Awesome Nature #5

Taiga
Type: Forest  Lives In: Canada, Northern Europe, Russia  Conservation Status: Vulnerable

Nope, it's not an obscure way of spelling the largest cat's name. The Taiga is actually an entire biome largely made up of vast swathes of forest that stretch across the entire northern hemisphere from Alaska, across Canada, continuing on the other side of the Atlantic across Scandinavia and the entire length of Russia. As you might imagine, that equals an extremely large number of trees! Many of them are pines and conifers but there's also some broad-leaved varieties too. In total, the trees found here make up some 29% of the entire world's forest cover which consequently makes a huge contribution to the very composition of our atmosphere. It also means the Taiga supports a large number of plant and animal species so it's a vital ecosystem to preserve. Considering how much of the planet's surface it takes up, it's surprising how many people don't even know the Taiga exists, but now you do know, try to see it for yourself!

Why It Is Awesome: It changes the whole atmosphere!

The extent of the Taiga...