Forests include a variety of types. An important component is decomposing wood. Taiga is a belt of coniferous forest around the Northern Hemisphere just south of the Arctic Circle. In North America, this would include Alaska, Canada, northern New England, northern Minnesota, and extends down the Appalachians for a distance. The climate is cold and summers are short, cool, and moist.
Winters are long, harsh, and dry with long-lasting snow cover.
Plants include conifers, lichens, and mosses. There are other temperate zone coniferous forests with warmer climates. Typically the canopy is very will-developed so there is very little stratification. The few other plants underneath consist of ferns, mosses, and some herbaceous plants. Many areas are well-stratified with a number of layers of vegetation under the canopy.