Canadian Identity And the landscape that affects it

Boreal Forest ► Canada has a large area of boreal forest. ► This is an area largely dominated by bogs, large forests, spruce trees, large ferns and various wet lands. ► This makes up a good chunk of the land in Canada (see diagram 1) ► Russia, Sweden, Norway and Finland also all have boreal forests.

Moreal of Boreal ► Spans a total of 1.4 billion acres ► Accounts for 58.5% of Canada’s land mass. ► Broken up into 7 unique eco zones. ► They can be found on the map to the right. ► To put this in comparison: Bedford, NS is about 18,000 acres. Canada, Russia and Brazil account for 63.8% of the worlds remaining intact forests. Canada, Russia and Brazil account for 63.8% of the worlds remaining intact forests.

Tundrastruck ► Canada has a large amount of ground which is known as tundra ► Tundra is frozen ground which tree growth is limited due to the cold weather and limited sunlight. ► Most of this area is in the arctic circle.

What is tundra? ► Tundra is essentially a term given to land which the layer of subsoil is actually permafrost. ► This is another reason why plant life is minimal. ► The only plants that can really be found are small ferns and mosses. ► This area holds one of the worlds lowest levels of biodiversity. ► What if the ice caps melted? ► /2013/09/rising-seas/if-ice-melted- map

What about global warming? ► Global warming is causing the temperature to rise right across the planet (no kidding). ► The problem this presents is in the region of the world where there is tundra present. ► This causes permafrost to melt which releases carbon dioxide and methane. ► Both of these are greenhouse gasses. ► Methane is produced when vegetation is destroyed.

The Greenhouse Effect ► There’s a little thing called Ozone that surrounds our planet. ► The sunlight comes through our planet and heats up all of the gas within our planet. ► This causes the temperature to rise. ► It gets warmer and warmer as time goes on because of this “greenhouse effect” ► Essentially the gasses within our planet get trapped within the ozone and can’t go anywhere.

The Arctic Circle in Canada ► Part of northern Canada is in the arctic circle. ► Very cold and next to no vegetation. ► Not many people live in this region. ► Shared with seven other countries. ► Those are; Russia, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Iceland, United States and Canada.

Farming in Canada ► Canada has a wide variety of different types of farming and agriculture. ► This dates back to the 17 th century with Acadians starting farms. ► Canada is one of the largest agricultural producers and exporters in the world. ► Canada has large sprawling wheat fields that span tons of acres on the prairies. ► The prairies are the largest agricultural area in Canada.

How it affects population ► The Canadian population has grown substantially in recent years, going from 30.7 million in 2000 to 33.7 million in ► It’s projected that by 2060 Canada will have over 50 million people if the rate of growth continues at the pace it is going at. ► Other worldly factors such as immigration and people arriving to Canada on refugee status could speed this up dramatically. ► People tend to avoid living on Tundra’s and other northern areas because the climate and living conditions are not the best for the living conditions of people.

Assignment ► Answer the following questions 1. How many Boreal forest regions are there in Canada? What are their names? 2. What are three characteristics of the boreal forests? 3. What is permafrost? 4. How many countries are in the arctic circle? What are they? 5. Explain how global warming works 6. How do the landforms (tundra, boreal forest etc) affect the population of Canada and where it is located?