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The Scandinavian and Russian taiga is an ecoregion within the Taiga and Boreal forests Biome as defined by the WWF classification (ecoregion PA0608). It is situated in Northern Europe between tundra in the north and temperate mixed forests in the south and occupies about 2,156,900 km² (832,800 mi²) in Norway, Sweden, Finland and the northern part of European Russia, being the largest ecoregion in Europe. In Sweden the taiga is primarily associated with the Norrland terrain.
Description
The Scandinavian and Russian taiga consists of coniferous forests dominated by Pinus sylvestris (in drier locations), often with an understory of Juniperus communis, Picea abies and Picea obovata and a significant admixture of Betula pubescens and Betula pendula. Larix sibirica is characteristic of the eastern part of the ecoregion.
It is bordered by the ecoregions of Scandinavian coastal conifer forests (west), Scandinavian Montane Birch forest and grasslands (northwest and upwards in the highlands and mountains), Kola Peninsula tundra (North), Northwest Russian-Novaya Zemlya tundra (northeast), Urals montane tundra and taiga (east) and Sarmatic mixed forests (south), by the Baltic Sea and White Sea. Geobotanically, it belongs to the Northeastern European floristic province of the Circumboreal Region of the Holarctic Kingdom.