Southeastern Altai Mountains, Russia Photograph by Igor Shpilenok   Central Asia Southern Russia into northern Mongolia Temperate Coniferous Forests   138,000 square miles (357,400 square kilometers) -- about twice the size of North Dakota Vulnerable

· On Top of Siberia
· Special Features
· Did You Know?
· Wild Side
· Cause for Concern
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On Top of Siberia

Imagine life as a golden eagle or peregrine falcon, soaring high above the Sayan forests of Russian Siberia. That might give you a sense of what life is like in these coniferous forests, also called taiga forests. The Sayan Montane Conifer Forests ecoregion includes the mid-elevation zone of the Altai-Sayan mountain range, which is the tallest mountain system in Siberia. These forests have high biodiversity because they are a transitional zone for vegetation, including plants from two types of habitat. This is where Siberian taiga and Mongolian steppe meet.

Special Features

With warm summers and bitterly cold winters, the climate here is severe, but varied. The mountains and river valleys make for a diversity of climatic conditions, with some areas receiving more rain than others. Three types of taiga forests can be found in this ecoregion. Light needle-leaf taiga dominates the montane region above 4,593 feet (1,400 m), with an open canopy of Siberian or Russian larch and well-developed shrub and grass layers. Siberian fir trees, with lichens and sphagnum mosses on the ground underneath, dominate dark needle-leaf taiga. Black taiga has a much higher diversity of species than the needle-leaf taiga forests occurring in the higher elevations of this montane region. Siberian pine and fir and Aspen willow trees dominate the canopy. Soils are so rich here that the biological decomposition is swift, leaving little leaf litter on the ground.

	The Pallas’ sea eagle has been misnamed--because this species does not live near the sea. Instead, the predator prefers the inland lakes and large rivers of Central Asia. The bird does not even live at sea level; well adapted to altitude, it has been found higher than 15,000 feet (4,500 m) in Tibet.

Wild Side

Mammals are plentiful in this ecoregion, including brown bears, wolverines, moose, wolves, red foxes, and red squirrels. A lesser-known mammal called the ermine also lives here. Ermines are a species of weasel that have white coats in the winter and brown coats in the summer. Amphibian and reptile species include the common lizard, Moor frog and adder or European viper, just to name a few. Short-eared owls and scops owls are the most common owl species of these forests. Unfortunately, this ecoregion’s most striking feathered predators are also those most at risk, including golden eagles, white-tailed eagles, Pallas’ sea eagles, and peregrine falcons.

Cause for Concern

These montane forests have been significantly disturbed. Light needle-leaf forests at lower elevations are almost completely clear-cut. Forest harvesting has also led to significant slope erosion and pollution of water ecosystems. Poaching is also a serious risk to many animal species. And the entire ecoregion is threatened by pollution from various areas in Russia and as far away as Kazakhstan and China.

For more information on this ecoregion, go to the World Wildlife Fund Scientific Report.