Taiga, also known as the boreal coniferous forest or the northern deciduous forest, is widely distributed in the cold temperate continents of the northern hemisphere, and there is no one in the southern hemisphere. The taigarin surrounds the Arctic, and the northern boundary of the taigarin is the northern boundary of the earth's forest.
Fairbanks, Alaska, USA, is a North American Circumpolar ring city where the Aurora Borealis is often seen. In the long winter, the tall and tall Taigarin is like a row of steel guards guarding the extremely cold night. (Courtesy of Visual China)
Taigalin is not synonymous with coniferous forest, it is a typical horizontal distribution of zonal vegetation, the distribution range extends from the southern boundary of the Arctic tundra tree line to the south of the ring area of more than 1000 km wide, other regional distribution of coniferous forests are not Taiga forest.
About 80% of Finland is covered by taigarin. Legend has it that Ear Mountain in Finland is Santa Claus' hometown. Every Year on Christmas Eve, Santa Claus drives a reindeer-pulled sleigh from Taigarin on Ear Mountain to distribute Christmas presents to children around the world in their stockings. (Courtesy of Visual China)
In Eurasia, taigarin began on the Atlantic coast, from Northern Europe to Eastern Europe to Siberia, and extended to the Pacific coast. In North America, taigarin spread from the Atlantic coast to the Pacific coast, traversing the entire North American continent. The country with the largest area of tega forests in the world is Russia, followed by Canada.
Norway is the northernmost country in the world. Norwegian forests are dark coniferous forests made up of tall, tall coniferous trees, dense and deep, revealing a unique and deep temperament. (Courtesy of Visual China)
The main tree species in taiga forests are spruce, fir, larch, etc., and most of them are single dominant species of forests. Depending on the light transmission conditions within the forest, taiga forests are divided into dark coniferous forests and bright coniferous forests. Spruce and fir forests are dark coniferous forests, and larch and pine forests are bright coniferous forests. North America is home to large areas of dark coniferous forests. From west to east, Eurasia gradually changed from dark taiga to bright coniferous forests.
Canada is the second largest country in The Nagarjuna after Russia. The taiga forest here is a dark coniferous forest dominated by spruce and fir. This is Coulternai National Park in the Rocky Mountain Parks Group of Canada. (Courtesy of Visual China)
Taigarin is the most extensive forest ecosystem on Earth, accounting for about 14.5% of the world's total land area and 30% of the total forest area. China is at the southernmost edge of the global taiga forest distribution, and the only areas where the taiga forest can be admired in China are the northern Daxing'anling Mountains in the northeast and the Altai Mountains in Xinjiang. It's just that in China, we don't talk about the concept of "taiga forest", more often called the cold temperate coniferous forest, the northern leaf forest.
The taigarin of Daxing'anling in China is connected to the taigarin of eastern Siberia. Every autumn, the bright coniferous forest with Xing'an larch and birch as the main body is as beautiful as oil paintings. (Courtesy of Visual China)
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="16" > China's taigarin in the area bordering Russia</h1>
China's taigalin is the coldest place in the country, the northern Daxing'anling Mountains and the Altai Mountains in Xinjiang are the only two taigalin distribution areas in China, both of which border Russia.
The taiga forest in the northern part of the Daxing'an Mountains is naturally geographically extended south of the tongue-shaped taiga forest of Eastern Siberia, and is a bright coniferous forest with Hing'an larch as the dominant tree species. Mesozoic wood fossils unearthed in Tahe County, Heilongjiang Province, confirm the existence of early forest vegetation, and Cenozoic wood fossils and silicified wood excavated in Huma County, Heilongjiang Province, prove that Daxing'anling was a dense forest in the Tertiary Period. Hulunbuir, Inner Mongolia is the junction of Taijia forest, broad-leaved forest and grassland.
