The World's Largest Forest: The Taiga (Boreal Forest)

What & Where

The Taiga / Boreal Forest is Earth's largest terrestrial biome – a near-continuous belt across northern latitudes (50°–70°N).

Extent

• Russia (Siberia) – largest share.
• Canada, Alaska (USA), Scandinavia, Finland, Scotland (Caledonian Forest remnants), northern Japan, northern Mongolia, northern Kazakhstan.

Dominant Trees

• Conifers: spruce (Picea), fir (Abies), larch (Larix), pine (Pinus).
• Deciduous pioneers: birch, aspen, poplar.

Scale

• Area: ~17M km² (6.6M sq mi) – 11% of Earth's land.
• Carbon: 30–40% of terrestrial carbon (soils + biomass).
• Permafrost underlies much of Russian/Canadian taiga.

Not "Rainforest"

Low precipitation (200–750 mm), cold, short growing season. Distinct from tropical rainforests (Amazon, Congo) which are smaller in area but higher in biodiversity.