Vegetation Regions of Canada

Introduction Different kinds of vegetation require different climate and different soils in order to thrive Vegetation that grow in a region without any input from humans is referred to as Natural Vegetation Three types of natural vegetation exist in Canada; tundra, forest and grassland

Vegetation Regions Intro… Seven natural vegetation regions have been identified in Canada: Tundra Boreal and Taiga Forest Mixed Forest Deciduous Forest Grasslands Cordillera West Coast Forest

Tundra Most northerly vegetation region in Canada. Very short summers, so with the short growing season only small hardy plants, mosses and lichen can grow. No trees grow in the Tundra, so it is referred to as “above the treeline” Tundra has the coldest climate and lowest precipitation of all vegetation regions in Canada

Boreal and Taiga Forest This vegetation region is directly to the south of the tundra The Tree Line acts as the boundary between the tundra and boreal forest regions The growing season here is longer than in the tundra, so coniferous trees can grow here

Boreal and Taiga Forest …. Coniferous trees are well suited to the cold climate of the boreal forest because they are able to extract nutrients from the acidic soils and their sap acts as a kind of ‘antifreeze’ and prevents them from dying during the long cold winters A coniferous tree is a tree with needles (evergreen) and produces cones for reproduction.

Mixed Forest This region straddles the boreal forest and deciduous forest regions. It consists of a mixture of coniferous and deciduous trees.

Mixed Forest This is a transition zone where one region gradually changes to another, but this transition zone is so large that it is classified as its own vegetation region. This region has cool winters, warm summers and higher precipitation.

Deciduous Forest This is the smallest vegetation region in Canada This region has long, hot summers, mild winters and plentiful precipitation which permits growth of deciduous trees,

Deciduous Forest… The only deciduous forest region in Canada is in southern Ontario where the great lakes help to keep the winters warmer than the rest of Canada. These trees need more than five months of warm temperatures in order to build up enough sap to survive the cold winter.

Grassland This region is found in Southern Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta. This region is too dry for most trees to grow, although a few trees are able to survive where the most moisture is found in river valleys

Grasslands….. Grasses dominates this region as they are well suited to the dry climate. The roots of grass intertwine and form a sod mat that absorbs moisture from the soil. There are three sub-regions of grasslands...

Grassland: Short-grass Prairie Short-grass prairies are found in the driest regions of the grasslands. This sub-region is made up of drought resistant plants such as sagebrush and cactus. The warm, dry climate limits how much plants can grow here. This region is well suited to animal grazing.

Grassland: Long-grass Prairie This sub-region surrounds the short-grass prairie This sub-region receives more precipitation than short grass prairies. This region is ideal for growing grains and oil seeds.

Grassland: Parkland This region straddles the warm, dry grasslands and the cool, wet boreal forest regions. This is a transition zone (similar to mixed forests) where pockets of trees grow The northern parklands grow coniferous trees whereas the southern parklands grow deciduous trees

Cordillera This region has varied temperatures; warm temperature dominate the valleys and cooler temperature are found higher in the mountains. Rainfall varies greatly in this region; the western cordillera receives more rainfall than the eastern.

Cordillera… The vegetation here varies; grasses and cactus grow in the drier higher elevations. Coniferous forests are found in the lower slopes of mountains where there is more precipitation; as you ascend up the mountain less and less vegetation can survive.

West Coast Forest This region is found on the west coast of Canada. Temperatures here are mild and consistent, and precipitation is very heavy.

West Coast Forest…. This region contains dense forests with the largest and oldest trees in Canada. These giants live in a temperate rain forest with the longest growing season in Canada

Assignment Fill out map of Canada’s vegetation regions (found on page 142 of textbook) Answer question sheet on vegetation regions (you can find the answers to the questions in chapter 12 of the textbook)