Located in the northernmost part of China, the Daxinganling region has a winter of more than 7 months, a frost-free period of only about 70 days, and a temperature of less than -40 °C in winter, and even -53 °C in some places. The main tree species in the Taiga forest are larch, sassafras pine, birch, black birch, aspen and other coniferous and broad-leaved trees, mainly larch, followed by birch, followed by sassafras pine. There are also a lot of plant species under the forest, common shrubs such as Xing'an rhododendron, mountain thorn rose, thorn rose, Xing'an tea grass, silk meadowsweet, pearl plum and other more than 10 species, rich in herbaceous plant species, there are dozens of species. Xing'an Rhododendron-Xing'an Larch Forest is the most representative zonal forest community in the northern mountains of Daxing'anling Mountains, which belongs to the typical east Siberian bright coniferous forest.
The montane forests of the Altai Mountains are representative of the northern dark coniferous forests that extend at the southern tip of the Western Siberian mountain taiga forest and wedged into the steppe. The Altai Mountains are a huge mountain system spanning china, Kazakhstan, Russia and Mongolia, and the Xinjiang Altai Mountains in China are the central and southern slopes of the entire Altai Mountains. The Taiga forest of the Altai Mountains is narrowly distributed in China, where the climate is cold, and the forest area snows for up to 200 days. Birch forests, larch forests and mixed coniferous and broad-leaved forests are known as the "three faces" of the Altai Mountains. Within the Taiga forest, Siberian larch, Siberian spruce, Siberian fir, Siberian red pine and weeping birch, European poplar and so on are densely formed into the sea. The world-renowned Kanas is located in the Altai Mountains.
The Altai Mountains in Xinjiang have the only Western Siberian Southern Taigarin in China. Here, the tall and lush taiga forest and the mirror-like rivers and lakes create world-class beauty. (Photo by Ablikim Amat)
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="70" > two taiga forests: vegetation is different, animals are mostly the same</h1>
Although the Taigarin of daxing'anling and the taigalin of the Altai Mountains are connected to the Taigalin of Russia, the former belongs to the southern extension of the Eastern Siberian Taigarin and the latter belongs to the southern extension of the Western Siberian Taigarin, and the geographical isolation of the two Taigalins, coupled with the influence of climatic conditions such as hydrothermal distribution, they evolve into similar and different ecosystems.
According to the 2021 edition of the List of Biological Species of China, common tree species in the Taiga forest of Daxing'anling, such as Xing'an larch, birch, sassafras pine, fish scale spruce, diamond willow, northeast alder, Yan pine, Xing'an rhododendron, etc. are not distributed in the Altai Mountains, while the common tree species of the Altai Taigarin, such as Siberian spruce, Siberian fir, Siberian larch, weeping birch, European aspen, etc. are not distributed in daxinganling. Of course, there are also some common types in the two places, such as Siberian red pine, bilberry, mountain wattle, thick plum, European juniper, Siberian juniper, water chestnut, valley willow, five-leaf willow, fine-leaved swamp willow, etc. are distributed in the Altai Mountains and Daxing'anling.
Completely different from the vegetation situation, there are many Taiga forest animals in the two places, and there are many Taiga forest mammals distributed in both places, including wolves, wild boars, weasels, sables, stoats, badgers, mink bears, moose deer, roe deer, red deer, snow rabbits, lynxes, brown bears, etc., and there are more birds, such as gray-blue, brown-headed, black grouse, flower-tailed hazel chickens, flower-headed partridges, snowy owls, woolly owls, long-tailed forest owls, mammoths, small spotted woodpeckers, white-backed woodpeckers, black woodpeckers, large spotted woodpeckers, three-toed woodpeckers, gray-headed green woodpeckers, red-bellied gray finches, pine finches , spear falcon, star crow, northern noisy crow, northern long-tailed, willow thunderbird, eagle owl, etc. The Taiga forest animals distributed only in the Daxing'an Mountains are reindeer, raccoon, proto-musk, northeast rabbit, black-billed grouse, etc., and the taiga forest animals distributed only in the Altai Mountains are beavers, rock thunderbirds, grouse, altai snow chickens, etc.
