what physical(nonlinving) characteristics are in the taiga (coniferous forest)biome?
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The Tiaga is defined as usually having acidic soil, sub-zero temperatures for most of the year, and has mainly coniferous vegetation
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APPEARANCE: Tress, shrubs and grass.\n\nHABITATS:   Terential, aquatic and sub terential.
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Large tropical swamps. Wet, humid environment conducive to vast amounts of vegetation which contributed to the coal formations that we see today in parts of North America, Europe, & Siberia.\n\nThere is some good stuff listed below. Lots of info.
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Plants are deciduous as a way of avoiding stress imposed via their leaves.\n\nBy shedding their leaves they don't lose water from them at times when they ground is dry. That is important because most of the water a plant loses is via the leaves. In cold regions when the amount of free water in the soil becomes virtually nil in winter because ice can't move through soil the way that liquid water can. In tropical regions plants are commonly deciduous to cope with seasonal drought conditions. But in both cases being deciduous  reduces water loss and prevents dehydration.\n\nThe deciduous condition is also advantageous in that in enables plants to avoid damage to the leaves. Leaves have tendency of freezing in cold conditions and wilting in dry conditions. Both those processes can damage the leaf severely. If that damage is going to occur anyway it makes more sense to suck the nutrients out of the leaf while it is still healthy and shed the leaf. then those nutrients can be used to build new leaves when the conditions are more tolerable and less likely to cause damage.\n\nA third advantage of being deciduous is that it reduces snow and ice build up. In cold wet conditions broad leaves are a perfect surface for snow and ice to accumulate, eventually producing so much weight that the branch breaks. That damages the tree and can kill it. Better to shed the leaves than lose the entire branch.\n\nA fourth advantage is competitive. A plant that isn't deciduous when all the other trees are is a major target for leaf eating animals, especially mammals. If a  single oak tree didn't shed its leaves in winter it would be targeted by every deer for miles around and very likely chewed to death. So plants have to be deciduous if all other plants in the area are.\n\nThe biggest disadvantage of being deciduous is that it's expensive. Plants put a lot of energy into growing leaves, and they can't get all that energy back. When the leaves are shed that energy is lost. A plant that can maintain its leaves will have a major energetic advantage over a deciduous tree, and will be making more effective use of resources.\n\nThe second disadvantage is timing. An evergreen tree can begin goring again as soon as conditions are right. As a result in temperate areas pines will normally start growing in Indian summer and that gives them a major head start over deciduous trees. And when later frosts come they simply stop growing again. In contrast evergreens can't even begin to start growing until spring proper. If they tried to take advantage of Indian summer to start growing their new leaves would all be wiped out by subsequent frosts. Similarly deciduous plants have t shed their leaves in mid autumn or risk getting damaged by an early frost. Evergreens can keep growing in many areas until mid-winter As a result evergreens have a much longer growing season than deciduous plants.\n\nRocketman said:>>>Evergreens can generally withstand drought\n\nThis is total nonsense. Most of the world's evergreens are rainforest species and have almost no drought tolerance.\n\n\n>>>photosynthate over a longer period of time, albeit slower\n\nAgain, absolute nonsense. Rainforest evergreens photosynthesise far faster than any other trees on the planet. The fact that he doesn't understand the difference between 'photosynthesise" and "photosynthate" is not a good sign.\n\nThe rest of his answer is equally incorrect.
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Look at chemical reactions to snowfall and extreme cold snaps.  You'll find a lot of useful information if you know how to interpret the biological data, such as how the decomposition of plants affects soil consistency.
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im not sure of the technical terms but there is the undertsory as u sed, there is a canopy too and possibly a forest floor. and something else that i dont remember.
