physical features
- Many characteristics of the boreal forest are affected by the physical environment in which they are found.
- Three major components of the physical environment that shape the boreal forest include landscape and soil type, climate, and water systems.
- Boreal forests are found on land shaped by the movement of glaciers.
- Soils in the boreal forest are typically podzols (from the Russian word for “ash”), gray soils that are thin, acidic, and poor in nutrients.