The Scandinavian and Russian taiga is an

ecoregion An ecoregion (ecological region) is an ecological and geographic area that exists on multiple different levels, defined by type, quality, and quantity of environmental resources. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of land or water, and c ...

within the taiga and boreal forests

biome A biome () is a distinct geographical region with specific climate, vegetation, and animal life. It consists of a biological community that has formed in response to its physical environment and regional climate. In 1935, Tansley added the ...

as defined by the WWF classification (ecoregion PA0608). It is situated in

Northern Europe The northern region of Europe has several definitions. A restrictive definition may describe northern Europe as being roughly north of the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, which is about 54th parallel north, 54°N, or may be based on other ge ...

between

tundra In physical geography, a tundra () is a type of biome where tree growth is hindered by frigid temperatures and short growing seasons. There are three regions and associated types of tundra: #Arctic, Arctic, Alpine tundra, Alpine, and #Antarctic ...

in the north and temperate mixed forests in the south and occupies about in

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

and the northern part of European

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

, being the largest ecoregion in Europe. In Sweden the taiga is primarily associated with the

Norrland terrain Norrland terrain () is a geomorphic unit covering the bulk of Norrland and the northwestern half of Svealand. Except for The High Coast the coastal areas of Norrland do not belong to the Norrland terrain. The southern and eastern boundary of the ...

Description

The Scandinavian and Russian taiga consists of

conifer Conifers () are a group of conifer cone, cone-bearing Spermatophyte, seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the phylum, division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a sin ...

ous

forest A forest is an ecosystem characterized by a dense ecological community, community of trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, ...

s dominated by ''

Pinus sylvestris ''Pinus sylvestris'', the Scots pine (UK), Scotch pine (US), Baltic pine, or European red pine is a species of tree in the pine family Pinaceae that is native plant, native to Eurasia. It can readily be identified by its combination of fairly s ...

'' (in drier locations), often with an understory of ''

Juniperus communis ''Juniperus communis'', the common juniper, is a species of small tree or shrub in the cypress family Cupressaceae. An evergreen conifer, it has the largest geographical range of any woody plant, with a circumpolar distribution throughout the coo ...

'', ''

Picea abies ''Picea abies'', the Norway spruce or European spruce, is a species of spruce native to Northern Europe, Northern, Central Europe, Central and Eastern Europe. It has branchlets that typically hang downwards, and the largest cones of any spruce, ...

'' and '' Picea obovata'' and a significant admixture of '' Betula pubescens'' and ''

Betula pendula ''Betula pendula'', commonly known as silver birch, warty birch, European white birch, or East Asian white birch, is a species of tree in the family (biology), family Betulaceae, native plant, native to Europe and parts of Asia, though in so ...

''. ''

Larix sibirica ''Larix sibirica'', the Siberian larch or Russian larch, is a frost-hardy tree native to western Russia, from close to the Finnish border east to the Yenisei valley in central Siberia, where it hybridises with the Dahurian larch ''L. gmelinii ...

'' is characteristic of the eastern part of the ecoregion. Geobotanically, it belongs to the Northeastern European

floristic province A phytochorion, in phytogeography, is a geographic area with a relatively uniform composition of plant species. Adjacent phytochoria do not usually have a sharp boundary, but rather a soft one, a transitional area in which many species from both re ...

of the

Circumboreal Region The Circumboreal Region in phytogeography is a floristic region within the Holarctic Kingdom in Eurasia and North America, as delineated by such geobotanists as Josias Braun-Blanquet and Armen Takhtajan. It is the largest floristic region i ...

of the Holarctic Kingdom. There are a number of special status mammals and birds within the Scandinavian and Russian taiga, as well as one reptilian

taxon In biology, a taxon (back-formation from ''taxonomy''; : taxa) is a group of one or more populations of an organism or organisms seen by taxonomists to form a unit. Although neither is required, a taxon is usually known by a particular name and ...

. Growing season in taiga areas is generally considered to be measured as the number of days for which average daily temperature exceeds . The longest growing season for the Scandinavian and Russian taiga occurs in the locales with marine influence from the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Denmark, Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. A sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian Se ...

and

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by the countries of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden, and the North European Plain, North and Central European Plain regions. It is the ...

