北方针叶林或泰加林是满布松柏的森林，主要分布于阿拉斯加、加拿大、瑞典、芬兰、挪威和俄罗斯（尤其西伯利亚），零散分布于美国本土极北（明尼苏达州、纽约上州、新罕布什尔州、缅因州以北）、哈萨克斯坦极北、日本北海道极北。

北方针叶林是陆上最大的生物群系，阳光照射充足、气候干旱。全年温度界乎-40－20℃，夏季平均10℃。全年雨量300-900毫米。

欧洲语言对「北方针叶林」的称呼大多源于突厥语或蒙古语，是为「Taiga」。不过在加拿大，「boreal forest」（北部森林）才指「北方针叶林」，「Taiga」指更荒芜、更北的北极树界。

Taiga (/ˈtaɪɡə/; Russian:тайга́;IPA: [tɐjˈɡa]; from Turkic) also known as boreal forest or snow forest, is a biome characterized by coniferous forests consisting mostly of pines, spruces and larches.

The taiga is the world's largest terrestrial biome. In North America it covers most of inland Canada and Alaska as well as parts of the extreme northern continental United States (northern Minnesota through the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to Upstate New York and northern New England), where it is known as the Northwoods. In Eurasia, it covers most of Sweden, Finland, much of Norway, some lowland/coastal areas of Iceland, much of Russia from Karelia in the west to the Pacific Ocean (including much of Siberia), and areas of northern Kazakhstan, northern Mongolia, and northern Japan (on the island of Hokkaidō). However, the main tree species, the length of the growing season and summer temperatures vary. For example, the taiga of North America mostly consists of spruces; Scandinavian and Finnish taiga consists of a mix of spruce, pines and birch; Russian taiga has spruces, pines and larches depending on the region, while the Eastern Siberian taiga is a vast larch forest.