Pearson Edexcel GCSE (9-1) Geography B (1GB0) · Spec 8.2, 8.4 and 8.6
Forests under threat: the taiga
Read the notes, then try the questions. Each one is marked the moment you press Check, and shows the right answer and why.
Key ideas
- The taiga has long, cold, dry winters, with most precipitation falling as snow, and a short growing season.
- Taiga trees are mostly needle-leaved evergreens. They are adapted to the cold and the short growing season: needles cut water loss, sloping branches shed snow, and the evergreen habit lets them grow as soon as it warms.
- Low biodiversity is a characteristic of the biome. It is not an adaptation of a tree.
- Parts of the taiga have permafrost: ground that stays frozen for two years or more, with a top layer that thaws each summer.
- Cold environments can be protected through national parks and nature reserves and through international agreements. Indigenous peoples live in these areas too.
Key terms
- Taiga
- The cold northern forest biome of mostly needle-leaved evergreen trees.
- Adaptation
- A feature that helps a plant or animal survive in its environment.
- Permafrost
- Ground that stays frozen for at least two years.
- Active layer
- The top layer of ground above permafrost that thaws each summer.
- Coniferous
- Describes trees that bear cones and usually have needle leaves.
Common mistakes
- Saying taiga trees are adapted to a warm, wet summer. They are adapted to the long, cold, dry winter.
- Swapping rainforest and taiga adaptations. Buttress roots and drip tips are rainforest. Needles and sloping branches are taiga.
- Saying the taiga is wet all year because it is snowy. Winter precipitation is low.
Exam tip
Paper 3 comes with a resource booklet of evidence that you have not seen before. Pick evidence from the figure, and then add your own knowledge of the taiga. For Explain two, two different reasons are needed, and a reason that just reverses the first earns nothing.
Free practice questions
6 questions, 11 marks. Answer, then press Check. The marking guide explains how the marks are worked out. Nothing is saved.
- Question 1 · Multiple choice[1 mark]
Which statement about the taiga climate is correct?
- Question 2 · Multiple choice[1 mark]
Which is an adaptation of a taiga tree?
- Question 3 · Sort into groups[4 marks]
Sort each statement about the taiga into the correct group.
Needle leaves
Cone shape
Slow decomposition
Low biodiversity
- Question 4 · Fill the gaps[2 marks]
Ground that stays frozen for two years or more is called ___, and the top layer that thaws each summer is the ___ layer.
Word bank: polar · permafrost · active
- Question 5 · Multiple choice[1 mark]
Which statement about the value of cold environments as wilderness is correct?
- Question 6 · Choose more than one[2 marks]
Which TWO are ways of protecting cold environments?
Choose 2.