The Midwest Canadian Shield Forests is an

ecoregion An ecoregion (ecological region) is an ecological and geographic area that exists on multiple different levels, defined by type, quality, and quantity of environmental resources. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of land or water, and c ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, classified as a Taiga and Boreal Forests

Biome A biome () is a distinct geographical region with specific climate, vegetation, and animal life. It consists of a biological community that has formed in response to its physical environment and regional climate. In 1935, Tansley added the ...

Setting

This is an area of rolling hills with lakes both small and large, wetlands, and rocky outcrops on the

Canadian Shield The Canadian Shield ( ), also called the Laurentian Shield or the Laurentian Plateau, is a geologic shield, a large area of exposed Precambrian igneous and high-grade metamorphic rocks. It forms the North American Craton (or Laurentia), th ...

in northern

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada. It is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and to the south by the ...

, north-central

Manitoba Manitoba is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population ...

(north and east of

Lake Winnipeg Lake Winnipeg () is a very large, relatively shallow lake in North America, in the Canadian province of Manitoba. Its southern end is about north of the city of Winnipeg. Lake Winnipeg is Canada's sixth-largest freshwater lake and the third- ...

) and Northwestern Ontario. Specific areas include the Athabasca Sand Dunes, and many lakes such as Cree Lake, Upper Foster Lake and Reindeer Lake in Saskatchewan. The area has a cold climate, very cold in winter although the hills around Lac Seul are warmer and wetter than most of the ecoregion, while the Athabasca Plain and the uplands above the Churchill River and Hayes River are cooler. There are patches of

permafrost Permafrost () is soil or underwater sediment which continuously remains below for two years or more; the oldest permafrost has been continuously frozen for around 700,000 years. Whilst the shallowest permafrost has a vertical extent of below ...

throughout

Flora

Much of the landscape, including the Athabasca Plain, is the boreal forest that covers so much of Canada at this latitude, consisting of black spruce ('' Picea mariana''), jack pine ('' Pinus banksiana''), quaking aspen ('' Populus tremuloides''), white birch ('' Betula papyrifera''), balsam poplars, white spruce ('' Picea glauca''), and balsam fir ('' Abies balsamea''). The dominant tree of the wetlands is black spruce, while the rocky outcrops are covered with

lichen A lichen ( , ) is a hybrid colony (biology), colony of algae or cyanobacteria living symbiotically among hypha, filaments of multiple fungus species, along with yeasts and bacteria embedded in the cortex or "skin", in a mutualism (biology), m ...

Fauna

Mammals of the ecoregion include

moose The moose (: 'moose'; used in North America) or elk (: 'elk' or 'elks'; used in Eurasia) (''Alces alces'') is the world's tallest, largest and heaviest extant species of deer and the only species in the genus ''Alces''. It is also the tal ...

(''Alces alces''),

American black bear The American black bear (''Ursus americanus''), or simply black bear, is a species of medium-sized bear which is Endemism, endemic to North America. It is the continent's smallest and most widely distributed bear species. It is an omnivore, with ...

(''Ursus americanus''), woodland caribou (''Rangifer tarandus caribou''), barren-ground caribou (''Rangifer tarandus arcticus''), Canada lynx (''Lynx canadensis''), grey wolf (''Canis lupus''), American beaver (''Castor canadensis''),

North American river otter The North American river otter (''Lontra canadensis''), also known as the northern river otter and river otter, is a semiaquatic mammal that endemism, lives only on the North American continent throughout most of Canada, along the coasts of the U ...

(''Lontra canadensis''), American marten (''Martes americana''), American ermine (''Mustela richardsonii''), fisher (''Martes pennanti''), muskrat (''Ondatra zibethica''), snowshoe hare (''Lepus americanus''), southern red-backed vole (''Myodes gapperi''),

American red squirrel The American red squirrel (''Tamiasciurus hudsonicus'') is one of three species of tree squirrels currently classified in the genus ''Tamiasciurus'', known as the pine squirrels (the others are the Douglas squirrel, ''T. douglasii'', and the sou ...

(''Tamiasciurus hudsonicus'') and least chipmunk (''neotamius minimus''). Birds include ducks, geese, American white pelican (''Pelecanus erythrorhynchos''),

sandhill crane The sandhill crane (''Antigone canadensis'') is a species of large Crane (bird), cranes of North America and extreme northeastern Siberia. The common name of this bird refers to its habitat, such as the Platte River, on the edge of Nebraska's S ...

(''Grus canadensis''), spruce grouse (''Falcipennis canadensis''), sharp-tailed grouse (''Tympahuchus phasianellus''), willow grouse (''Lagopus lagopus''),

common nighthawk The common nighthawk or bullbat (''Chordeiles minor'') is a medium-sized crepuscular or nocturnal bird of the Americas within the nightjar (Caprimulgidae) family, whose presence and identity are best revealed by its vocalization. Typically dark ...

(''Chordeiles minor''), red-tailed hawk (''Buteo jamaicensis''), common raven (''Corvus corax''),

common loon The common loon or great northern diver (''Gavia immer'') is a large member of the loon, or diver, family (biology), family of birds. Reproduction, Breeding adults have a plumage that includes a broad black head and neck with a greenish, purpli ...

(''Gavia immer''),

bald eagle The bald eagle (''Haliaeetus leucocephalus'') is a bird of prey found in North America. A sea eagle, it has two known subspecies and forms a species pair with the white-tailed eagle (''Haliaeetus albicilla''), which occupies the same niche ...

(''Haliaeetus leucocephalus''), Canada jay (''Perisoreus canadensis''), northern hawk owl (''Surnia ulula''), great horned owl (''Bubo virginianus''), American herring gull (''Larus smithsonianus'') and double-crested cormorant (''Phalacrocorax auritus'').

Threats and preservation

Most of the natural forest remains intact with most alteration having occurred in Manitoba due to logging, mining and hydro-electric power generation. Protected areas include Opasquia Provincial Park, Woodland Caribou Provincial Park and Pipestone River Provincial Park in northwestern

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, Atikaki Provincial Wilderness Park in eastern Manitoba and Lac la Ronge and Athabasca Sand Dunes Provincial Park in Saskatchewan.

References

{{coord missing, Canada Taiga and boreal forests Ecoregions of Canada Forests of Ontario Nearctic ecoregions Forests of Manitoba Forests of Saskatchewan

Setting

Flora

Fauna

Threats and preservation

See also

References