Seasons are divided into short, moist, and moderately warm summers and long, cold, and dry winters. The length of the growing season in boreal forests is 130 days. Temperatures are very low. Precipitation is primarily in the form of snow, 40-100 cm annually. Soil is thin, nutrient-poor, and acidic.
Canopy permits low light penetration, and as a result, understory is limited.
Fauna include woodpeckers, hawks, moose, bear, weasel, lynx, fox, wolf, deer, hares, chipmunks, shrews, and bats. Current extensive logging in boreal forests may soon cause their disappearance.