Identify the adaptive function of the needle like leaves on a coniferous tree?

1 Answer
Mar 28, 2018

These leaves are adapted to one type of biome, the most abundant one on earth: the taiga, or coniferous forest.

Explanation:

Think about the type of weather encountered by these leaves.
It is mostly found in the northern hemisphere, where there are long winters and short summers.
It is nearly always freezing cold or slightly cool in summer. There is apt to be more night than sunlit days since these forests are found closer to the poles of the Earth.
These evergreen trees, like firs and spruces, are the toughest, longest-lived trees on Earth.

The leaves are evergreen: always dark green, since they need a high amount of chlorophyll to extract LOTS of sun energy.

The sunlight does not last very long, so the leaves need to make good use of what they have for grabbing that light for photosynthesis (light-dependent reactions).

The leaves are pointed for two reasons: to help snow slide off of them, and also to limit water loss from the leaf itself.
Remember, leaves need water for photosynthesis in their cells.

These leaves also have a tough waxy material on them to prevent water loss.
Why? Very cold weather can also be very dry at times.

I hope the below link also helps you:

https://www.conserve-energy-future.com/coniferous-forest.php