The term boreal is usually applied to ecosystem

Ecosystem

An ecosystem is a biological environment consisting of all the organisms living in a particular area, as well as all the nonliving , physical components of the environment with which the organisms interact, such as air, soil, water and sunlight....

s localized in subarctic

Subarctic

The Subarctic is a region in the Northern Hemisphere immediately south of the true Arctic and covering much of Alaska, Canada, the north of Scandinavia, Siberia, and northern Mongolia...

 (Northern hemisphere

Northern Hemisphere

The Northern Hemisphere is the half of a planet that is north of its equator—the word hemisphere literally means “half sphere”. It is also that half of the celestial sphere north of the celestial equator...

) and subantarctic

Subantarctic

The Subantarctic is a region in the southern hemisphere, located immediately north of the Antarctic region. This translates roughly to a latitude of between 46° – 60° south of the Equator. The subantarctic region includes many islands in the southern parts of the Indian Ocean, Atlantic Ocean and...

 (Southern hemisphere

Southern Hemisphere

The Southern Hemisphere is the part of Earth that lies south of the equator. The word hemisphere literally means 'half ball' or "half sphere"...

) zones, although Austral

Austral

Austral may refer to:*Austral Islands, the southernmost group of islands in French Polynesia*Austral language, the language of the Austral Islands*Austral, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney, Australia*Argentine austral, a former currency of Argentina...

 is also used for the latter.

The ecosystems that lie immediately to the south (in the Northern hemisphere) or to the north (in the Southern hemisphere) of boreal zones are often called hemiboreal

Hemiboreal

Hemiboreal means halfway between the temperate and subarctic zones. The term is most frequently used in the context of ecosystems.-Botany:...

.

A "boreal forest", also known as the Taiga

Taiga

Taiga , also known as the boreal forest, is a biome characterized by coniferous forests.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 and is known as the Northwoods...

, is a forest ecosystem that can survive in northern, specifically subarctic, regions.

The Koppen

Köppen climate classification

The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by Crimea German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen himself, notably in 1918 and 1936...

symbols of boreal ecosystems are Dfc, Dwc, Dfd and Dwd.