Growing season in taiga areas is generally considered to be measured as the number of days for which average daily temperature exceeds 5°C (41°F). The longest growing season for the Scandinavian and Russian taiga occurs in the locales with marine influence from the North Sea and Baltic Sea: in coastal areas of Norway, Sweden and Finland the growing season of the closed boreal forest can reach as high as 145 to 180 days per annum. The shortest growing season of the ecoregion is found in continental Russia and at the far northern part of the ecoregion at the ecotone with tundra.[17]
Soil nutrient levels are generally poor, but diversity of soil organisms can attain high levels, particularly in the southern reaches of the ecoregion. In these southern elements of the ecoregion, closed canopy boreal forest with some temperate deciduous tree species interspersed among the dominant conifers, including maple, elm and oak. In some areas of Norway, Sweden, Finland and western Russia, this zone is exploited for agriculture.
Much of the ecoregion has been repeatedly been affected by glaciation, with the last glaciation covering a large fraction of the area.[20][21] The widespread glaciation eliminated pre-existing flora, hence the biodiversity of the area is low. There are few endemic species in the ecoregion.[22]
There are a total of 368 native vertebrate species in the Scandinavian and Russian taiga according to WWF tabulation; when all migratory bird species are included, this number is somewhat larger.[17]
There are a number of special status mammals, birds and plants within the Scandinavian and Russian taiga, including the following native non-endemic threatened mammals:[17]
↑ Olson, D.M.; Dinerstein, E.; Wikramanayake, E.D.; Burgess, N. D.; etal. (2001). "Terrestrial ecoregions of the world: a new map of life on Earth". Bioscience. 11 (2001): 933–938.
↑ Sporrong, Ulf (2003). "The Scandinavian landscape and its resources". In Helle, Knut (ed.). The Cambridge History of Scandinavia. Cambridge University Press. pp.22.
↑ Berglund, H. "Taiga"(PDF). Naturvårdsverket. Naturvårdsverket. Retrieved 6 July 2025.
↑ Clark, D; Joosten, H (2002). WISE USE OF MIRES AND PEATLANDS - BACKGROUND AND PRINCIPLES INCLUDING A FRAMEWORK FOR DECISION-MAKING. Saarijärvi, Finland: International Mire Conservation Group and International Peat Society. ISBN951-97744-8-3.
Bolub Bohn, UG; Hettwer, C (2000). Reduced general map of the natural vegetation of Europe (Map). 1:10,000,000. Bonn: Bonn-Bad Godesberg.
Sjors, H (1999). "Swedish plant geography: The background: Geology, climate and zonation". Acta Phytogeogr. Suec. 84: 5–14.
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