RUSSIA

where:
Northern Europe: Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Russia Boreal Forests/Taiga

size:
832,800 square miles (2,156,900 square kilometers) -- about thrice the size of Texas Critical/Endangered




This ecoregion covers nearly one-third of Europe. Tundra lies to the north and temperate mixed forests to the south. Only a few coniferous tree species, including pine and juniper, and a few broadleaf trees, including birches and willows, grow in the taiga forest, with diversity increasing in the south with maple, linden, ash, and oak trees. Characteristic herbaceous plants include sedge, stiff club moss, May lily, twin flower, heart-leafed tway blade, shinleaf, lesser rattlesnake plantain, and ground pine.

Hawk owls aren’t your average looking owls. They have hawk-like features, with pointed wings, a long tail, and swift flight. They even sound more like hawks than other owls. These raptors mostly hunt during the day and store surplus food, such as mice, near their nests.
Wild Side

In the mountains and on the treeless tundra, wolves follow huge herds of reindeer (caribou), looking for vulnerable individuals to prey upon. Wolverines are also predators of this ecoregion but prefer to use their bad temper to steal another animal’s meal or scavenge off carcasses with jaws strong enough to chew through the bone to obtain nutrients. Waterbirds that breed in the taiga environment include common goldeneyes, red-throated loons, smews, and Eurasian cranes. Birds of prey such as the ospreys, gyrfalcons, hawk owls, and great gray owls also breed here. The arctic warbler lives here, as does the Siberian jay. Willow ptarmigans turn a snowy white in winter as camouflage against the snow, and their feet are feathered for warmth. Arctic foxes hunt by sensing the vibrations and sounds created as small mammals hidden beneath the snow move about. Some of this ecoregion’s animals are critically endangered, including the moor frog, Siberian crane, and European mink.
Cause for Concern

Logging, mining, fossil fuel exploration, and unsustainable hunting are threatening this ecoregion. Old-growth forest is rapidly being depleted, and little of it is preserved in protected areas. Because the forests of this ecoregion absorb so much carbon dioxide, their loss would have worldwide significance in an era of global warming. Delicate ground-layer plants are threatened by increasing recreation and tourism.
For more information on this ecoregion, go to the