Boreal Forest

About Boreal Forest:

• The boreal forest (or “taiga”) is the world’s largest land biome.
• Boreal Ecozone:
  • It principally spans 8 countries:
  • Canada, China, Finland, Japan, Norway, Russia, Sweden and the United States.
• Definition:
  • Boreal forests are defined as forests growing in high-latitude environments where freezing temperatures occur for 6 to 8 months and in which trees are capable of reaching a minimum height of 5 m and a canopy cover of 10%.
• It is typically comprised of coniferous tree species such as pine, spruce and fir with some broadleaf species such as poplar and birch.
• The circumboreal belt of forest represents about 30% of the global forest area, contains more surface freshwater than any other biome.
• The forest — named for Boreas, the Greek god of the north wind — covers 10 percent of the world’s land surface and has a decisive impact on the globe’s northern oceans and overall climate.
• The boreal forest is second only to the Amazon in terms of its vital role in ensuring the future of the planet.
• The boreal forest holds twice as much carbon as all tropical forests combined, and also helps purify a massive amount of freshwater.

Threats:

• increasing forest fires,
• the melting of permafrost,
• intensifying insect infestations and
• warming temperatures.

Drunken trees:

• They are tilted sideways due to melting permafrost.
• Eventually, the soil will completely erode away from the roots, and the trees will tumble.
• This buckling and sinking is because of the degradation of the permafrost, ground that has remained frozen for at least two years in a row.

Source : The Hindu