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Desert - very dry, either hot or cold \nTundra - cool, treeless, and dry \nChaparral or scrub - coastal area with hot, dry summers and mild, cool, rainy winters \nTaiga or Coniferous Forest - cool and dry, with coniferous trees \nTemperate Deciduous Forest - cool and rainy, with deciduous trees \nGrassland - Windy, partly dry sea of grass with few trees, including tropical savanna, prairie, steppe, pampas, etc. \nMountina biomes: there are a lot of different biomes that exist on a mountains, from grasslands at low altitudes, taiga (coniferous forests) below the treeline, and alpine (the same as tundra) \nTemperate Rain Forest - cool and wet \nTropical Rain Forest - warm and very wet \nLand Caves - cool and dark \nWetlands - there are many types of wetlands, including swamps, marshes, moors, bogs, fens, sloughs, etc. \nFreshwater Marsh - a wetland located near creeks, streams, rivers and lakes \nTemperate ponds
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It's high in latitude where plant & vegitation growth are very limited due to cold climate\n\nhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tundra
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A vast treeless plain in the arctic regions between the ice cap and the tree line
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clouds\nsea coastlines \nriver's outline \nsurface of the moon (& all the craters)\nthe surface of a brain\nthe bronchia of the lungs (pulmonary membrane on branching scales)\nvascular system of the body or plant\ncertain trees/plants' limb structures.\nare all examples of natural fractal objects.\n\nAs far as i can determine pine cones don't have scaling similarity and thus are not good candidates for a fractal project.  (scaling similarity is not necessary for a fractal but it helps for display purposes!  there are many nonscaling and also random fractal sets.  The Apollonian gasket in the former and certain random walks in the latter.  Many people are under this misapprehension)\n\nA leaf and all its veins might be a good one.  You must have leaves. Fractal generated leaves:\nhttp://mudandmuck.com/str2/FractalLeaves.jpg\nThe smaller you look at a fractal, the more you notice that the very little parts look very similar to the big part(s).  That is one of the characteristics of a self-similar fractal.\n\nJust for edification.  While many fractals have a non-integral dimension, not all of them do (as has been claimed elsewhere). The definition of a fractal is a set for which the Hausdorff Besicovitch dimension strictly exceeds its topological dimension. (This probably does not help you much if at all.  It needed to be said however as others have misinterpreted what exactly a fractal is.)
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Here's what I found... \n\n\n\nPhysical Features:\n\nThe main mountain system of the Scandinavian peninsula hardly deserves its name of Kjdlen' (the keel). It may rather be described as a plateau deprived of the appearance of a plateau, being on the one hand grooved by deep valleys, while on the other many salient peaks tower above its average level. Such peaks, during the later Glacial period, stood above the ice-field. Peaks and ridges were formed by the action of small glaciers cutting out each its circular hollow (botn) just as they still work on the remaining snow-fields. But where the power of the main ice-mass was at work, the characteristic rounded forms of base rock are seen, close above the sea along the coast, but even as high as 5000 ft. in some inland localities. The high plateau lies along the W. side of the peninsula, so that except in the S.E. Norway is mountainous throughout. Even the part excepted is hilly, but it partakes of the character of the long eastern or Swedish slope of the peninsula. Beyond the coast line their floors sink far below sea-level, and thus are formed the fjords and the belt of rugged islands which characterize almost the entire seaboard of Norway. Where Norway marches with Russia, a few heights exceed 3000,or even 4000 ft., but the land is not generally of great elevation. But from the point of junction with Swedish territory the mountains increase considerably in height. For a short distance, as far south as Lake Tome, the loftiest points lie within Norwegian territory, such as Jaggevarre (6283 ft.), between Lyngen and Ulfs fjords, and Kiste Fjeld (5653 ft.) farther inland. Thereafter the principal heights lie approximately along the crest-line of the plateau and within Swedish territory. Sulitelma, however (6158 ft.), lies on the frontier. Southward again the higher summits fall to Norway. S. of Boa, Svartisen (" the black ice "), a magnificent snow-field bordering the coast, and feeding many glaciers, culminates at 5246 ft. Thereafter, Okstinderne or Oxtinderne (6273 ft.), and the Store Borge Fjeld (5587 ft.) are the principal elevations as far as 64° N. A little S. of this latitude the so-called Trondhjem depression is well marked right across the central upland, the height of the mountains not often exceeding 4000 ft., while the peaked form characteristic of the heights which rose clear of the glaciers of the later Glacial period is wanting. It is from this point too that Norwegian territory broadens 1 In Norwegian the definite article (when there is no epithet) is added as a suffix to the substantive (masc. and fern. en, neuter et). Geographical terms are similarly suffixed to names, thus Suldalsvandet, the lake Suldal. The commonest geographical terms are: elm, river; vand, lake; fjeld, mountain or highland; o, island; dal, valley; noes, cape; fos, waterfall; brce, glacier; vik, vig, bay; eide, isthmus; fjord. Aa is pronounced aw. \n\nso as to include not only the highest land in the peninsula, but a considerable part of the general E. and S.E. slope. The high plateau broadens and follows the S.W. sweep of the coast. Pursuing it S. the Dovre Fjeld is marked off by the valleys of the rivers Driva and Sundal, Laagen (or Laugen) and Rauma, and the fjords of the coastland of Nordmdre. Here Sneha tta reaches a height of 7615 ft., and the Romsdal (the name under which the Rauma valley is famous among tourists) is flanked by many abrupt jagged peaks up to 6000 ft. high. The valley of the Laagen forms the upper part of Gudbrandsdal. East of this and S.E. of the Dovre is another fjeld, Rondane, in which Hdgronden rises to 6929 ft. South of the Otta valley is Jotunheim or Jdtun Fjeld, a sparsely peopled, in parts almost inaccessible, district, containing the highest mountains in Scandinavia, Galdhiipiggen reaching 8399 ft. On the seaward side of Jotunheim is Jostedalsbra, a great snow-field in which Lodalskaupen reaches a height of 6795 ft. South of Sogne Fjord (61° N.)
