needles of white pines (pines with 5 needles in each cluster) and eventually kills the pine tree when it reaches the bark of the tree's trunk.
15
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
16a
Look for an Arboretum, or perhaps a place that explains about the lumber business. Often there will be a local park focused on trees, or some other place like a zoo might double as an Arboretum.
16b
16c
If you are planning to visit a zoo or aquarium, be aware that there are various honors that have requirements which can be met by visiting a zoo or aquarium. Individuals can work on multiple honors in one visit, or parts of your group may work on different honors during the same visit.
Here is a list of honors which have requirements that can be met by visiting a zoo or aquarium:
16d
16e
16f
16g
16h
References
Content on this wiki is generated by people like you, and no one has created a lesson plan for this honor yet. You could do that and make the world a better place.
See AY Honors/Model Lesson Plan if you need ideas for creating one.
1. What are the characteristics of a taiga?
2. What other names are used for the taiga biome?
3. What two countries contain most of the taiga?
4. What biome is found north and south of the taiga?
5. What biome is often found in low-lying pockets within the taiga?
6. What is permafrost and where can it be found?
7. What trees are commonly found in the taiga? Be able to identify them.
8. Which coniferous tree in the taiga loses its needles in the fall and grows new ones in the spring?
9. What non-flowering plants are common in the taiga? Be able to identify them.
10. What animals are commonly found in the taiga? Be able to identify them.
11. What birds are common in the Taiga? Be able to identify them.
12. How does fire affect the taiga?
13. What two important resources are provided to us by the taiga?
14. Learn about one invasive species that affect the taiga.
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.
- Date completed: ________________________________________
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.
- d. Watch a DVD or video about the taiga or plants or animals that live in the taiga.
- e. Draw or paint a picture of something you had fun learning about while studying the taiga.
- f. As a group, make a short video about a real life taiga conservation project. Explain why this specific habitat should be saved.
- g. Visit a lumber store and learn to identify by their grain texture at least 3 species of trees that grow in the taiga.
- h. Visit the Taiga and take pictures of some of the plants and animals.
- Date completed: ________________________________________
