Ecozones The Prairie Provinces have two main ecozones: Prairie in the southern part Boreal Plains in the middle part However, they also have parts of the following ecozones: Boreal Shield, Taiga Shield, Taiga Plains (barely any), and Hudson Plains

Prairie Landscape: flat to rolling plains Climate: fairly long, cold winters, fairly warm summers; 250 to 700 mm; growing season is days Vegetation: short-grass prairie in drier areas, some trees, prairie in wetter areas, some trees, little natural vegetation remaining Soil: rich, grassland soils Land uses: agriculture, oil and gas development

Boreal Plains Landscape: level to gently rolling plains Climate: long, cold winters, short, warm summers, precip. 450 mm; growing season days Vegetation: coniferous trees (white spruce, black spruce, balsam fir, Jack pine, and tamarack) mixed with deciduous (aspen, popular, and white birch, extensive marsh areas Soil: rich soils formed under forests, marsh soils in some areas Land uses: forestry, farming, tourism, oil and development

Boreal Shield Landscape: plains and low hills of the Canadian Shield Climate: long winters, short summers, precip mm, growing season days Vegetation: coniferous (white spruce, black spruce, balsam fir, and Jack pine) mixed with deciduous (yellow birch, sugar maple, black ash) Soil: heavily leached soils, bare rock, swampy areas Land uses: forestry, mining, tourism, recreation, trapping

Taiga Plains Landscape: interior plains and some foothills Climate: long, cold winters, short, cool summers, dry, precip mm, growing season days Vegetation: open forest to dense forest (black spruce, white spruce, Jack pine, tamarack, paper birch, trembling aspen) Soil: continuous permafrost in north, scattered permafrost further south, wide variety of poor quality soils Land uses: hunting, trapping, tourism, oil and gas development, agricultural

Taiga Shield Landscape: plains and hills of Canadian Shield Climate: fairly long, cold winters, fairly short, cool summers, precip mm, growing season days Vegetation: black spruce, jack pine, paper birch, trembling aspen Soil: thin, highly leached soils, bare rock Land uses: tourism, mining, hunting, trapping

Hudson Plains Landscape: low-lying, swampy, plains Climate: fairly long, cold winters, fairly short, cool summer, precip. 400 – 700 mm, growing season 90 – 150 days Vegetation: ground-hugging tundra, increasing dense forest in south (white spruce, black spruce, tamarack, Jack pine) Soil: scattered permafrost occurs, poorly developed organic and permafrost soils Land uses: hunting trapping, recreation