There are no firs in the Taiga forest of Daxing'anling, and there are very few spruce and pine trees, and after the larch and broad-leaved trees fall, the forest is very bright, which is a real "bright coniferous forest". (Photo by Liu Zhaoming)
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="71" > taigalin are extremely cold-tolerant "tough guys"</h1>
One of the most obvious features of the taiga forest is the appearance, the tree type is tower-like, similar to the Christmas tree, which is easily distinguished from other forest types; another typical feature is that the community structure is extremely simple, often composed of a few tree species, and the lower layer often has a shrub layer, a grass layer and a tundra layer (lichen, moss and fern).
Because the winter is too cold, most broad-leaved tree species can not survive, only pine trees are the real "tough guys", so the dominant tree species in the global taiga forest are from pine, spruce, fir, larch and so on. Although the taigarin is not suitable for human life, the countries that own the taigarin are the world's first-class forestry powers.
To keep warm from the wind, the trees and trees of Taigarin are crowded together. To moisturize, the leaves are reduced to a needle shape and covered with a waxy layer. To prevent snow from crushing the branches, the trees simply grow into the shape of minarets. In order to perform as much photosynthesis as possible, in addition to larch, other conifers are evergreen all year round. The trees of the Taiga Forest are mostly densely forested and distributed in pieces on the high ground, with swamps intertwined in the low-lying areas.
In the middle of winter, the temperature in the Moldauga forest area of Daxing'anling in the north of Hulunbuir, Inner Mongolia, drops to about -40 °C, and the cold air condenses into frost flowers on the trees, forming a "rime", like a thousand trees and pear blossoms. (Photo by Liu Zhaoming)
The Taijia forest in Daxing'anling is dominated by larch. Larch is a very special tree species, it is one of the few winter deciduous species in the pine family, very adaptable, with extremely low temperature resistance, water and moisture resistance, sun-loving and other characteristics. For example, Xing'an larch, it is also distributed in the Russian Far East, and can grow normally at extreme low temperatures of -50 °C to -60 °C, and can survive in various habitats such as foothills, swamps, peat swamps, meadows and so on. Even in permafrost areas, Hingan larch can grow on the ground. Siberian larch, also known as Xinjiang larch, has similar habits to Xing'an larch, and is a pine family "tough guy" who can tolerate extreme cold at -40 °C.
After the snow, a red fox walks on the edge of the forest. Its laid-back appearance and snow-behind forests outline the characteristic temperament of Taigarin. (Photo by Liu Lu)
The cold hinders the development of the soil. The soils of Daxing'anling are seasonal permafrost, and nearly 60% of the area is distributed in permafrost and in permarian island permafrost. The understory soils of taigarin are acidic and barren brown coniferous forest soils with high organic matter content, but low effective fertility, thin soil layer, loose texture, and the leaves and mosses in the forest can remain in the forest for a long time in cool and humid climates. The cold climate and "poor" and "acidic" soil (pH between 5-7) are not very friendly to some plants, so the species under the Taiga forest are not too rich and relatively transparent.
Birch is a cold temperate tree species widely distributed in the Asian continent, and it is also the most beautiful, well-known and popular broad-leaved tree in the Taiga forest. Especially in Daxing'anling, birch is the second largest tree species in Daxing'anling after Xing'an larch. The birch-white trunks, tall figures, and autumn golden leaves are very much in line with the human aesthetic. Many people may not know that birch is not only born beautifully, but also has provided various services to humans since ancient times, especially the hunter-gatherers living in Taigalin are the most fond of birch. As early as the Neolithic Age, the northern peoples used birch and birch bark to make various items, such as plucked luozi, birch wooden houses, bows and arrows, boats, barrels, wooden bowls, boxes, etc., using birch skin to make boats, boxes and various handicrafts, and even pounded birch bark into fiber to make cloth, resulting in paper, and some ethnic groups also used birch bark to make banknotes. Birch bark is inexhaustible, tough, soft, moisture-proof and durable. Birch bark is oily, and even if it is wet with rain, it can be touched at one point, and it is an excellent ignition material. Some people even say that the hunting culture is the birch culture, which shows the great role of the birch in human history. Birch sap can now also be used to make drinks. But the birch trees distributed in the Altai Mountains of Xinjiang are not white birch, but weeping birch.
