Jake Keithly

REM 244
2/7/13

The Boreal Forest

The boreal forest or known in Eurasia as taiga is the largest biome in the Northern Hemisphere. It
is mostly made up of coniferous trees, with spruce and fir trees being the most dominant. There are also
several different other species depending on the area of forest. The growing season is generally only three
months long depending on location. The boreal forest has a high density of trees and these trees have a lot
of lower branches. Since the boreal forest is found in colder climates, It has a short fire season extending
from June to August (Keeley). Due to the high density of these coniferous trees and the short fire season
there is a great amount of surface fuels that build up between fires. Although fires do occur in these
forests they are not an important part in the ecosystem of this forest because most of the cones do not
need fire to open and spread seeds.
The boreal forest or taiga is only found in the Northern Hemisphere, it is a ring of coniferous
trees that stretch across North America and Eurasia. There are places where it branches out to the south
like on the Appalachian and Cascade Mountains. In these areas where it branches out it is only in the
higher elevation where is colder because the boreal forest is found in cold climates. Precipitation varies,
from about 20 cm per year to over 200 cm (Marietta). So precipitation is not a huge part in the location
of the boreal forest. Like most forests climate is the leading factor in the location of this forest.
Fire frequency in boreal forest or the historic fire return interval has been greatly affected by
climate change over the past few hundred years. The fire interval is between 75 and 100 years in the
boreal forest. The 2000s experienced the highest burned area and number of extreme fire events during
the modern record period (Kasischke). This has been a direct result of climate change. Fires that occur in
the boreal forest generally are crown fires due to the density of the trees and the fact that they have
branches that are very low to the ground. These fires burn with high flaming intensity and high rates of
spread (Keeley). Due to the remote location of many fires in the boreal forest a large percentage are not
managed unless they threaten peoples property.
There are many special concerns involving fires in the boreal forest. Since the boreal forest
contains a very large amount of carbon fires in the boreal forest are the dominant factor controlling mass
movements of carbon from the land to the atmosphere (Duke). This is the biggest concern because the
boreal forest plays a huge role in controlling the carbon in the atmosphere which in turn deals with the
major problem of global warming. Due to the increase in diseases many trees are dying and becoming
great fuel for fires making the fires burn with even more intensity than before. This problem is increasing
each year along with insect kill. These are some special concerns that affect the boreal forest.
The largest biome in the Northern Hemisphere, the boreal forest, is largely coniferous trees. It is
found in cold climates and most of it is found as a belt that stretches around North America and Eurasia.
The fire return interval has been changing for the past few hundred years due to climate change. The
boreal forest actually plays a big part in climate change due to the fact that when it burns it releases a
large amount of carbon into the atmosphere. The sizes of the fires that occur in the boreal forest have been
increasing each year. Agencies will have to start managing these fires before they become too large for
even the forest to handle.

Work Cited

Jake Keithly
REM 244
2/7/13
Woodward, Susan. "Boreal Forest (Taiga)." Biomes of the World. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Feb 2013.
<https://php.radford.edu/~swoodwar/biomes/?page_id=92>.
. "The Taiga or Boreal Forest." . N.p.. Web. 5 Feb 2013.
<http://www.marietta.edu/~biol/biomes/boreal.htm>.
Kasischke, Eric. "Alaskas changing fire regime implications for the vulnerability of its boreal
forests." sel.uaf.edu. N.p.. Web. 4 Feb 2013. <http://www.sel.uaf.edu/manuscripts/116_Kasischke_et_alBNZ-CJFR-2010.pdf>.
. "The Role of Fire in Boreal Forests." biology.duke.edu. N.p.. Web. 5 Feb 2013.
<http://biology.duke.edu/bio217/2005/nlg3/Fire.htm>.
Keeley, J.E. "Boreal Forest (Alaska and Canada)."Ecological Foundations for Fire Management
in North American Forest and Shrubland Ecosystems.