: in coastal areas of Norway, Sweden and Finland the growing season of the closed boreal forest can reach as high as 145 to 180 days per annum. The shortest growing season of the ecoregion is found in continental Russia and at the far northern part of the ecoregion at the

ecotone An ecotone is a transitional area between two plant communities, where these meet and integrate. Examples include areas between grassland and forest, estuaries and lagoon, freshwater and sea water etc. An ecotone may be narrow or wide, and it ma ...

with

. Soil nutrient levels are generally poor, but diversity of soil organisms can attain high levels, particularly in the southern reaches of the ecoregion. In these southern elements of the ecoregion, closed canopy

boreal forest Taiga or tayga ( ; , ), also known as boreal forest or snow forest, is a biome characterized by pinophyta, coniferous forests consisting mostly of pines, spruces, and larches. The taiga, or boreal forest, is the world's largest land biome. I ...

with some temperate deciduous tree species interspersed among the dominant conifers, including

maple ''Acer'' is a genus of trees and shrubs commonly known as maples. The genus is placed in the soapberry family Sapindaceae.Stevens, P. F. (2001 onwards). Angiosperm Phylogeny Website. Version 9, June 2008 nd more or less continuously updated si ...

, elm and

oak An oak is a hardwood tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' of the beech family. They have spirally arranged leaves, often with lobed edges, and a nut called an acorn, borne within a cup. The genus is widely distributed in the Northern Hemisp ...

. In some areas of Norway, Sweden, Finland and western Russia, this zone is exploited for

agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

. Some of the elements of the ecoregion are rich in

wetlands A wetland is a distinct semi-aquatic ecosystem whose groundcovers are flooded or saturated in water, either permanently, for years or decades, or only seasonally. Flooding results in oxygen-poor ( anoxic) processes taking place, especially ...

, as exemplified by the Femundsmarka National Park in Norway, which is replete with marshes and lakes.

Biodiversity

There are a total of 368 native

vertebrate Vertebrates () are animals with a vertebral column (backbone or spine), and a cranium, or skull. The vertebral column surrounds and protects the spinal cord, while the cranium protects the brain. The vertebrates make up the subphylum Vertebra ...

species in the Scandinavian and Russian taiga according to WWF tabulation; when all migratory bird

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

are included, this number is somewhat larger. This ecoregion supports the following native non-endemic threatened mammals: * European mink ('' Mustela lutreola'', Endangered) * European otter ('' Lutra lutra'', Near Threatened) * garden dormouse ('' Eliomys quercinus'', Near Threatened) * Greater noctule bat ('' Nyctalus lasiopterus'', Near Threatened) * pond bat ('' Myotis dasycneme'', Near Threatened) * western barbastelle ('' Barbastella barbastellus'', Vulnerable) * Russian desman ('' Desmana moschata'', Vulnerable) The Scandinavian and Russian taiga has only a single non-endemic special status native reptile: the Lower Risk grass snake ('' Natrix natrix''). Native non-endemic threatened avian species in the ecoregion are: * aquatic warbler ('' Acrocephalus paludicola'', Vulnerable) * black-tailed godwit ('' Limosa limosa'', Near Threatened) * Eurasian curlew ('' Numenius arquata'', Near Threatened) * European roller ('' Coracias garrulus'', Near Threatened) * great snipe ('' Gallinago media'', Near Threatened) * greater spotted eagle ('' Aquila clanga'', Vulnerable) * lesser white-fronted goose ('' Anser erythropus'', Vulnerable) * pallid harrier ('' Circus macrourus'', Near Threatened) * red-footed falcon ('' Falco vespertinus'', Near Threatened) * yellow-breasted bunting ('' Emberiza aureola'', Vulnerable)

Protected areas

The following is a partial list of protected areas lying within the Scandinavian and Russian taiga: * Björnlandet National Park, Sweden * Femundsmarka National Park, Norway * Helvetinjärvi National Park, Finland * Isojärvi National Park, Finland *

Koli National Park Koli National Park () is a national park in the municipalities of Joensuu, Lieksa and Kontiolahti in the North Karelia region of Finland. It covers of forested hills on the western shore of Lake Pielinen. The park was established in 1991 a ...

, Finland * Liesjärvi National Park, Finland * Muddus National Park, Sweden * Paanajärvi National Park, Russia * Skuleskogen National Park, Sweden * Vodlozersky National Park, Russia

References

* * * * * {{refend Taiga and boreal forests Ecoregions of Europe Ecoregions of Finland Ecoregions of Norway Ecoregions of Russia Ecoregions of Sweden Forests of Finland Forests and woodlands of Norway Forests of Sweden Palearctic ecoregions