Western Siberian hemiboreal forests
RESOLVE 687
The Western Siberian hemiboreal forests form a narrow latitudinal belt entirely within Russia, an east-west strip stretching roughly 2,000 kilometres from Chelyabinsk in the west to Krasnoyarsk in the east along the southern edge of the West Siberian taiga, with the Ob and Irtysh rivers running through it. This is a mixed forest of tall conifers and broadleaf trees, dominated by Siberian fir, Siberian spruce, Siberian pine, Scots pine, and small-leaved linden, with birch and aspen widespread in disturbed and secondary stands. The climate is humid continental with cool summers, cold winters, and modest annual precipitation. Sitting as a transitional zone between taiga and forest steppe, it holds some of the highest biodiversity in Siberia and supports brown bears, moose, grey wolves, and birds including the critically endangered yellow-breasted bunting, its flagship species; yet it has been heavily affected by human activity and lacks large federally protected areas. For gardeners, the native small-leaved linden (Tilia cordata) is a familiar ornamental and shade tree well suited to cold continental settings.
About the temperate broadleaf & mixed forests biome
Four-season forests of deciduous hardwoods — oak, maple, beech — often mixed with conifers, shaped by warm summers and cold winters. Trees leaf out in spring and color in autumn; the generally fertile soils have made these forests heavily settled and farmed.
Collections for this ecoregion
Curated multi-plant collections whose members all fit this ecoregion's zone range — no won't-grow members smuggled in. Overall fit class shown per collection is the weakest link across its members.
Climate-resilient · 2 plants
A part-shade starting point with shrub structure and low foliage contrast.
Annabelle hydrangea
Coral bells
Climate-resilient · 8 plants
Climate-resilient natives for warming zones (eastern NA)
A pollinator-supporting palette of eastern NA natives whose USDA zone range and broad continental distribution score high on the climate-resilience composite. Every plant tolerates 6-7 USDA zones and is native across 15+ US states + multiple Canadian provinces. Holds up under the SSP3-7.0 mid-century projection without the gardener trading wildlife value for resilience.
Switchgrass
Little bluestem
Common milkweed
Black-eyed Susan
Wild bergamot
Sweet Joe-Pye weed
Cutleaf coneflower
New England aster
Climate-resilient · 9 plants
Native pollinator border (eastern US)
A continuous-bloom native pollinator strip for eastern North America. Covers spring through frost with host + nectar plants spanning monarchs, native bees, hummingbirds, and specialist Lepidoptera. Little bluestem provides the matrix grass + Hesperiidae host.
Butterfly weed
Common milkweed
Purple coneflower
Wild bergamot
Scarlet bee balm
Little bluestem
Sweet Joe-Pye weed
Swamp sunflower
Smooth blue aster
Climate-resilient · 4 plants
A durable sunny border with summer bloom, seedheads, and upright winter texture.
English lavender
Purple coneflower
Black-eyed Susan
Switchgrass