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The elite six boreal tree species | blogjou

Ben Rawlence

The Treeline

p. 9
05 Nov 2023

The elite six boreal tree species


It was only when I discovered that a tiny handful of tree species make up the treeline that I began to see that an attempt at description might be possible. An elite club, the six featured here are the familiar markers of the northern territories: three conifers and three broadleaves evolved to survive the cold. Moreover, remarkably, each of these tree species has made a sectio of the treeline its own, outcompeting other species and anchoring unique ecosystems: Scots pine in Scotland, birch in Scandiavia, larch in Siberia, spruce in Alaska, and, to a lesser extent, poplar in Canada and rowan in Greenland.