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A biome is a climax ecosystem that is stable through time and characterizes a certain region. Biomes are described in terms of their physiognomy (=structure of the vegetation), and of course the types of plants that can grow anywhere depend on many factors, among them: 1) soil, 2) temperature, 3) precipitations, 4) other living beings. \nThe American botanist and ecologist Robert Whittaker was the first to come up with a diagram (now known as the Whittaker biome system) that summarized the effects of precipitations and temperature as the two major factors that determine the development of biomes, in 1975. \nSee different versions of this diagram at the links: \nhttp://www.msstate.edu/dept/biosciences/fishbein/whittaker.jpg\nhttp://www.marietta.edu/~biol/biomes/whittaker.jpg\nhttp://raieh.homelinux.net/imgdb/B/Biome/WhittakerBiomeDiagram.gif\nThis diagram is a simple but good representation of the relationship between climate (Tº and precipitations) and biomes.
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FIrst the temperature-It is extremely cold in the winter, and cool in the summer.  Then generally the wind-wind can play a major role, especially in mountainous tundra-also in mountainous tundra is the problem of UV radiation.
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You can see some nice picures of pine needles here:\nhttp://www.metla.fi/eu/icp/phenology/pine.htm\n\nActually your question is kind of unclear, and it may mean that you are looking for the evergreen trees like pines, in which case I think you mean conifers:\nhttp://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images?p=conifers&ei=UTF-8&fr=sfp&fl=0&x=wrt
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The cone bering vascular plants are the conifers.The commenest is the X'mas tree.Their flowering and fruiting bodies are called CONES due to their conical shape. All these are huge trees and found in cold temparate countries like the USA and Canada as well as many Europien countries.Botanically they are all classified as Gymnosperms.Pines and Cedruses are other examples.A coniferous tree like Sequoia gigantia can grow upto 350 feet in height. The red wood forest in California USA is famous for them.Some such trees are in existence before the Christian Era.
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Check this out..\nThe primary air mass classifications are given below:\n\nmT= Maritime Tropical\nmP= Maritime Polar\ncP = Continental Polar\ncT = Continental Tropical\nA = Arctic\nH = Highland\n\nMaritime Tropical\n\nThe maritime tropical air mass is most often felt in the Southeast US. In the winter this air mass is shoved toward the equator but in summer it can cover much of the US east of the Rockies. This air mass results from the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico and Gulf Stream. The warm waters in this region evaporate an enormous volume of water. Cold water currents tend to stabilize the atmosphere and produce little evaporation while warm waters destabilize the atmosphere and add moisture. The warm waters warm the low levels of the atmosphere. Temperatures in this air mass warm to highs in the 80's and 90's in the summer and the 70's and 80's in winter. High dewpoints characterize mT air. At all times of the year dewpoints are greater than 50 ° F. The majority of US thunderstorm activity develops within the mT airmass, most being by way of scattered thermodynamic thunderstorms and thunderstorms out ahead of fronts.\nAs the maritime tropical airmass moves over land it begins to "pick up" characteristics of a continental climate. This is particularly true when the mT airmass moves toward the North. The mT airmass modifies due to lower sun angles, drier land below, and cooler land below. The surface CHART #1 show a mT airmass across the Eastern US with the classic mT airmass in the Southeast US and a modified mT airmass across New England. (link to this chart is coming soon)\n\nMaritime Polar\n\nThe source region for mP air is over cold ocean currents or high latitude ocean waters. This air does not have the moisture content as mT air. Since mP air is always near saturation, orographic lifting of the air mass can produce widespread rain or snow. This air mass is notorious for producing fog, drizzle, cloudy weather and long lasting light to moderate rain. The temperature of mP air ranges from just above freezing to below 70 ° F. mP air is modified as it moves over elevated terrain. On the windward side of mountain ranges, mP air can produce an abundance of rain and snow. Once on the lee side of mountains, the mP airmass modifies into a continental airmass. These air masses produce cold fronts but the air is not as cold as polar or arctic fronts. They are often termed "Pacific fronts" or "back-door cold fronts". Maritime Polar air occurs frequently in the Pacific Northwest and to a lesser degree New England and can be seen on CHART #1.