Ecozone's PresentationThe Boreal Shield Ecozone

By: Jensen and Eduardo

Boreal Shield Land Attributes

The Boreal Forest Ecozone approximately covers 1774000 km2 of land in Canada, and is part of 6 different provinces along south-east side of Canada. Made up of plains and low hills of the Canadian Shield, the ecozone utilizes 20% of Canada’s landmass and contains 10% of Canada’s fresh water. In fact, the ecozne mainly consists of bare rock and shallow soils. This ecozone also has lakes dispersed all over the region due to glaciers that have carved into the landscape.

Vegetation and soils…The Boreal Forest Ecozone contains a mixture of Coniferous, Spruce, Jack Pine, White Spruce, and Deciduous trees. There are also a variety of small shrubs such as: cotton grass, blueberry bushes, shield fern, cranberry bushes, etc. In addition, the soils that are in this ecozone are heavily leached of their nutrients ,and the land mainly consists of bare rock and swampy regions. With a climate containing long, cold winters and short, warm summers, the precipitation varies upon a coast or continental location. Thus, causing a short growing season for all vegetation within the ecozone. This makes successful agriculture futile to attempt.

Climate…The summers in the Boreal Shield have an average temperature of 13*c throughout the land. However, being so close to a maritime climate, the east has mild winters that can have temperatures averaging around -1*c. While the western part of the region will have cold, dry winters that consist of temperatures reaching below -20*c. In fact, the west gets 400mm of precipitation annually, but in areas located near New Found Land can receive 1600mm of precipitation annually.

Wildlife in the Boreal forest Ecozone…

This ecozone contain a huge diversity of small and large mammals (both carnivore and herbivore). There are animals such as: white-tailed deer, black bears, beavers, short-tailed weasel, etc. Following, the aquatic wildlife in this ecozone are consistent in the ocean to the east, and these species range from: gray seals, blue whale, northern right whale, etc. There are also many species of migratory birds that migrate to the ecozone from nearby countries, in the spring. Lastly, the ecozone has few reptiles species of reptiles with a large quantity of fresh-water fish.

Industry and Resources…The resources the Boreal Forest Ecozone consists of mining and forestry, for it has large quantities of trees and rock that is rich with minerals. With the Canadian Shield lying below the region, valuable minerals can be extracted from it. Also, with the wealth of trees the area contains, clear-cutting is an excellent source of harvesting wood from the surrounding forests. These resources then get processed in their corresponding facilities: paper-mills, smelting facilities, etc.

Cultures…The Boreal Shield’s history/culture begins when the European explorers settled in Canada, more specifically the Boreal Shield, and caused the Seven Years War between the aboriginals. This econzone’s industrial potential was shown while building a railway. This event is what shaped Canada to what it is now: a well-developed country that has a balance between industry and economics.

Religions…The religions, in the Boreal Forest Ecozone, are mainly focused on the Roman Catholic faith and Protestant. The Roman Catholic faith is concentrated toward the southern boundary of the ecozone, going Northwest to Qécbec. Meanwhile, the protestants dotted, in large groups, around the concentration of Catholics.

Legend

Languages…The languages that are spoken within this ecozone vary from English, French, and other languages from different countries . Approximately 65% of the Boreal Shield’s population speaks English, and 34% of the population speak French. Also, 1% of the population speak other languages such as: aboriginal languages, foreign languages, etc.

Aboriginal Groups…The Moose Cree are a tribe that live in the Boreal Shield Ecozone and inhabit some parts of Northern Québec. There are approximately 135 Cree tribes, in Canada. Also, they are one of the first original First Nations that once inhabited more land, in Québec.

Population…The Boreal Shield Ecozone varies in population, for it depends on climate and resources. So, the population of this ecozone tends to drop and increase relating to these factors. This makes the western side and middle of the region low in population due to there being little industry. Cities and communities are located near the southern boundary of the ecozone, providing a warmer climate and a broad amount of industry. There are about 2,886,412 people living, in the Boreal Shield (in 2006).

Sources..."Chen, W. “

Statistics Canada." Human Activity and the Environment: Annual Statistics: Table 3.3 Population by Ecozone. Canadian Government, 19 Dec. 2012. Web. 16 Jan. 2014.

Moon, Pale. "The Life of Cree Indians." The Life of the. Webmaster, 20 Mar. 2011. Web. 16 Jan. 2014.

Wiken, Ed. "Boreal Shield Ecozone." Boreal Shield Ecozone. Environment Canada, 16 Aug. 1992. Web. 19

Jan. 2014.

"Boreal Sheild.“ The Canadian Atlas Online. Ed. Aaron Kylie. Bank Financial Group, 21 Apr. 2000. Web. 19 Jan. 2014.

"Canadian Biodiversity: Ecozones: Boreal Shield." Canadian Biodiversity: Ecozones: Boreal Shield. Ed. Canadian H. Unknown, 4 July 2007. Web.

19 Jan. 2014

"Exploring Ontario.“ Ontario People and History. Ed. Kathleen Wynne. Canada Ontario, 25 Sept. 2013. Web. 19

Jan. 2014.

Morrow, Robert. Pearson School Atlas. Toronto, ON: Prentice Hall, 2004. Print