E+-+Coniferous+Woodlands

Coniferous woodlands can be found in Scotland, Scandinavia, Russia, north-eastern China and northern parts of North America.

__**Characteristic features:**__

The woodlands are evergreen. The coniferous trees of which they are composed, such as fir, pine and spruce, are remarkably uniform in shape. height and size. There may be only two of three species in a square kilometre of woodland, which increases the uniform appearance of the woodlands over wide areas of land. There tends to be only one layer of vegetation - the tree layer. In the forest gloom, caused by the trees growing so closely together, little else grows. The forest floor is covered by a thick mat of pine needles. The dark woods do not attract bird life. Little food is provided and only a few animals, such as deer, can feed by browsing the trees.

__**Adaptations to climate:**__

The trees have adaptations which allow them to survive in areas with a cold continental climate. In winter this is one of the most challenging climates for any kind of plant or animal life because of intense cold, snow-covered surfaces and strong, cold winds. Summers are short and not particularly warm, and water is often only readily available in early summer.
 * Tree Characteristic || Adaptation to the Climate ||
 * Conical Shape || They are flexible and bend in the strong winds ||
 * Downward sloping branches || Snow slides off them more quickly ||
 * Evergreen || Leaves are always present so that trees can begin to grow as soon as it is warm enough in spring/early summer: neccesary because of the shortness of the growing season ||
 * Needle leaves || They reduce water loss by transpiration; necessary when water is not available (e.g. when ground is frozen in winter and when little rain falls in summer ||
 * Thick bark || This protects the trunk from extreme winter cold ||

__**Soils:**__

The soil in coniferous woodlands is known as a podsol. It is made up of a variety of layers and has a reddish-brown colour to it. There are little nutrients in the soil as a result of leaching. This is the process where water drains down through the soil and takes/leaches nutrients and minerals with it. The pine needles which are a significant feature of the vegetation is that the pine needles decay slowly and what little humus they produce is acidic.


 * __Human use coniferous woodlands:__**

Softwood coniferous trees are the world's main source of commercial timber. Their use has many advantages:
 * except in very cold areas, they grow quickly; replanted trees can be cut again after 40 to 50 years
 * many trees of the same type grow together
 * frozen ground in winter makes access easier for heavy machinery and means of transport
 * the softwood has many different uses - from lengths of timber used for contruction to pulp used for making paper

The soils are very poor and are worthless for farming once the woodland has been cleared. The goodness - organic material and minerals - has been leached out beyond the reach of crop roots. The soils are too acidic for most crops. In upland areas of the UK, where farming is far from easy coniferous trees have been planted as this is a profitable way of using the land. Also the forests are used for recreation.