\n\nContinental Polar\n\nThis airmass has low dewpoints, cold temperatures and a high degree of stability. The denseness of cP air creates surface high pressure and a trough aloft, especially when cP air moves into lower latitudes. Precipitation in association with cP air is usually light due to the dryness and low moisture capacity of the air. Precipitation is most common on the "edges" of cP air, especially where it intersects and displaces mT air. Precipitation within a cP air mass is elevated and dynamically induced. These dynamical uplift mechanisms include jet streaks, isentropic lifting and positive differential vorticity advection. Cold surface temperatures and a dry boundary layer inhibit thermodynamic convection.\ncP air modifies rapidly as it moves to the South. The dewpoints remain low but the temperature of this airmass increases when moving South due to the following: warmer soil temperature, a shallower airmass, higher sun angles and a lack of surface snow cover. cP air will modify less rapidly if soil temperature are abnormally low to the south (especially if surface snow cover exists). On some occasions the subtropical jet will "overrun" the shallow cP air. If this occurs, the cP air will modify less rapidly due to a much reduced solar heating. Once cP air modifies significantly it no longer makes sense to la
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An ecological niche is not a "place" or a "site" in space, although the 'niche metaphor' may lead us to think of it that way (because a 'niche' is a hollow where things fit).\nIn short, the ecological niche is every function and relationship that links a particular species to all its environment (which includes both other living beings and  abiotic, or non-living, factors). You cannot define an ecological niche without the species, or define the species without its niche, because the niche arises from the interaction between the individuals (their 'inside' processes) and their environment (the 'outside'). \nIn order to describe the niche, you need to enumerate all these relationships: where the species lives, at what times it is active, and how its activities change, what does it eat and what feeds upon it (trophic relationships), what other living beings interact with it (competition, parasitism, cooperation, symbiosis, etc), what are its tolerance ranges for environmental factors (temperature, humidity, precipitations, sunlight, etc)... everything that the species represents from an ecological viewpoint. \nThe ecological niche can be visualized on the basis of Hutchinson's idea of a multidimensional niche. \nPicture this: \nYou make a graph showing the temperature tolerance range for a given species, and it will look like this:\nhttp://www.bact.wisc.edu/Microtextbook/images/textbook/growth/temp_curve.gif\nThat's one ecological factor.\n\nNow we add a second factor, in this case, moisture:\nhttp://www.physicalgeography.net/fundamentals/images/niche.gif\nWe have a 2-dimensional graph.\n\nIf we consider a third ecological factor, we get a 3-D graph. \nWhen more ecological factors are included, the representation becomes an hypervolume and cannot be represented in a simple graph.\n\nNow, back to the spruce beetle. This species (Dendroctonus rufipennis) is responsible for extensive damage to Northern Hemisphere forests. I hope the above explanation has made it clear than a forest is not an ecological niche. The forest is a habitat, but the beetle lives in a subdivision of this habitat that constitutes its specific microhabitat. The niche includes this microhabitat, but also what the beetle eats, its predators, symbionts, parasites, its temperature tolerance ranges, the particular species of trees where it breeds and feeds, etc. You can find that information here:\nhttp://www.na.fs.fed.us/spfo/pubs/fidls/sprucebeetle/sprucebeetle.htm\nhttp://www.srd.gov.ab.ca/forests/health/i_sprucebeetle.html\n\nTake into account that this beetle, as most insects, has indirect development. That means that the requirements of the larva, pupa and adult will probably be different and each life stage will have its own niche.\n\nI hope this helps!