Exploring Ecozones!
What is an Ecozone?
The ecozones of Canada consist of fifteen terrestrial and five marine ecozones. An ecozone is a classification system that defines different parts of the environment with similar geography, vegetation and animal life. Knowledge of ecozones any where in the world, not just exclusively to Canada, gives one a basic understanding of geographic concepts for an area such as location, environment, region and interaction, physical landscape, flora and fauna, human usage, etc. The list goes on on on, however - having knowledge of this information helps an individual understand the basic concepts of geography and how diverse our country is.
"As one of the largest nations on the globe, Canada has a diversity of landscapes and seascapes that is seemingly endless -- temperate forests and arctic barrens, extensive river systems and coastlines, vast plains and imposing mountain ranges, farmscapes and wilderness, wetlands and deserts, Great Lakes and prairie potholes, ranging from relatively untouched to highly stressed systems. The variety can be overwhelming. Naturalists, scientists, and many others have contributed to describing these natural zones. A wealth of maps and reports emerged. Some described biological features such as general vegetation, forests, wildlife, habitat, and peatlands. Physical descriptions focused on climate zones, bedrock types, marine areas, permafrost patterns, landforms, and soils. Other classifications specifically addressed types of human activity (e.g., rural land uses or urban settlements) or cultural groupings (e.g., Inuit region). These thematic or single-purpose studies are quite reliable tools for studying component parts of ecosystems."
-- Ecological Framework of Canada by E.B Wiken
Now that you have a basic understanding of what an ecozone is and its importance, we will explore two (2) ecozones in Canada: the Boreal Shield, and the Boreal Plains.
"As one of the largest nations on the globe, Canada has a diversity of landscapes and seascapes that is seemingly endless -- temperate forests and arctic barrens, extensive river systems and coastlines, vast plains and imposing mountain ranges, farmscapes and wilderness, wetlands and deserts, Great Lakes and prairie potholes, ranging from relatively untouched to highly stressed systems. The variety can be overwhelming. Naturalists, scientists, and many others have contributed to describing these natural zones. A wealth of maps and reports emerged. Some described biological features such as general vegetation, forests, wildlife, habitat, and peatlands. Physical descriptions focused on climate zones, bedrock types, marine areas, permafrost patterns, landforms, and soils. Other classifications specifically addressed types of human activity (e.g., rural land uses or urban settlements) or cultural groupings (e.g., Inuit region). These thematic or single-purpose studies are quite reliable tools for studying component parts of ecosystems."
-- Ecological Framework of Canada by E.B Wiken
Now that you have a basic understanding of what an ecozone is and its importance, we will explore two (2) ecozones in Canada: the Boreal Shield, and the Boreal Plains.