Northern Cordillera forests
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Northern Cordillera forests | |
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![]() Coniferous forest and deciduous shrubs along the Stewart–Cassiar Highway near Good Hope Lake | |
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Ecology | |
Realm | Nearctic |
Biome | Boreal forests/taiga |
Borders | List
|
Bird species | 165 [1] |
Mammal species | 55 [1] |
Geography | |
Area | 262,884 km2 (101,500 sq mi) |
Country | Canada |
Provinces/territories | British Columbia, Northwest Territories, and Yukon |
Climate type | Subarctic |
Conservation | |
Conservation status | Vulnerable |
Habitat loss | 0%[1] |
Protected | 11.6%[1] |
Northern Cordillera forests is a taiga ecoregion that extends across the northern interior of British Columbia, southern Yukon, and a small area of the Northwest Territories as defined by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) categorization system.
Setting
[edit]This ecoregion occupies a transitional region of mountains, valleys, and high plateaus between the Coast and Saint Elias Mountains to the west, and the Northern Rocky Mountains to the east.
Climate
[edit]This ecoregion has a predominantly subarctic climate (Köppen Dfc ) with cool summers and cold winters. Mean annual precipitation is approximately 350-600 mm, but increases up to 1000 mm at higher elevations. The highest elevations feature an alpine tundra climate.
Ecology
[edit]Flora
[edit]The lower mountains and valleys are dominated by alpine fir, lodgepole pine, and black and white spruce all intermixed with a variety of deciduous shrubs. Higher elevations are dominated by dwarf birch, willow, and a variety of dwarf ericaceous shrubs. The highest elevations are dominated by grass, lichen, and moss.[2]
Fauna
[edit]Fauna found throughout this ecoregion include grizzly bear, black bear, moose, mountain goat, beaver, red fox, wolves, ptarmigan, and snowy owl.[2]
Conservation
[edit]Some protected areas of this ecoregion include:
- Denetiah Provincial Park and Protected Area
- Kusawa Territorial Park
- Nahanni National Park Reserve
- Neʼāhʼ Conservancy
- Spatsizi Plateau Wilderness Provincial Park
- Tā Chʼilā Provincial Park
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b c d "The Atlas of Global Conservation". maps.tnc.org. Archived from the original on 2012-03-05. Retrieved 2020-10-28.
- ^ a b "Northern Cordillera forests | Ecoregions | WWF". World Wildlife Fund. Retrieved 2020-10-29.
External links
[edit]![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- "Northern Cordillera forests". Terrestrial Ecoregions. World Wildlife Fund.