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Waterton Biosphere Reserve
Waterton Biosphere Reserve (established 1979) is a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve encompassing Waterton Lakes National Park in the extreme south-west of the Province of Alberta, Canada. The reserve includes a section of the east slopes of the Rocky Mountains extending from the Continental Divide to the edge of the Canadian Great Plains to the east. The Glacier Biosphere Reserve and National Park in Montana, USA is located to the south of the area. The reserve is administered by Waterton Lakes National Park and thWaterton Biosphere Association.ref name=MAB> Ecological characteristics The steep environmental gradients from the Continental Divide to the prairies have created an unusually rich mosaic of habitats with their associated flora and fauna. The biosphere reserve covers prairie grasslands, aspen grove forests, subalpine forests, alpine tundra and meadows, cliffs, lakes and freshwater wetlands as well as disturbed, heavily grazed land in the prairies. Prairie grasslands incl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alberta
Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Territories (NWT) to the north, and the U.S. state of Montana to the south. It is one of the only two landlocked provinces in Canada (Saskatchewan being the other). The eastern part of the province is occupied by the Great Plains, while the western part borders the Rocky Mountains. The province has a predominantly continental climate but experiences quick temperature changes due to air aridity. Seasonal temperature swings are less pronounced in western Alberta due to occasional Chinook winds. Alberta is the fourth largest province by area at , and the fourth most populous, being home to 4,262,635 people. Alberta's capital is Edmonton, while Calgary is its largest city. The two are Alberta's largest census metropolitan areas. More tha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wetlands
A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The primary factor that distinguishes wetlands from terrestrial land forms or Body of water, water bodies is the characteristic vegetation of aquatic plants, adapted to the unique anoxic hydric soils. Wetlands are considered among the most biologically diverse of all ecosystems, serving as home to a wide range of plant and animal species. Methods for assessing wetland functions, wetland ecological health, and general wetland condition have been developed for many regions of the world. These methods have contributed to wetland conservation partly by raising public awareness of the functions some wetlands provide. Wetlands occur naturally on every continent. The water in wetlands is either freshwater, brackish or saltwater. The main wetland ty ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Luzula Hitchcockii
''Luzula hitchcockii'' is a species of flowering plant in the rush family known by the common names smooth woodrush and Hitchcock's wood rush. It is native to western North America from British Columbia and Alberta to Oregon to Wyoming. It is sometimes treated as a variety of '' Luzula glabrata''.''Luzula glabrata'' var. ''hitchcockii''. USDA Plants Profile. This perennial rush produces rounded, hollow stems up to 50 centimeters tall. The shiny, red-tipped leaves are a few centimeters long. The contains solitary or paired flowers with small reddish or br ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Larix Lyallii
''Larix lyallii'', the subalpine larch, or simply alpine larch, is a deciduous, coniferous tree native to northwestern North America. It lives at high altitudes, from , in the Rocky Mountains of Idaho, Montana, British Columbia, and Alberta. There is a disjunct population in the Cascade Range of Washington. Subalpine larch is hardy and can survive at low temperatures and on thin rocky soils, often being found near the tree line. It can grow in a variety of soils as long as the soil is moist but well drained. However, it is relatively shade intolerant. David Lyall seems to have discovered the species between 1858 and 1861. John Bernhard Leiberg described it in 1900. Description ''Larix lyallii'' is a small tree, growing from tall and shorter at higher elevations. It has a straight trunk with a sparse and somewhat conical crown. The branches are horizontal, perpendicular to the trunk, irregularly spaced and twisted. The twigs are finely hairy. The needles are four-angled, lo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Polemonium Viscosum
''Polemonium viscosum'', known as sky pilot, skunkweed, sticky Jacobs-ladder, and sticky polemonium, is a flowering plant in the genus ''Polemonium'' native to western North America from southern British Columbia east to Montana and south to Arizona and New Mexico, where it grows at high altitudes on dry, rocky sites. It is a perennial herbaceous plant growing 10–30 cm tall, with pinnate leaves up to 15 cm long with numerous small spoon-shaped leaflets 1.5–6 mm long and 1–3 mm broad. It has purple flowers 17–25 mm long. It is grown as an ornamental plant in rock garden A rock garden, also known as a rockery and formerly as a rockwork, is a garden, or more often a part of a garden, with a landscaping framework of rocks, stones, and gravel, with planting appropriate to this setting. Usually these are small A ...s. References Plants of British Columbia: ''Polemonium viscosum'' [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dryas Octopetala
''Dryas octopetala'', the mountain avens, eightpetal mountain-avens, white dryas or white dryad, is an Arctic–alpine flowering plant in the family Rosaceae. It is a small prostrate evergreen subshrub forming large colonies. The specific epithet ''octopetala'' derives from Greek ''octo'' 'eight' and ''petalon'' 'petal', referring to the eight petals of the flower, an unusual number in the Rosaceae, where five is the normal number. However, flowers with up to 16 petals also occur naturally. As a floral emblem, it is the official territorial flower of the Northwest Territories and the national flower of Iceland. Description The stems are woody, tortuous, with short, horizontal rooting branches. The leaves are glabrous above, densely white-tomentose beneath. The flowers are produced on stalks long, and have eight creamy white petals – hence the specific epithet ''octopetala''. The style is persistent on the fruit with white feathery hairs, functioning as a wind-dispersal agent. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pinus Albicaulis
