Coniferous Forests and Taiga
Coniferous Forests
Student Assessment:
Grassland and Temperate Forest Quiz
-Coniferous forests are temperate forests that experience all four seasons but the difference between a broadleaf temperate forests and a coniferous temperate forest is that the coniferous forests usually experience a more severe winter and the dominant tree type is pine trees.
-A conifer is another name for a pine tree. Pine trees have special adaptations that allow them to live in extremely cold weather. Conifers are "evergreens" they never lose their leaves.
-Conifers have a sugar sap inside their trunk that acts like an antifreeze and prevents freezing during the winter. The leaves of conifers are needle shaped and coated in a wax that prevents water loss.
-Even though coniferous forests have very cold winters they still have warm summers. The animals that live in coniferous forests are adapted to survive the cold winter either through food storage, thick fur, or even hibernation.
Map of Coniferous Forest Biomes
Mr. and Mrs. Bird Canyoning in the glacier waterfalls of Switzerland
Mr. Bird and Mr. Kubasak Climbing San Bernardino Peak
Mr. and Mrs. Bird Bouldering up Bridalveil Falls in Yosemite
Class activity:
Get into groups of 4
You have 5 minutes to write down as many coniferous forest animals as your group can think of
The group that has the most after 5 minutes will win extra credit
We will be doing this for each of our biomes
Homework:
-You need to have a picture of a Coniferous Forest and you need to have 5 unique animals that live in that biome. For each of those animals you need to label their taxonomy, where they live, what they eat, and a fact about them.
Taiga
-A Taiga is very similar to a coniferous forest. The difference is that a taiga spends the majority of the year in winter conditions. There might be only 2 months out of the year where there is no snow.
-Very few trees other than conifers can survive in a taiga
-Because of the cold there are few reptiles and amphibians that live in the taiga
-Mammals can survive in these conditions because of their fur and fat reserves
Map of World's Taiga
Class activity:
Get into groups of 4
You have 5 minutes to write down as many Taiga animals as your group can think of
The group that has the most after 5 minutes will win extra credit
We will be doing this for each of our biomes
Homework:
-You need to have a picture of a Taiga and you need to have 5 unique animals that live in that biome. For each of those animals you need to label their taxonomy, where they live, what they eat, and a fact about them.