The Mid-Canada Boreal Plains Forests is a

taiga Taiga or tayga ( ; , ), also known as boreal forest or snow forest, is a biome characterized by coniferous forests consisting mostly of pines, spruces, and larches. The taiga, or boreal forest, is the world's largest land biome. In North A ...

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 ...

Western Canada Western Canada, also referred to as the Western provinces, Canadian West, or Western provinces of Canada, and commonly known within Canada as the West, is a list of regions of Canada, Canadian region that includes the four western provinces and t ...

, designated by One Earth. It was previously defined as the Mid-Continental Canadian Forests by the

World Wildlife Fund The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) is a Swiss-based international non-governmental organization founded in 1961 that works in the field of wilderness preservation and the reduction of human impact on the environment. It was formerly named the ...

(WWF) categorization system, before it was modified by One Earth, the successor to WWF.

Setting

This ecoregion extends from south of the Great Slave Lake in the

Northwest Territories The Northwest Territories is a federal Provinces and territories of Canada, territory of Canada. At a land area of approximately and a 2021 census population of 41,070, it is the second-largest and the most populous of Provinces and territorie ...

through most of northeastern

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

, central

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 ...

and parts of west-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 ...

and consists of three main areas: the Slave River basin in northeastern Alberta, the lowlands of the northern Manitoba plain, and the uplands south of 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 ...

from north-central Alberta to southwestern Manitoba. This is a mixed area of lowlands and mountains up to 800m high, including areas of wetland and peat bog and mountain lakes and ponds. The area has a subhumid mid-boreal ecoclimate with short summers (average temperature 14°C) and long, cold winters (ave. -15°C) and patches of permafrost in the lowlands.

Flora

These forests, like so much of Canada at this latitude, are a mixture of conifers and deciduous trees including quaking aspen ('' Populus tremuloides''), balsam poplar ('' Populus balsamifera''), white spruce (''

Picea glauca ''Picea glauca'', the white spruce, is a species of spruce native to the northern temperate and boreal forests in Canada and United States, North America. ''Picea glauca'' is native from central Alaska all through the east, across western and s ...

''), paper birch ('' Betula papyrifera''), black spruce (''

Picea mariana ''Picea mariana'', the black spruce, is a North American species of spruce tree in the Pinaceae, pine family. It is widespread across Canada, found in all 10 provinces and all 3 Canadian Arctic Lands, territories. It is the official tree of Newfo ...

''), jack pine ('' Pinus banksiana'') and balsam fir (''

Abies balsamea ''Abies balsamea'' or balsam fir is a North American fir, native to most of eastern and central Canada (Newfoundland (island), Newfoundland west to central Alberta) and the northeastern United States (Minnesota east to Maine, and south in the Ap ...

'').

Fauna

Wildlife of the area includes moose ('' Alces alces''), American black bear ('' Ursus americanus''), wolf (''

Canis lupus The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the grey wolf or gray wolf, is a canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, including the dog and dingo, though gr ...

''), Canada lynx ('' Lynx canadensis''), white-tailed deer ('' Odocoileus virginianus''), elk ('' Cervus canadensis''), North American beaver ('' Castor canadensis''), muskrat ('' Ondatra zibethicus''), snowshoe hare ('' Lepus americanus''). The plain to the south of the lake is home to moose, coyote ('' Canis latrans''), and eastern cottontail ('' Sylvilagus floridanus'') as well. Wood Buffalo National Park on the Slave River is the largest national park in Canada and home to the world's largest herd of American bison ('' Bison bison''). Birds include ducks, geese, American white pelican ('' Pelecanus erythrorhynchos''), sandhill crane ('' Grus canadensis''), ruffed grouse ('' Bonasa umbellus'') and common loon ('' Gavia immer'') The wetlands of the region, such as Cumberland Lake, are an important refuge for migratory birds and include the most important breeding populations of the endangered

whooping crane The whooping crane (''Grus americana'') is an endangered Crane (bird), crane species, native to North America, named for its "whooping" calls. Along with the sandhill crane (''Antigone canadensis''), it is one of only two crane species native to ...

in North America.

Threats and preservation

Half of the natural forest remains intact, the other half having been removed by extensive logging, oil and gas exploration and mining. Blocks of intact forest include Wood Buffalo Park, the areas around Cold Lake/ Primrose Lake and Doré Lake,

Prince Albert National Park Prince Albert National Park encompasses in central Saskatchewan, Canada and is about north of Saskatoon. Though declared a National parks of Canada, national park March 24, 1927, official opening ceremonies weren't performed by Prime Ministe ...

, to the north of Cumberland Lake,

Riding Mountain National Park Riding Mountain National Park is a national park in Manitoba, Canada. The park is located within Treaty 2 Territory and sits atop the Manitoba Escarpment. Consisting of a protected area of , the forested parkland stands in sharp contrast to the ...

, Porcupine Hills, Duck Mountain Provincial Park (Manitoba), Duck Mountain Provincial Park (Saskatchewan) (near the town of Kamsack) and the Peace–Athabasca Delta on the Slave River. Other protected areas include

Clearwater River (Saskatchewan) The Clearwater River is located in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Alberta. It rises in the northern forest region of north-western Saskatchewan and joins the Athabasca River in north-eastern Al ...

, Meadow Lake Provincial Park (near Goodsoil, Saskatchewan) and Narrow Hills Provincial Park.

References

{{coord missing, Canada Taiga and boreal forests Ecoregions of Canada Geography of Western Canada Forests of Manitoba Nearctic ecoregions Forests of Saskatchewan Forests of Alberta Ecozones and ecoregions of Alberta

Setting

Flora

Fauna

Threats and preservation

See also

References