List of ecoregions in Canada (WWF)

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Terrestrial ecoregions of Canada Terrestrial ecoregions CAN.svg
Terrestrial ecoregions of Canada

The following is a list of ecoregions in Canada as identified by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).

Contents

Terrestrial ecoregions

The terrestrial ecoregions of Canada are all within the Nearctic realm, which includes most of North America. The Nearctic, together with Eurasia's Palearctic realm, constitutes the Holarctic realm of the Northern Hemisphere. [1]

British Columbia is the most biodiverse province with 18 ecoregions across 4 biomes. By contrast, Prince Edward Island is the least biodiverse with just one ecoregion - the Gulf of St. Lawrence lowland forests - encompassing the entire province.

Biome Ecoregion Province/Territory
Boreal forests/taiga Central Canadian Shield forests Ontario, Quebec
Boreal forests/taiga Eastern Canadian forests New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Quebec
Boreal forests/taiga Eastern Canadian Shield taiga Newfoundland and Labrador, Quebec
Boreal forests/taiga Interior Alaska–Yukon lowland taiga Yukon
Boreal forests/taiga Mid-Continental Canadian forests Alberta, Manitoba, Northwest Territories, Saskatchewan
Boreal forests/taiga Midwestern Canadian Shield forests Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario, Saskatchewan
Boreal forests/taiga Muskwa–Slave Lake forests Alberta, British Columbia, Northwest Territories
Boreal forests/taiga Newfoundland Highland forests Newfoundland and Labrador
Boreal forests/taiga Northern Canadian Shield taiga Alberta, Manitoba, Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Saskatchewan
Boreal forests/taiga Northern Cordillera forests British Columbia, Northwest Territories, Yukon
Boreal forests/taiga Northwest Territories taiga Northwest Territories, Yukon
Boreal forests/taiga South Avalon–Burin oceanic barrens Newfoundland and Labrador
Boreal forests/taiga Southern Hudson Bay taiga Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec
Boreal forests/taiga Yukon Interior dry forests British Columbia, Yukon
Temperate broadleaf and mixed forests Eastern forest–boreal transition Ontario, Quebec
Temperate broadleaf and mixed forests Eastern Great Lakes lowland forests Ontario, Quebec
Temperate broadleaf and mixed forests Gulf of St. Lawrence lowland forests New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Quebec
Temperate broadleaf and mixed forests New England–Acadian forests New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Quebec
Temperate broadleaf and mixed forests Southern Great Lakes forests Ontario
Temperate broadleaf and mixed forests Western Great Lakes forests Manitoba, Ontario
Temperate coniferous forests Alberta Mountain forests Alberta, British Columbia
Temperate coniferous forests Alberta–British Columbia foothills forests Alberta, British Columbia
Temperate coniferous forests British Columbia mainland coastal forests British Columbia
Temperate coniferous forests Cascade Mountains leeward forests British Columbia
Temperate coniferous forests Central British Columbia Mountain forests British Columbia
Temperate coniferous forests Central Pacific coastal forests British Columbia
Temperate coniferous forests Fraser Plateau and Basin complex British Columbia
Temperate coniferous forests Haida Gwaii forests British Columbia
Temperate coniferous forests North Central Rockies forests Alberta, British Columbia
Temperate coniferous forests Northern transitional alpine forests British Columbia
Temperate coniferous forests Okanagan dry forests British Columbia
Temperate coniferous forests Puget lowland forests British Columbia
Temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands Canadian aspen forests and parklands Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Saskatchewan
Temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands Montana valley and foothill grasslands Alberta
Temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands Northern mixed grasslands Manitoba, Saskatchewan
Temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands Northern short grasslands Alberta, Saskatchewan
Temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands Northern tall grasslands Manitoba
Tundra Alaska–St. Elias Range tundra British Columbia, Yukon
Tundra Arctic coastal tundra Northwest Territories, Yukon
Tundra Baffin coastal tundra Nunavut
Tundra Brooks–British Range tundra Northwest Territories, Yukon
Tundra Davis Highlands tundra Nunavut
Tundra High Arctic tundra Northwest Territories, Nunavut
Tundra Interior Yukon–Alaska alpine tundra Yukon
Tundra Low Arctic tundra Manitoba, Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Quebec
Tundra Middle Arctic tundra Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Quebec
Tundra Ogilvie–MacKenzie alpine tundra Northwest Territories, Yukon
Tundra Pacific Coastal Mountain icefields and tundra British Columbia, Yukon
Tundra Torngat Mountain tundra Newfoundland and Labrador, Quebec

Marine ecoregions

Canada is unique among countries in that it borders three marine realms: the Arctic, Temperate Northern Atlantic, and Temperate Northern Pacific. These realms can be further subdivided into three marine biomes and fifteen marine ecoregions based upon biological distinctiveness. [2]

Quebec is the only province that borders both the Arctic and Temperate Northern Atlantic realms.

