The Yukon Interior dry forests is a

taiga Taiga (; rus, тайга́, p=tɐjˈɡa; relates to Mongolic and Turkic languages), generally referred to in North America as a boreal forest or snow forest, is a biome characterized by coniferous forests consisting mostly of pines, spruc ...

ecoregion An ecoregion (ecological region) or ecozone (ecological zone) 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 ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

Setting

This ecoregion, which covers much of the southern

Yukon Yukon (; ; formerly called Yukon Territory and also referred to as the Yukon) is the smallest and westernmost of Canada's three territories. It also is the second-least populated province or territory in Canada, with a population of 43,964 as ...

and a very small portion of northwestern

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

, is mainly located on the

Yukon Plateau The Yukon Plateau is a plateau (also defined as a plain) located in the Yukon Territory, comprising much of the central and southern Yukon Territory and the far northern part of British Columbia, Canada between Tagish Lake (W) and the Cassiar Moun ...

, which consists of rolling hills, plateaus and deeply cut, broad valleys. The area has a dry subarctic climate, with summer temperatures averaging around , and winter temperatures averaging from . Precipitation is low, averaging between 225–400 mm (8.9-15.7 in), with higher elevation areas and areas to the north-east receiving greater precipitation.

Flora

Black spruce (''

Picea mariana ''Picea mariana'', the black spruce, is a North American species of spruce tree in the pine family. It is widespread across Canada, found in all 10 provinces and all 3 territories. It is the official tree of the province of Newfoundland and Labr ...

'') and white spruce (''

Picea glauca ''Picea glauca'', the white spruce, is a species of spruce native to the northern temperate and boreal forests in North America. ''Picea glauca'' is native from central Alaska all through the east, across southern/central Canada to the Avalon Pe ...

'') are the two most common trees, with

lodgepole pine ''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 subalpin ...

(''Pinus contorta'' subsp. ''latifolia'') being found in very dry or burnt sites. South-facing, low elevation slopes are often characterised by grassland communities.

Dwarf birch ''Betula nana'', the dwarf birch, is a species of birch in the family Betulaceae, found mainly in the tundra of the Arctic region. Description It is a monoecious, deciduous shrub growing up to high. The bark is non-peeling and shiny red-coppe ...

willow Willows, also called sallows and osiers, from the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 400 speciesMabberley, D.J. 1997. The Plant Book, Cambridge University Press #2: Cambridge. of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist so ...

and subalpine fir (''

Abies lasiocarpa ''Abies lasiocarpa'', the subalpine fir or Rocky Mountain fir, is a western North American fir tree. Description ''Abies lasiocarpa'' is a medium-sized evergreen conifer with a very narrow conic crown, growing to tall, exceptionally , with a t ...

'') are found the subalpine zone below the

tree line The tree line is the edge of the habitat at which trees are capable of growing. It is found at high elevations and high latitudes. Beyond the tree line, trees cannot tolerate the environmental conditions (usually cold temperatures, extreme snow ...

, while the

alpine zone Alpine tundra is a type of natural region or biome that does not contain trees because it is at high elevation, with an associated alpine climate, harsh climate. As the latitude of a location approaches the poles, the threshold elevation for alp ...

above supports a sparse vegetative cover consisting of mountain avens, dwarf shrubs,

forb A forb or phorb is an herbaceous flowering plant that is not a graminoid (grass, sedge, or rush). The term is used in biology and in vegetation ecology, especially in relation to grasslands and understory. Typically these are dicots without woo ...

grasses Poaceae () or Gramineae () is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos and the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivated in lawns ...

and lichen.

Fauna

Mammals of this ecoregion include caribou (''Rangifer tarandus''),

moose The moose (in North America) or elk (in Eurasia) (''Alces alces'') is a member of the New World deer subfamily and is the only species in the genus ''Alces''. It is the largest and heaviest extant species in the deer family. Most adult ma ...

(''Alces alces''),

mountain goat The mountain goat (''Oreamnos americanus''), also known as the Rocky Mountain goat, is a hoofed mammal endemic to mountainous areas of western North America. A subalpine to alpine species, it is a sure-footed climber commonly seen on cliffs an ...

(''Oreamnus americanus''), Dall sheep (''Ovis dalli''), grizzly bear (''Ursos arctos horribilis''),

black bear Black bear or Blackbear may refer to: Animals * American black bear (''Ursus americanus''), a North American bear species * Asian black bear (''Ursus thibetanus''), an Asian bear species Music * Black Bear (band), a Canadian First Nations group ...

(''Ursus americanus''), gray wolf (''Canis lupus''), coyote (''Canis latrans''), beaver (''Castor canadensis'') and hare. Avian species include the

common raven The common raven (''Corvus corax'') is a large all-black passerine bird. It is the most widely distributed of all corvids, found across the Northern Hemisphere. It is a raven known by many names at the subspecies level; there are at least ...

(''Corvus corax''),

ptarmigan ''Lagopus'' is a small genus of birds in the grouse subfamily commonly known as ptarmigans (). The genus contains three living species with numerous described subspecies, all living in tundra or cold upland areas. Taxonomy and etymology The ge ...

and

golden eagle The golden eagle (''Aquila chrysaetos'') is a bird of prey living in the Northern Hemisphere. It is the most widely distributed species of eagle. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. They are one of the best-known birds of ...

(''Aquila chryaetos'').

Threats and preservation

This ecoregion is well preserved, with an estimated 75% intact. Uplands are better preserved than valley bottoms, wherein most of the development in this ecoregion has taken place. There are no large protected areas in this ecoregion, but smaller areas are the Charlie Cole Creek Ecological Reserve and the Nisutlin River Delta National Wildlife Area. Timber harvesting, mining and a state-sponsored wolf kill are the greatest threats to the region's ecological integrity.

References

*
Yukon Interior dry forests (Vanderbilt University)
{{coord missing, Yukon Taiga and boreal forests Ecozones and ecoregions of British Columbia Forests of Canada Nearctic ecoregions Ecozones and ecoregions of Yukon

Setting

Flora

Fauna

Threats and preservation

See also

References