Taiga is the vast belt of coniferous forest across northern Eurasia and North America — cold, but warm enough for trees. Tundra lies beyond it, too cold and with too short a growing season for trees to survive, so it carries mosses, lichens, grasses and low shrubs over permafrost.
The core difference
Two northern biomes in a band, divided by whether trees can grow.
- taiga — coniferous forest: spruce, pine, fir, larch. The largest land biome on Earth.
- tundra — treeless, low vegetation over permafrost; short growing season.
The tree line
The boundary between them is the tree line, and it is a gradient rather than an edge — a transitional zone of stunted, scattered trees, sometimes called krummholz where wind and cold leave them twisted and low.
The words
Taiga comes from Russian, unsurprisingly given where most of it lies. It is also called boreal forest, from Boreas, the Greek god of the north wind. Tundra comes through Russian from Sami, meaning treeless plain.
Frequently asked questions
Which is further north?
Tundra. Taiga forms a forest belt south of it, where conditions still allow trees.
Why does tundra have no trees?
The growing season is too short and cold, and permafrost prevents deep roots.
Is taiga the same as boreal forest?
Yes. Boreal forest is the alternative name, from Boreas, the Greek god of the north wind.