5.6
New challenges for hunting, fishing, agriculture and conservation in the Taiga
Did you know?
Dependence of many Arctic Peoples on reindeer evolved from hunting wild reindeer through herding reindeer to farming reindeer. The lasso changed the way of life of the herders as they could catch animals.
The River Ob in Western Siberia is the 7th longest river in the world. Its floodplain is 60 km wide and it is 3,700 km long.
Part of the river Ob in western Siberia. Photo: Terry Callaghan
New fish species are taking over from the native fish. The new fish don't taste as nice as the native ones!
Did you know letting agriculture return to nature helps wildlife, water resources, soils and carbon capture!
Fascinating Facts!
The River Ob is 600 football pitches wide (when at flood) and 37,000 pitches long. ยท Visit the Russian taiga and the River Ob by watching the two videos:
The River Ob flows through Western Siberia where the world's largest wetland exists called the Vasyugan mire. It stores 400 km3 of water.
Get Active!
Think and explore what benefits there are for populations that live close to rivers. Examples include:
  • fishing
  • good transportation on water and ice
  • water and nutrients available each spring to make the soils more fertile
  • more animals available for hunting (beaver)
Think and explore what are the challenges to people that live close to rivers. Examples include:
  • flooding
  • river bank erosion
  • insecure crossing when ice forms and melts
STEM question
STEM question: If we assume there are 24 000 km3 of water in Siberia, if that water was 1 metre deep everywhere, what area would it cover?
Answer: 2,400 km2