Biome Ecoregion Province/Territory
Arctic Baffin Bay-Davis Strait Nunavut
Arctic Beaufort - Amundsen - Viscount Melville - Queen Maud Northwest Territories, Nunavut
Arctic Beaufort Sea continental coast and shelf Northwest Territories, Yukon
Arctic High Arctic Archipelago Northwest Territories, Nunavut
Arctic Hudson Complex Manitoba, Nunavut, Ontario, Quebec
Arctic Lancaster Sound Nunavut
Arctic Northern Grand Banks - Southern Labrador Newfoundland and Labrador
Arctic Northern Labrador Newfoundland and Labrador, Nunavut
Cold temperate northeast Pacific North American Pacific Fjordland British Columbia
Cold temperate northeast Pacific Oregon, Washington, Vancouver coast and shelf British Columbia
Cold temperate northeast Pacific Puget Trough/Georgia Basin British Columbia
Cold temperate northwest Atlantic Gulf of Maine - Bay of Fundy New Brunswick, Nova Scotia
Cold temperate northwest Atlantic Gulf of St. Lawrence - Eastern Scotian Shelf New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Quebec
Cold temperate northwest Atlantic Scotian Shelf Nova Scotia
Cold temperate northwest Atlantic Southern Grand Banks - South Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador

See also

Related Research Articles

Biome Community of organisms associated with an environment

A biome is a large collection of flora and fauna occupying a major habitat.

Ecoregion Ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than a bioregion

An ecoregion or ecozone is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than a bioregion, which in turn is smaller than a biogeographic realm. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of land or water, and contain characteristic, geographically distinct assemblages of natural communities and species. The biodiversity of flora, fauna and ecosystems that characterise an ecoregion tends to be distinct from that of other ecoregions. In theory, biodiversity or conservation ecoregions are relatively large areas of land or water where the probability of encountering different species and communities at any given point remains relatively constant, within an acceptable range of variation.

Nearctic realm Biogeographic realm encompassing temperate North America

The Nearctic realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms constituting the Earth's land surface.

Biogeographic realm Broadest biogeographic division of Earths land surface

A biogeographic realm or ecozone is the broadest biogeographic division of Earth's land surface, based on distributional patterns of terrestrial organisms. They are subdivided into bioregions, which are further subdivided into ecoregions.

Palearctic realm Biogeographic realm covering most of Eurasia

The Palearctic or Palaearctic is the largest of the eight biogeographic realms of the Earth. It stretches across all of Eurasia north of the foothills of the Himalayas, and North Africa.

The Global 200 is the list of ecoregions identified by WWF, the global conservation organization, as priorities for conservation. According to WWF, an ecoregion is defined as a "relatively large unit of land or water containing a characteristic set of natural communities that share a large majority of their species dynamics, and environmental conditions". So, for example, based on their levels of endemism, Madagascar gets multiple listings, ancient Lake Baikal gets one, and the North American Great Lakes get none.

A bioregion is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than a biogeographical realm, but larger than an ecoregion or an ecosystem, in the World Wide Fund for Nature classification scheme. There is also an attempt to use the term in a rank-less generalist sense, similar to the terms "biogeographic area" or "biogeographic unit".

A marine ecoregion is an ecoregion, or ecological region, of the oceans and seas identified and defined based on biogeographic characteristics.

Arctic realm Group of marine ecoregions in the Arctic zone

The Arctic realm is one of the planet's twelve marine realms, as designated by the WWF and Nature Conservancy. It includes the coastal regions and continental shelves of the Arctic Ocean and adjacent seas, including the Arctic Archipelago, Hudson Bay, and the Labrador Sea of northern Canada, the seas surrounding Greenland, the northern and eastern coasts of Iceland, and the eastern Bering Sea.

Ecoregions in Poland

Poland is part of four terrestrial ecoregions, one freshwater ecoregion, and one marine ecoregion.

Southern Hudson Bay taiga Taiga ecoregion of Canada

The Southern Hudson Bay taiga is a terrestrial ecoregion, as classified by the World Wildlife Fund, which extends along the southern coast of Hudson Bay and resides within the larger taiga biome. Entirely located in Canada, it covers an area of approximately 373,735 km2 and crosses the provinces of Manitoba, Ontario, and the western portion of Quebec. Various islands in James Bay which belong to the Northwest Territories are also considered to be part of the ecoregion.

References

  1. Ricketts, Taylor H; Eric Dinerstein; David M. Olson; Colby J. Loucks; et al. (1999). Terrestrial Ecoregions of North America: a Conservation Assessment. Island Press; Washington, DC.
  2. SPALDING, MARK D.; FOX, HELEN E.; ALLEN, GERALD R.; DAVIDSON, NICK; FERDAÑA, ZACH A.; FINLAYSON, MAX; HALPERN, BENJAMIN S.; JORGE, MIGUEL A.; LOMBANA, AL; LOURIE, SARA A.; MARTIN, KIRSTEN D. (2007). "Marine Ecoregions of the World: A Bioregionalization of Coastal and Shelf Areas". BioScience. 57 (7): 573–583. doi: 10.1641/b570707 . ISSN   0006-3568.