By: Ashley Steele

1. Plants within the Taiga Biome By: Ashley Steele

2. Black Spruce • The Black Spruce is a large growing tree, can grow to be twenty-five meters tall. • Assumed to be native growing within the taiga biome. It is a very plentiful species. • The Black Spruce has sharp needles with four sides on them. The needles are blue-green, short, and pointed. The bark of the tree is grey in color and usually is layered. • The Black Spruce has pinecones. The pinecones are black and the seeds are usually a purplish-brown. • Animals such as birds eat the plant seeds, allowing the animal to take in a great amount of nutrients. Many animals such as deer, moose and elk do not feed of this plant. The white tailed deer will only eat the saplings under starvation. • The Black Spruce enjoys colder climates in the northern part of the world. The Black Spruce is able to survive in the colder climates because of its layered twigs, waxy pine needles, and rough bark. These survival skills are essential to protect the Black Spruce from the cold and predators. The Black spruce DOES NOT have a special root system at all. • The Black Spruce is useful to humans to build houses. It is very good house building material due to the thick layered wood, which allows a more sturdy wood when building. Some other values this tree has are, Christmas trees, and is occasionally used to make rope.

3. BearBerry • Humans use the Bearberry for tobacco products and it can also be used for medical purposes. • The bearberry is a small flower that is not native to the Taiga Biome, however it is found commonly in the Siberian Taiga. • Bears will eat the bearberry, most other animals find no use of the bearberry. • Common bearberry is the alternate host of a disease of spruce in the prairie provinces, called yellow witches' broom. • It has long flexible sprawling branches. It forms a green mat sometimes several meters wide. The leafy stems are covered with soft, white hairs, evergreen leaves and bright red berries. • No interactions found

4. JackPine • The Jack pine usually grows to be twenty-seven meters tall. • It is assumed to Native to the Taiga Biome • No interactions Found • The tree gives its nutrients to mostly rodents. • The jack pine is plentiful in the wild. It is possible for the jack pine to grow in the taiga because of its waxy pine needles and rough bark. It is good to have waxy pine needles and rough bark in the taiga because the wax on the pine needles protects the needles. • The jack pine has two major uses to humans: The jack pine is used to build houses and it is used to make pulp for paper.

5. Pine trees are very common trees. They are cone shaped and are green with needles. The shape of their needles lets less water evaporate. • Fungi are a threat to pine trees. • Pine trees are found in almost all other biomes. • It is not a Native Species to the Taiga Biome. • No interactions found Pine Tree

6. Siberian Spruce • Siberian Spruce is a very beautiful tree that can grow up to about 30 meters high. • You can find the Siberian spruce in the Siberian Taiga or Boreal forests of Siberia. This taiga is the largest biome on the earth, stretching over Eurasia and North America. It is located just below the tundra biome. • Moose eat the twigs of trees in the Siberian taiga. Birds also eat the seeds of trees that grow in that area. However most other Animals are usually Hibernating , consequently animals don’t have much interaction with the Siberian Spruce. • The dark green color of the needles helps the foliage absorb maximum heat from the sun and begin photosynthesis sooner. • The Siberian spruce and other trees in the Boreal forest are being logged for money., also logged to build houses. • It is not on the endangered list, but the Siberian boreal forest is. Human have induced forest fires, clear cutting, air pollution and poaching.

7. Lichen Lichens are essential to some of the animals diets within the taiga biome such as caribou. It covers the floor of the taiga Biome. Humans have no use for the lichen. Lichens are two separate organisms. They are made up of fungi and algae. The spongy threads of lichens support /protects algae. The algae has the chlorophyll which can make food to support the lichen. Both having something the other part needs (symbiotic relationship. ) Lichen can make food when the temperature gets very low and there is little light.

8. Balsam Fir • You can find the Balsam Fir in northeastern North America. The Balsam Fir can be found in many biomes including the Taiga biome. • The Balsam Fir is a small to medium sized native evergreen tree. It can grow to be 40 to 80 feet tall. The Balsam fir has a wide base and a narrow top that ends in a slender, spear like top. The branches grow from the trunk at right angles, with the lower branches spreading and drooping to the ground when the tree grows in the open. In a dense stands, many of the lower branches are dead. It can grow to be a maximum of 200 years old. • The Balsam Fir's needles are 1 1/2 inches long. They are flat, rounded at the tip, and normally have a strong curve. Balsam fir has a shallow root system that rarely grows deeper than 30 inches. • The Balsam fir grows best in an undisturbed forest, if destroyed it takes 30-50 years to regrow. • Balsam fir is a major food source for the moose during the winter . Red squirrels will eat the flower buds. Larger mammals will use the Balsam Fir to stand under due to the lack of snow under the tree. (Mutualistic) • Humans use the wood of the Balsam Fir as lumber. It is a lightweight type of wood due to the low resistance to shock. The tree is also very commonly used as a Christmas Tree during the Christmas season. • This species is not endangered; it is rather plentiful assumed to be native.

9. Paper birch trees have a thin bark that peels in horizontal layers which separates into sheets, almost like paper. Birch trees can grow in pairs or clusters. • Paper birch or white birch was used by Indians to make birch bark canoes. Indians still make ornaments and small baskets of birch bark. While the Siberians collect the sap of the weeping birch to make syrup. • There is really no food source stated other than birds will use the paper Birch to nest in during nesting season sometimes in the deciduous forest. • Paper birch grows in the taiga or deciduous forest in the northern United States as far south as the Appalachian Mountains. • No interactions found Paper Birch

10. They can grow from 40 to 60 feet tall and 15 to 25 feet wide. Douglas-Firs are one of the most important lumber trees in the world. The dense wood is very hard, stiff and durable making the wood good as lumber, timbers, and plywood. • The Douglas Fir is assumed to be Native to the Taiga Biome. • No interaction stated • Animals in the winter or early spring when their other food supplies are covered in snow or haven't come up yet. Use the Douglas-Fir as a food source. Bears find the Douglas-Fir useful often to scrape off the bark on young trees and eat the sap layer beneath. • Native Americans used the Douglas-Fir using the wood and the branches as fuel for cooking., fishing hooks, Douglas-fir branches covered the floors of lodges and homes. • The Douglas fir is vulnerable to clay because it is a wet substance and it can rot the roots. Also the needles can get infected with fungi and this causes them to fall out Douglas-fir

11. Larch Tree Humans use Larch as wood valued for its toughness, waterproofness, and durable qualities; It is on high demand for making yachts and boats. Also, for exterior cladding of buildings. The timber is resistant to rot when in contact with the ground due to the durability. Larches are prone to the fungal cancer disease Larch Cancer, causing minor injuries to the tree allowing entry to the fungal spores. It is native to the Taiga Biome No interactions found It provides shade and shelter for birds and small mammals.

12. Bibliography Works Cited ETE Team, ed. COTF. Center for Educational Technologies, 25 Apr. 2005. Web. 26 Sept. 2013. <http://www.cotf.edu/ete/modules/msese/earthsysflr/taigaP.html>. This website gives details about the differents types of plant life in the Taiga biome. Marietta.edu. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Sept. 2013. <http://www.marietta.edu/~biol/biomes/boreal.htm>. Gave a very good variety of information. University of Guelph. "Taiga Shield." Carcnet. University of Guelph, 11 Oct. 2012. Web. 30 Sept. 2013. <http://www.carcnet.ca/english/amphibians/tour/ecozones