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 Ecosystem Classification |
| Ecological Regions of the Northwest Territories Taiga Plains 2007 |
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It may appear that the vast, relatively uninhabited and seemingly desolate stretches of land in Canada’s north serve little or no purpose in the natural scheme of things. Northern ecosystems, (ecological systems), with their abundance of forested lands, lakes, rivers and wetlands produce oxygen and naturally filter and clean water.
The vast landscapes of the Northwest Territories include a remarkable array of terrain and climate conditions interacting to produce an abundance of ecosystems ranging in size from a few square meters to thousands of square kilometers. The value of regional ecosystem classification systems as a foundation for sustainable resource management has been recognized for at least four decades. The Government of the Northwest Territories has used the national ecosystem classification framework since 1996 as the basis for identifying possible protected areas, forest management planning, wildlife habitat management and environmental impact assessment and improvement. In 2004, it was concluded that the national framework was appropriate for these purposes and suggested changes to improve its usability. Recommended changes included the reassignment of ecosystem units that were part of the 1995 Taiga Plains to adjacent geographic areas, the reassignment of Boreal Plains ecosystem units within the Northwest Territories to the Taiga Plains, and the creation of new ecosystem units to better reflect variations in the ecoregions.
In the Northwest Territories there are three Level I ecoregions. These are the Arctic, the Tundra and the Taiga. Taiga is a Siberian word roughly translated as “boreal forest”. North and south climatic features such as temperature and number of frost-free days determines the Taiga’s boundaries. Temperature being the most important. Climate is as important in defining the taiga, as is its vegetation and landforms. By definition, the Taiga is the subarctic coniferous forest located south of the tundra throughout the northern hemisphere of the world. Mixed, deciduous forests and prairies bound it on the southern edge. The predominant trees in the Taiga are conifers, or needle bearing trees. The spruce, pine and larch or tamarack are the most numerous. In the southern taiga ecoregions deciduous, or broad-leaved trees like the birch, poplar and alder, are also present.
These three Level I ecoregions are subdivided into Level II Ecoregions . One Level II Ecoregion that has been mapped is the Taiga Plains Ecoregion and its four Level III Ecoregions. Level III is primarily defined by regional climate. The Level III classifications are further broken down into 45 Level IV ecoregions that are defined by climate, landform and geographic location.
Verification of the Proposed Changes Air and ground verification of the proposed changes was an integral part of the revision process. In the summer of 2005, an intensive float plane and helicopter survey was undertaken throughout the entire Taiga Plains, including the eastern border of the Taiga Cordillera, the western border of the Taiga Shield, and the southern boundary of the Southern Arctic. Over 35,000 km of transects were flown, and a detailed and large scale record of landscape features was captured in over 16,000 geographically located digital images accompanied by text commentaries; site, vegetation and soil information was also collected from 57 ground plots. Both the photographs and maps derived from the commentaries proved to be indispensable for the revision process. Other Level II ecoregions are scheduled for revision as follows: Schedule for Completion of Ecosystem Classification
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Copyright © 2004 Forest Management - Department of Environment and Natural Resources
Government of the Northwest Territories |
