When you look at Canada on a map you see geographical boundaries that
divide up one of the largest countries on earth. You hear us mention places
like British Columbia and Yukon, or the Kawartha Region of Ontario... but what
you don't hear mentioned is the actual diversity of the landscapes that we visit,
and what the draw is for us.
From the tundra in the far reaches of the north, to the Boreal forest,
the largest forest on earth, to the taiga, the world's largest land biome, and this week we will be highlighting these three areas. So, please come
back and visit our blog on Thursday and Friday to learn more about Canada, and
the wonderful photographic opportunities that it has to offer.
Today we want to discuss the Boreal Forest
Canada's boreal forest comprises
about one third of the circumpolar boreal forest that rings the Northern
Hemisphere, mostly north of the 50th parallel. Other countries with boreal
forest, also called taiga, include Russia, which contains the majority, and the
Scandinavian and Nordic countries (e.g. Sweden, Finland, and Norway). The
boreal region in Canada covers almost 60% of the country’s land area. The
Canadian boreal region spans the landscape from the most easterly part of the
province of Newfoundland and Labrador to the border between the far northern
Yukon and Alaska. The area is dominated by coniferous forests, particularly
spruce, interspersed with vast wetlands, mostly bogs and fens. The boreal
region of Canada includes eight Eco-zones. While the biodiversity of regions
varies, each Eco-zone has a characteristic native flora and fauna.
The Canadian boreal region represents a tract of land over 1,000
kilometers wide separating the tundra in the north and temperate rain forest
and deciduous woodlands that predominate in the most southerly and westerly
parts of Canada. Canada's boreal forest is also considered to be the largest
intact forest on earth, with around 3 million square kilometers still
undisturbed by roads, cities and industrial development. Its high level of
intactness has made the forest a particular focus of environmentalists and
conservation scientists who view the untouched regions of the forest as an
opportunity for large-scale conservation that would otherwise be impractical in
other parts of the world.
The boreal region contains about 14% of Canada’s population. With its
sheer vastness and forest cover, the boreal makes an important contribution to
the rural and aboriginal economies of Canada, primarily through resource
industries, recreation, hunting, fishing and eco-tourism. Hundreds of cities
and towns within its territory derive at least 20% of their economic activity
from the forest, mainly from industries like forest products, mining, oil and
gas and tourism. The boreal forest also plays an iconic role in Canada’s
history, economic and social development and the arts.
The Canadian boreal forest in its current form began to emerge with the
end of the last Ice Age. With the retreat of the Wisconsin Ice Sheet 10,000
years ago, spruce and northern pine migrated northward and were followed
thousands of years later by fir and birch. About 5000 years ago, the Canadian
boreal began to resemble what it is today in terms of species composition and
biodiversity.
Canada’s boreal landscape contains more lakes and rivers than any
comparably sized landmass on earth. It has been estimated that the boreal
region contains over 1.5 million lakes with a minimum surface area of 40,000
square meters as well as some of Canada’s largest lakes. Soft water lakes
predominate in central and eastern Canada and hard water lakes predominate in
Western Canada. Most large boreal lakes have cold water species of fish like
trout and whitefish, while in warmer waters, species may include northern pike,
walleye and small mouth bass.
The boreal forest also has vast areas of wetland, particularly bogs and
fens. Two wetland areas, the Hudson Bay Lowland and the Mackenzie River basin,
are among the ten largest wetlands in the world. The boreal forest wetlands
provide wildlife habitat (particularly for migratory birds), they maintain
water flow in rivers, and they store significant amounts of carbon that
otherwise would be released to the atmosphere.
There may be as many as five billion land birds, including resident and
migratory species. The Canadian boreal region contains the largest area of
wetlands of any ecosystem of the world, serving as breeding ground for over 12
million water birds and millions of land birds, the latter including species as
Canada goose, common loon, great blue heron, numerous hawks, owls and ducks,
ruffed and spruce grouse, belted kingfisher, gray jay, robin and other
thrushes, black-capped and boreal chickadees, several nuthatches, vireos and
grosbeaks, as well as many species of warblers and sparrows, hummingbirds,
woodpeckers and passerines (or perching birds, often referred to as songbirds).
It is estimated that the avian population of the boreal represents 60% of the
land birds in all of Canada and almost 30% of all land birds in the United
States and Canada combined
Prominent mammals in the forest include moose, caribou, deer. black
bear, wolf, beaver, muskrat, varying hare, red squirrel, deer mouse, and
red-backed vole.
In 2016 and 2017 we will be headed back to photograph these animals and
this captivating region. Please check out our tours and workshops. You can find
these tours and workshops here on our Canadian Workshop and Tour page here...
http://northof49photography.com/photo-workshops/
No comments:
Post a Comment