Boreal forest, or taiga, is the largest land-based biome on Earth. This is the type of forest that covers more than 60% of Alberta’s land, and the type of forest Alberta’s forest sector works in.
Where is boreal forest in Alberta?
The Boreal Forest Natural Region resides within multiple river basins in Alberta which includes the Hay, Peace-Slave, Athabasca, Beaver River Basin and parts of both the North and South Saskatchewan River Basin.
Why is the boreal forest important to Alberta?
Canada’s boreal forest (270 million hectares) stores carbon, purifies the air and water, and regulates the climate. Because a large portion of the world’s boreal zone lies in Canada (28% or 552 million hectares), this country’s boreal forest affects the health of the environment worldwide.
What is the boreal forest known for?
Boreal forests are still full of life that’s adapted to withstand frigid temperatures year-round, such as caribou reindeer, or animals that can migrate long distances every winter. Full of deciduous trees and conifers, Boreal forests cover vast expanses in Canada, Alaska, and Russia.
How big is the boreal forest in Alberta?
Alberta’s Boreal Forest: is 465,000 km2 (115 million acres) in size – larger than Sweden. comprises 8% of Canada’s Boreal Forest.
What are three facts about boreal forest?
Here are 8 more facts about the boreal zone and Canada’s boreal forest.
- The boreal zone circles the world.
- Mapping of North America’s boreal zone is based on science.
- The boreal zone includes both forests and treeless areas.
- The boreal zone is home to a wide range of animals.
- Many people live and work in the boreal zone.
Is Banff a boreal forest?
Banff National Park – Boreal Forest Biome
Banff National Park is located in Alberta, Canada. This region hosts part of the boreal forest, or taiga, which stretches across Canada, to Russia.
Do indigenous people live in the boreal forest?
The boreal is where the majority of Indigenous Peoples in Canada live today, from the Gwich’in and Dene in the west to the Cree and Innu in the east. Communities across the forest draw on Indigenous knowledge and science to care for their traditional territories.
What is the biggest threat to boreal forest?
Habitat Destruction
The boreal forest has been hit hard by development over the past few decades. Logging, mining, oil and gas extraction, and hydroelectric development have all taken considerable tolls on the boreal forest.
How old is the boreal forest in Alberta?
Because of fire, insects, and other natural disturbances, few of the trees in the boreal zone are very old and little of the landscape is undisturbed. 100 years old and in the eastern boreal zone, forests are usually less than 200 years old.
What things live in the boreal forest?
Moose, bears, deer, wolves, woodland caribou, Canada lynx, and elk all make homes there, along with smaller animals like snowshoe hares, lemmings and beavers. There are about 85 mammal species that live in the boreal forest.
What are two other names for boreal forest?
The boreal forest (separate from the subalpine forest) is commonly referred to as taiga (a Russian term), or northern coniferous forest.
What are two characteristics of a boreal forest?
The boreal forest biome is defined mainly by its long cold winters and very low plant diversity, heavily dominated by only four types of coniferous trees. Over this large biome the growing season can be from 50-130 days, decreasing as you go North.
Is boreal forest hot or cold?
The climate of the boreal forest is characterized by strong seasonal variation with short, moderately warm and moist summers and long, extremely cold and dry winters. Temperature range is extreme, especially in the mid-continental areas, where seasonal fluctuations can be as great as 100°C.
Is boreal forest dry or wet?
Overview. Boreal forest is a conifer or conifer-hardwood forest type occurring on moist to dry sites characterized by species dominant in the Canadian boreal forest. It typically occupies upland sites along shores of the Great Lakes, on islands in the Great Lakes, and locally inland.
How much boreal forest is left in Alberta?
This is the Boreal Forest Region which comprises 48 percent of Alberta. Geologically, this landscape is very similar to the better-nown prairies of the south.
Why is it called a boreal forest?
Named after Boreas, the Greek god of the North wind, the boreal forest circles the northern portion of the globe like an emerald halo and is found in Canada, Alaska, Scandinavia, and Russia.
Why are they called boreal forests?
Boreal forest received its name after the Greek god of northern winds Boreas, indicating the geographic position of this biome in high northern latitudes. No equivalent belt exists in the Southern Hemisphere since large land masses at similar latitudes are not found there.
What does boreal stand for?
bo·re·al ˈbȯr-ē-əl. : of, relating to, or located in northern regions. boreal waters. : of, relating to, or comprising the northern biotic area characterized especially by dominance of coniferous forests.
Why is Banff water so blue?
The silt is created when rocks underneath the surface of the ice are grinding from the movement of the glacier. The rock flour is very light and stays suspended in the lake water for a long time. The sunlight that reflects off these particles is what gives the lakes their spectacular turquoise blue or green colour.
Why is Banff water so clear?
This clean water that comes off the glaciers doesn’t just flow down rivers but filters through a bed of limestone rock to an underground aquifer, and Banff is at the beginning of that groundwater shelf.