Russia, the world's largest country (by total area), comprises much of northern Eurasia, and stretches over a vast expanse of Europe and Northern Asia.[1] Due to its size, Russia displays both monotony and diversity. As with its topography, its climates, vegetation, and soils span vast distances.[2] From north to south the East European Plain is clad sequentially in tundra, coniferous forest (taiga), mixed and broadleaf forests, grassland (steppe), and semi-desert (fringing the Caspian Sea) as the changes in vegetation reflect the changes in climate. Siberia supports a similar sequence but is predominantly taiga. The country contains forty UNESCO biosphere reserves