Birch is one of the dominant tree species in The Nagarin in Eastern Siberia, and the "Kingdom of Taigarin" Russia uses the birch as the national tree. Birch is also a unique landscape of Daxing'anling Taigalin, and there is no birch in the Altai Mountains to the west. (Photo by Zhao Tianhua)
Aspen is the "little partner" of birch, and the two are the pioneer tree species that grow first after the fire or felling of the taiga forest, which plays an important role in improving the soil and maintaining water and soil. Although there are not many plant species in the Taiga Forest, it is widely distributed and has a large area. In swamps, meadows, forest margins, foothills and subalpine areas of different habitats, there are communities of large and small bilberry, and their fruits provide sufficient food for the birds and animals of the Taiga forest.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="72" > star animals in the taiga forest: moose and mink bear</h1>
Taigarin is located in the cold temperate zone, and winter is the coldest region in the Northern Hemisphere. Surviving long winters is the harshest survival challenge for wildlife, with many predators hibernating or migrating to southerner regions during the winter months due to food scarcity.
For example, in the north of China's Daxing'anLing, there are more than 50 kinds of mammals such as sables, mink bears, brown bears, black bears, wild boars, lynxes, moose, proto-musk deer, red deer, roe deer, wolves, shrews, snow rabbits, etc., more than 200 kinds of birds such as flower-tailed hazel chickens, black harrier chickens, black-billed grouse, and Ulin owl. Most of them belong to the cold and heat-afraid type. Wild animals here adapt to the cold climate and deep mountains and dense forests and other natural conditions in the long-term evolution, some species form the characteristics of hibernation, some species are twice moulted in spring and autumn, winter hair is very rich, some species have the habit of storing winter grain, good camp snow life, animal fur color bleaching or winter white, summer brown more species.
Cold winters and short summers are extremely challenging for reptiles and amphibians, so there are not many two reptiles in Taigarine, and the only species generally cope with the cold climate by hibernating. There are only more than 10 species of amphibians and reptiles in Daxing'anling, such as Chinese toads, Chinese forest frogs, pit vipers and so on.
Legend has it that Santa Claus's mount reindeer are Taigarin animals, and their distribution is in the Southern Hingan Mountains. However, in recent decades, due to long-term inbreeding and other reasons, China's reindeer population has deteriorated severely, and its population is precarious, and it is currently a semi-domestic animal.
The most famous wild ungulate in The Chinese Taigarin is the moose. Moose are the largest of the deer family. Globally, moose populations in Places such as Eurasia and North America are retreating northward due to warming. China's moose are mainly distributed in the Altai Mountains and the northeast region of Xinjiang, the large and small Xing'anling forest area, of which the large and small Xing'anling forest area is the southernmost edge of the distribution of Moose in Asia, and also the southernmost boundary of the world moose distribution.
A white reindeer (white deer) domesticated by the Aoluguya Evenk ethnic group in Daxing'an Linggenhe City, Inner Mongolia. (Photo by Liu Zhaoming)
The mink bear is a typical cold temperate animal, between the size of the mink and the bear, and is the largest terrestrial ferret, which is found in the Altai Mountains and the Daxinganling region of China. Mink bears burrow and live day and night, they are alert and fierce, and they are not picky eaters.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="73" > if the climate continues to warm, taigarin may move out of China</h1>
Trees in Taigarin grow slowly. However, due to the fact that pines and birch are the main ones, and the trees are rich in oil, Taigalin is very prone to forest fires. Forest fires have always been an important factor affecting the succession rhythm and succession direction of the Taiga forest ecosystem, especially in North America, where large-scale forest fires have occurred frequently in recent years.
Taigarin is highly susceptible to fires. In June 2010, a wildfire wiped out 500 hectares of pine and larch in Juxian Mountain, Tuqiang Forestry Bureau, Heilongjiang Province, creating a surrealist-style tree-dead spectacle. (Photo by Zhao Tianhua)
Some ecologists believe that humans should look at the natural phenomenon of forest fires dialectically. The occurrence of forest fires and their role in the succession of forest ecosystems have been an important topic of study by ecologists in the United States, Canada and Russia.
