Biome Project
By
Justin Bourland
Taiga
Introduction
Here are the reasons that I chose the taiga biome. One reason is because taiga is a
biome that snows a lot, and I like snow. Taiga also has many animals that I think are
neat like lynx and wolverines.
General Climate
The city I chose is Moscow, Russia, in Russian it s known as Москва, or Moskva.
Moscow, Russia is in Northern Eurasia, in the Taiga Biome. Much of Moscow was
reconstructed after it was occupied by the French under Napoleon in 1812 and
almost entirely destroyed by fire. Unlike many other cities in the world, Moscow is
known for its onion dome roofs.
Moscow has long, cold winters usually lasting from mid November through the end
of March, and warm summers. Weather can vary with temperatures ranging
from -13 °F to above 32 °F in the winter and from 59 °F to 86 °F in the summer.
On average Moscow has 1731 hours of sunshine per year. Moscow is in the area
where global warming is affecting so summers feel warmer than they would have
felt years ago.
Ecosystems and change
This next section will cover succession, and hopefully this is as educational as I hope
it will be.
Succession in a Taiga Biome
Ecological succession is the observed process of change in the species structure
of an ecological community over time.
A way to damage an ecosystem in the Taiga biome would be deforestation. This
affects biotic and abiotic components by cutting down the trees and ruining the
soil and in the process ruining animals homes and making it hard for plants to
grow.
The Pioneer Plant Species
A pioneer plant species is small, fast growing and do not require a lot of nutrients.
Some examples are the “Reindeer Lichen” or Cladonia Rangiferina, “Sphagnum
moss” or Sphagnum flexuosum. Both of these pioneer plant species can survive in
cold climates.
Reindeer Lichen
Sphagnum
Moss
Equilibrium – The Climax Community
A climax community is when the plants are thriving and are mature.
Two examples of plants in a climax community are pine trees or Pinus, and
fir trees or Abies.
Both of these plants are evergreen trees, meaning that they do not defoliate
and keep their needles all year long.
Pine Tree
Fir Tree
Energy Flow In Ecosystems
We will now transition from succession related things and move onto the food web.
Food Web of a Taiga Biome
Leaves
Grass
Moose
Rabbit
Caribou
Bacteria
Bears
Wolves
Lynx
Trophic Pyramid
Decomposer
Secondary
Consumers
Primary
Consumers
Producers
Sources
Caribou Picture
Biome Map
Taiga Deforestation
Transition Slide 1
Cladonia Rangiferina
Sphagnum Moss
Pine Tree Picture
Fir Tree
Lynx Hunting a Rabbit
The Sun
Grass
Leaf
Caribou and moose
Rabbit
Lynx
Wolf
Bear
Bacteria
Willow tree