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Although there are rather few species of trees in the boreal forest, there is a considerable diversity of other kinds of plants. An accurate summary is difficult, since most compendia on plants are organized by political, rather than ecological boundaries; one exception addresses the flora of the Hudson Bay Lowland , [ 28 ] but much of this ...
The species within boreal ecosystems varies as it consists of both terrestrial and aquatic habitats. The species composition include many generalized and less specialized feeders. [ 4 ] From the equator to the poles, species richness decreases, and there is a negative relationship with species richness changes as climate changes.
The boreal forest/taiga supports a relatively small variety of highly specialized and adapted animals, due to the harshness of the climate. Canada's boreal forest includes 85 species of mammals, 130 species of fish, and an estimated 32,000 species of insects. [37] Insects play a critical role as pollinators, decomposers, and as a part of the ...
The dominant trees of these coastal forests are balsam fir Abies balsamea along with black spruce Picea mariana, white spruce Picea glauca on the shoreline, and paper birch Betula papyrifera and aspen Populus tremuloides where the forest is regrown following logging or other disturbance. Other plants include mosses and coastal heath shrubs.
Because the island is young and isolated from larger land masses, species biodiversity is relatively low. Forest cover has been reduced to about 1% of the original birch forest by a long history of timber extraction and soil erosion caused by sheep grazing. Blanket bogs (areas of high rainfall and peat accumulation) are common. [1] [2] [3] [4]
The Boreal forest and its alpine cousins are host to a wide variety of deer, ranging from the large moose to the whitetail deer. All of these large herbivores prefer the cool forest lest they overheat in the sun, but all need open land on which to graze. Of the deer, moose are perhaps best adapted to wetlands and thrive in the boggy boreal forest.
Unlike the tundra, which is characterized by a lack of trees and tall vegetation, [45] boreal forests support a number of different tree species. [46] Boreal conditions can be found across northern North America, Europe and Eurasia. [46] The boreal forests in the interior of the continents grow on top of permafrost due to very cold winters (see ...
The coniferous forest goes by many names, including: Boreal forest, fir-spruce forest, the North Woods, and the taiga. It is noted in New England for its "harsh" conditions such as cold, subarctic temperatures, a short growing period, sandy-gravely acidic soil, and a high rate of leeching of nutrients out of the soil.