The Central Canadian Shield forests are a

taiga Taiga or tayga ( ; , ), also known as boreal forest or snow forest, is a biome characterized by coniferous forests consisting mostly of pines, spruces, and larches. The taiga, or boreal forest, is the world's largest land biome. In North A ...

ecoregion An ecoregion (ecological region) is an ecological and geographic area that exists on multiple different levels, defined by type, quality, and quantity of environmental resources. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of land or water, and c ...

Eastern Canada Eastern Canada (, also the Eastern provinces, Canadian East or the East) is generally considered to be the region of Canada south of Hudson Bay/ Hudson Strait and east of Manitoba, consisting of the following provinces (from east to west): Newf ...

, as defined by the

World Wildlife Fund The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) is a Swiss-based international non-governmental organization founded in 1961 that works in the field of wilderness preservation and the reduction of human impact on the environment. It was formerly named the ...

(WWF) categorization system.

Setting

This ecoregion consists of rolling hills, lakes, bogs and rocky outcrops covering a large curved swathe on the

Canadian Shield The Canadian Shield ( ), also called the Laurentian Shield or the Laurentian Plateau, is a geologic shield, a large area of exposed Precambrian igneous and high-grade metamorphic rocks. It forms the North American Craton (or Laurentia), th ...

from the Echoing River in

Northern Ontario Northern Ontario is a primary geographic and quasi-administrative region of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario, the other primary region being Southern Ontario. Most of the core geographic region is located on p ...

, running southeastwards through

Thunder Bay District Thunder Bay District is a district#Ontario, district and Census divisions of Canada, census division in Northwestern Ontario in the Canadian province of Ontario. The County seat, district seat is Thunder Bay. Most of the district (93.5%) is uni ...

to the north shore of

Lake Superior Lake Superior is the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface areaThe Caspian Sea is the largest lake, but is saline, not freshwater. Lake Michigan–Huron has a larger combined surface area than Superior, but is normally considered tw ...

and then northeastwards into western

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

. The area has a cool climate with summer temperatures averaging around 13°C dropping to a very cold -17°C in winter, with the hills around Lac Seul in northwestern

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

being warmer and wetter than most of the area. Average rainfall in the eastern side of the ecoregion is 550mm per year, rising to 750mm in the centre (near

Lake Nipigon Lake Nipigon ( ; ; ) is a freshwater lake in Northwestern Ontario. Part of the Great Lakes drainage basin, it drains through the Nipigon River into Lake Superior. It is the largest lake entirely within the Canadian province of Ontario. Ety ...

for example), up to 900mm in the west. Specific areas include Lake Nipigon and Big Trout Lake (Ontario). These forest contrast with more severe boreal forest ecoregions such as the Eastern Canadian Shield taiga to the north, which covers most of

Northern Quebec Northern Quebec () is a geographic term denoting the northerly, more remote and less populated parts of the Canada, Canadian province of Quebec.Alexandre Robaey"Charity group works with Indigenous communities to feed Northern Quebec's 'wandering dog ...

and

Labrador Labrador () is a geographic and cultural region within the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It is the primarily continental portion of the province and constitutes 71% of the province's area but is home to only 6% of its populatio ...

Flora

These hills support a large area of rich taiga forest dominated by black spruce ('' Picea mariana'') along with

jack pine Jack pine (''Pinus banksiana''), also known as grey pine or scrub pine, is a North American pine. Distribution and habitat Its native range in Canada is east of the Rocky Mountains from the Mackenzie River in the Northwest Territories t ...

and some paper birch ('' Betula papyrifera'') and in the warmer south-facing areas some trembling aspen ('' Populus tremuloides''), white spruce ('' Picea glauca''), Ontario balsam poplar ('' Populus balsamifera'') and balsam fir ('' Abies balsamea''). Many of the rocks of the area are covered with colourful

lichen A lichen ( , ) is a hybrid colony (biology), colony of algae or cyanobacteria living symbiotically among hypha, filaments of multiple fungus species, along with yeasts and bacteria embedded in the cortex or "skin", in a mutualism (biology), m ...

s. The ecoregion contains large areas of wetland especially in the south east, and a greater variety of plant life on the north shore of Lake Superior.

Fauna

Mammals of the taiga include moose ('' Alces alces''), the southernmost populations of migratory woodland caribou ('' Rangifer tarandus caribou''), American black bear ('' Ursus americanus''), Canada lynx ('' Lynx canadensis''), snowshoe hare ('' Lepus americanus'') and grey wolf ('' Canis lupus''). Birds of the area include northern hawk owl ('' Surnia ulula''), great horned owl ('' Bubo virginianus''), sharp-tailed grouse ('' Tympanuchus phasianellus''), ruffed grouse ('' Bonasa umbellus''), American black duck ('' Anas rubripes''), wood duck ('' Aix sponsa''), Canada goose ('' Branta canadensis'') in the north, and hooded merganser ('' Lophodytes cucullatus'') and pileated woodpecker ('' Dryocopus pileatus'') in the west.

Threats and preservation

This is fairly well-preserved ecoregion with 40% of original forest intact (less so in Manitoba) while most has been heavily changed by logging and in some areas by mining and hydroelectric power generation. Large blocks of undisturbed forest do remain, for example north of Lake Nipigon in Ontario and around Lake Mistassini in Quebec, and in the following protected areas: Wabakimi Provincial Park northwest of Lake Nipigon, Pukaskwa National Park near Marathon, Ontario on the Lake Superior shore, a number of rivers and lakes in Northern Ontario ( Winisk River, Missinaibi River, Albany River north of Wabakimi Park, Severn River (northern Ontario), Attawapiskat Lake/ Attawapiskat River and Brightsand River), Kesagami Provincial Park, Michipicoten Island in Lake Superior, all in

; and Aiguebelle National Park in Quebec.

References

External links