Natural fire interference plays a dual role of "creation" and "destruction" on the Kanas forest landscape, and for thousands of years, the forests and fires of Kanas have coexisted, jointly shaping the beauty of Kanas today. (Photo by Jia Dianzhou)
The wonderful thing is that the species of Taigarin have evolved special abilities to adapt to the disturbance of fire. Studies have shown that the average forest fire interval in the primary forest area in the northern part of Daxing'anling in China is 37.2 years. Xing'an larch under 30 years old has weak resistance to fire, and then the fire resistance is gradually enhanced, and the 80-year-old Xing'an larch has the strongest fire interference ability, and this optimal fire resistance period can last until about 150 years.
The Taiga forest ecosystem is considered to be one of the youngest forest ecosystems on Earth, and is still in the process of formation and development, and is highly susceptible to interference from external factors such as climate change. This is the Xing'an larch of the Daxing'an Mountains. (Photo by Zhao Tianhua)
Climate change is an uncertain factor for taigarin. For hundreds of millions of years, the trees and all kinds of birds and animals in the forest have followed the ancient laws of nature, natural selection, the cycle of life and death, and the arrival of climate change may disrupt this immutable forest succession law, some species may withdraw from the stage of history, and some species have to migrate with their families.
If the intensity and uncertainty of climate change are higher than the self-regulation and adaptive capacity of forests, they can be affected or damaged, especially by increased temperatures, altered precipitation patterns, increased carbon dioxide concentrations, and increased nitrogen deposition and increased extreme weather events.
Climate change will also affect the distribution of taiga forest animals such as sables, reindeer, and moose, which prefer cold and fear heat, and after a warming climate, the distribution area is likely to move north. This is the sable of the Altai Mountains in Xinjiang. (Photo by Chu Wenwen)
It is widely believed that the global climate has warmed in recent decades. The upper-middle-latitude region of the Northern Hemisphere, where Taigarin is located, is one of the regions most severely affected by climate change. It is predicted that if the climate continues to warm in the future, the taiga forest will move northward and may completely move out of China, and the taiga forest distributed in the southern boundary will be easily replaced by grasslands or temperate forests.
The warm climate changes the phenological period of forest plants, mainly in the spring germination period is advanced, or the dormancy period is lagging behind, or the germination period is advanced and the dormancy period is delayed at the same time, and the result is that the growth period is prolonged. Chinese scientists already have accurate data showing that the dormancy period of Taigarin has been significantly delayed. Longer growth periods mean increased productivity, with forest productivity in the Daxing'anling region increasing by as much as 10 percent.
The process of forest ecosystem migration will be accompanied by the disappearance of some animal, plant or microbial species with poor adaptability, at the same time, the change of precipitation spatio-temporal pattern will also affect the competition between species and the composition of ecosystems; nitrogen deposition will increase soil acidity, so that the soil biochemical environment and microbial environment will change, thereby affecting the survival of plants and soil organisms... In short, if any link in the forest ecosystem is disconnected, the entire ecosystem will have to be restructured. Forest pests and diseases also threaten taigarin. According to the analysis of relevant data, the increase in climate warming and extreme weather events has expanded to the north of China's forest vegetation and forest disease and pest distribution system, advanced the occurrence period of forest diseases and insect pests, increased the number of generations, shortened the occurrence cycle, increased the scope of occurrence and the degree of harm, and promoted the expansion and harm of invasive diseases and insect pests.
In any case, as the most important terrestrial ecosystem in the cold zone of the earth, the protection of taigalin is receiving more and more attention from the international community, and with the implementation of the natural forest protection policy, China's taiga forest is recuperating and recuperating, and the wildlife population is constantly recovering. (Source Forest and Humanity Magazine Author Pan Chunfang Wang Xingze Liu Lu Editor Wang Qiang)