AKA The Boreal Forest

This area typically spends eight months buried in snow. Conifers adjust to these colder and drier conditions by:

having needles instead of leaves. Needles have a waxy coat which helps retain moisture. They also have less surface area than, say, a maple leaf.
resin. This works as a kind of antifreeze. It also gives them that "pine smell".
being evergreen (the Tamarack or American Larch is an exception). The tree saves energy by not having to produce new leaves in the spring. In fact, these trees can even keep growing when it gets cold.
having a shape which helps prevent excessive snow accumulation on their branches

Conifer needles are slow to decompose, so soil forms slowly under the boreal forest.

Distribution and History

Globally speaking, the Boreal Forest is one of the largest regions on Earth. It covers 15 million square kilometers, just over 10 percent of the earth's surface. The bulk of the Boreal Forest is north of the 49th parallel. In North America, this region occupies a third of Canada. Small pieces flow over into northern Minnesota and along the Applachian mountains in the east.

The Boreal Forest is not homogenous, but varies in size, type and age of species. As you go further and further north, the trees become smaller and smaller until you hit the tundra, the vast treeless plains of the far north.

Conifers are thought to have originated 230 million years ago, possibly a hundred million years before deciduous trees such as sugar maple. Now, conifers have been replaced by deciduous trees in the more moderate regions of the earth, generally speaking, and so are more usually found in the colder, hotter, wetter, drier or higher regions of the earth.

The northern forests serve as a nursery for many songbird species. They migrate north in summer to take advantage of the rich insect population which provides a rich food source for their young.

Before the first large-scale logging in North America, white-tailed deer did not make their way into this area, since they have a harder time

finding food - they prefer tender new decidous shrubs, young trees or open grassy meadows near cover
travelling in the denser coniferous forest

Logging allowed them to spread further north which caused problems for moose in Algonquin Park, for example, because deer can carry a parasite that causes brain damage in moose.

As the forests regrow in the Algonquin area, the balance is tipping back in favour of the moose.

Trees of the Boreal Forest