Physical Features

The ground of many taigas is what is called muskeg. This ground looks like hard, firm soil, but is really a soggy surface. The muskeg is a defining feature of the taiga soil. Due to the cold temperatures, the soil is frozen below a cetain level. The frozen soil acts as a liner to keep melted water from being absorbed by the soil. The cold soil also makes decomposition slow, so a lot of organic materials sit on top of the water.These plants decay slowly. These dead plants give the muskeg an appearance of being firm, but the muskeg actually is very malleable and jelly like (Taiga muskeg, 1).

    Besides the muskeg, an interesting feature of the soil is its acidity. This acidity is due to dead pine needles gathering on the ground. These needles release acid as the decay, which makes the soil very acidic (Taiga forests,1). Other than the muskeg, there are not many defining features of the taiga.Mountains are very common in many areas, but the geography vaies widely. Based on the definition of taiga,certain geographic features are not exclusive to any specific taiga region.