Taiga or boreal forest is a biome characterized by vast, cold and humid coniferous forests.
The areas referred to as 'taiga' together form the largest forest area on earth: it covers large parts of Scandinavia, Canada, Russia and Mongolia. It is the northernmost area where (mostly) conifers, and the animal species and vegetation that depend on them, can survive.
Eighty percent of the trees in the moist forest areas of the taiga consists of pines, firs, silver firs and larchs. However, deciduous trees such as birch, some species of poplar, willow and rowan are also found.
Fens and related plants are also common in this zone. A lot of carbon is stored in the soil in the form of plant residues. As these areas become warmer, methane will be released, which increases the greenhouse effect.
Sam Mannaerts is a nature photographer from East Flanders, more specifically Steendorp.
He photographs almost everything that has to do with nature. From butterflies to majestic landscapes, but also wildlife like bears, birds, etc.
He has a predilection for the High North...
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