Plant Life

Due to the cold weather, not many plants can survive the cold winters of Taigas. Also, due to the low tempertures, there is not much decompostion. Without decomposition, the soil is not very rich and cannot provide plants with nurients.(MBG) But even in these hard condition, there are tough tree that survive.

The majority of trees in taigas are evergreens. These include spruce, hemlock and fir (MBG). They have needle like leaves instead of flat leaves. This is because of the snow. When it snows, the flat leaves would hold the snow. Eventually, it would build up so much that tree cannot hold the weight and would just fall. The shape of needles prevents that from happening. The snow just falls through them because there is not enough surface area for snow to collect(ThinkQuest).

 Besides the evergreens, there is not much of other small plants that live in taigas. The trees are very dense and tall. They block sunlight from getting to the ground level where smaller plants would live. Where the trees aren't as thick, there is a layer of shrubs on the floor. Also, there is some moss and mushrooms.