''Pinus albicaulis'', known by the common names whitebark pine, white bark pine, white pine, pitch pine, scrub pine, and creeping pine, is a conifer tree native to the mountains of the western United States and Canada, specifically subalpine areas of the Sierra Nevada, Cascade Range, Pacific Coast Ranges, and Rocky Mountains. It shares the common name "creeping pine" with Creeping pine, several other plants. The whitebark pine is typically the highest-elevation pine tree found in these mountain ranges and often marks the tree line. Thus, it is often found as ''krummholz'', trees growing close to the ground that have been dwarfed by exposure. In more favorable conditions, the trees may grow to in height. Identification Whitebark pine is a member of the Pinus classification, white pine group, the ''Pinus'' subgenus ''Strobus'', and the section ''Strobus''; like all members of this group, the leaves (needles) are in fascicle (botany), fascicles (bundles) of five with a decidu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pinus Flexilis
''Pinus flexilis'', the limber pine, is a species of pine tree-the family Pinaceae that occurs in the mountains of the Western United States, Mexico, and Canada. It is also called Rocky Mountain white pine. A limber pine in Eagle Cap Wilderness, Oregon, has been documented as over 2,000 years old, and another one was confirmed at 1,140 years old. Another candidate for the oldest limber pine was identified in 2006 near the Alta Ski Area in Utah; called "Twister", the tree was confirmed to be at least 1,700 years old and thought to be even older. Description Its pliant branches gives it the common name "limber" and specific epithet ''flexilis''. Its needles are about long and a dark, blueish green. Its bark is heavily creased and dark grey. Its pale wood is lightweight and soft. ''Pinus flexilis'' is typically a high-elevation pine, often marking the tree line either on its own, or with whitebark pine (''Pinus albicaulis''), either of the bristlecone pines, or lodgepole pine ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pinus Contorta
''Pinus contorta'', with the common names lodgepole pine and shore pine, and also known as twisted pine, and contorta pine, is a common tree in western North America. It is common near the ocean shore and in dry montane forests to the subalpine zone, subalpine, but is rare in lowland temperate rainforest, rain forests. Like all pines (member species of the genus ''Pinus''), it is an evergreen conifer. Description Depending on subspecies, ''Pinus contorta'' grows as an evergreen shrub or tree. The shrub form is krummholz and is approximately high. The thin and narrow-crowned tree can grow high and achieve up to in diameter at chest height. The ''murrayana'' subspecies is the tallest. The Crown (botany), crown is rounded and the top of the tree is flattened. In dense forests, the tree has a slim, conical crown. The formation of twin trees is common in some populations in British Columbia. The elastic branches stand upright or overhang and are difficult to break. The branches a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pseudotsuga Menziesii
The Douglas fir (''Pseudotsuga menziesii'') is an evergreen conifer species in the pine family, Pinaceae. It is native to western North America and is also known as Douglas-fir, Douglas spruce, Oregon pine, and Columbian pine. There are three varieties: coast Douglas-fir (''P. menziesii'' var. ''menziesii''), Rocky Mountain Douglas-fir (''P. menziesii'' var. ''glauca'') and Mexican Douglas-fir (''P. menziesii'' var. ''lindleyana''). Despite its common names, it is not a true fir (genus ''Abies''), spruce (genus ''Picea''), or pine (genus ''Pinus''). It is also not a hemlock; the genus name ''Pseudotsuga'' means "false hemlock". Description Douglas-firs are medium-size to extremely large evergreen trees, tall (although only ''Pseudotsuga menziesii var. menziesii'', common name coast Douglas-firs, reach heights near 100 m) and commonly reach in diameter, although trees with diameters of almost exist. The largest coast Douglas-firs regularly live over 500 years, with the oldes ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Heracleum Maximum
''Heracleum maximum'', commonly known as cow parsnip, is the only member of the genus '' Heracleum'' native to North America. It is also known as American cow-parsnip, Satan celery, Indian celery, Indian rhubarb or pushki. Description Cow parsnip is a tall herbaceous perennial plant, reaching heights of . The stems are hollow and densely hairy. The leaves are very large, up to across and divided into three lobes. Cow parsnip has the characteristic flower umbels of the carrot family (Apiaceae), blooming from February to September. The umbels can reach across, flat-topped or rounded, and composed of small white flowers. Sometimes the outer flowers of the umbel are much larger than the inner ones. The seeds are long and wide. Similar species It is commonly confused with ''Heracleum mantegazzianum'' (giant hogweed), a much larger plant that typically has purplish spots on the stems, as well as more sharply serrated leaves. Other tall invasive '' Heracleum'' species incl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Amelanchier Alnifolia
''Amelanchier alnifolia'', the Saskatoon berry, Pacific serviceberry, western serviceberry, western shadbush, or western juneberry, is a shrub with an edible berry-like fruit, native to North America. Description It is a deciduous shrub or small tree that most often grows to , rarely to , in height. Its growth form spans from suckering and forming colonies to clumped. The leaves are oval to nearly circular, long and broad, on a leaf stem, margins toothed mostly above the middle. As with all species in the genus ''Amelanchier'', the flowers are white, with five quite separate petals and five sepals. In ''A. alnifolia'', they are about across, with 20 stamens and five styles, appearing on short racemes of 3–20, somewhat crowded together, blooming from April to July. The fruit is a small purple pome in diameter, ripening in early summer in the coastal areas and late summer further inland. Resembling blueberries, it has a waxy bloom. Serviceberries are relatively di ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
