Major characteristics

 The taiga is primarily located in the sub arctic regions of North America, Europe, and Asia.  The winters are long, cold, and dry, and there is very little sunlight.  Precipitation falls as rain during summer and as snow during winter.  Taiga forests receive 40 to 200 cm of precipitation a year.  Taiga forests can also be found in the Southern Hemisphere on the high mountains, where conditions are similar to high northern latitudes
Coniferous means cone-bearing.  Coniferous trees, or conifers, are trees that produce seed cones.  Conifers have unusual leafs called needles.  These needles are covered in a thick, waxy, substance that will prevent water loss.  Most conifers are also evergreen, meaning they do not lose all their leaves at a given time each year.  They lose and replace their needles slowly throughout the year. 

taiga organisms
Species of pine, hemlock, fir, spruce, and cedar are common in coniferous forests.       
The trees must be able to survive during winter when the soil moisture is frozen and        unavailable.  The soil is poor and acidic because conifer needles are acidic and               decompose slowly.  Harsh winters and nutrient-poor soils are the limiting factors in the    taiga.  Other plants found in the taiga include ferns, lichens, and sphagnum moss.           The heavy winter snow in the taiga is an important to the ecosystem.  The snow acts      like an insulating blanket, trapping heat and preventing the ground from forming             permafrost.  The insulating effect protects the roots of the forest trees and small animals such as mice that would die above the snow.                                                                                                                                   

Larger herbivores, such as moose, elk, beaver, and snowshoe hares feed on plants and   bark.  These herbivores are pursued by predators, such as grizzly bears, wolves and       lynxes.  All of these animals have adaptations that enable them to survive all winter long.  Many species migrate, while some hibernate or live under the snow.  All have thick body coverings to protect them from the cold.                                                                      

environmental concerns

The growing need for wood has led to tree harvesting, and large areas of forest have been lost in some regions.  The governments of the republic of the former Soviet Union, badly in need of money, are selling the rights to large stretches of forest to domestic and foreign companies.  How much logging the taiga forest can sustain has yet to be determined.