Name: ________________________
Date: ______________________
Chapter 13: Soil and Vegetation
Canada’s Natural Vegetation Regions
Vegetation regions are geographical areas characterized by distinct plant communities. The
vegetation of a region is determined largely by climate (ie. temperature, precipitation, and
sunlight), soil, water patterns and human interference. Each vegetation region supports a
particular animal community, which may affect its composition as well. The vegetation regions
represented in Canada are below.
Natural Vegetation
Regions of Canada
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Using your text book (p. 148), label the vegetation regions of Canada below. Color the map.
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Read the following captions about each of Canada’s Vegetation Regions and complete
the review questions.
1. Tundra:
The most northerly vegetation region of Canada is the Tundra. Most of this region has
permafrost or permanently frozen ground. No trees grow here because the climate is too
cold and dry, and only a thin layer of soil on the surface thaws in the short summer. Small
shrubs, mosses and lichens grow close to the ground where they soak up as much heat as
possible from the earth. Lichens are slow-growing plants that cling to rocks. At first
glance, they look like dead mosses, but are actually a combination of algae and fungus.
Tundra plants bloom with colourful flowers and mature very quickly to produce their seeds
before the cold weather returns.
2. Forest: Boreal and Taiga Forest
To the south of the Tundra is the Boreal and Taiga forests, the largest vegetation region
in Canada. It is separated from the tundra by the tree line. North of this line, it is too
cold for trees to grow. Coniferous trees grow south of this line because there is a longer
growing season and more precipitation than the tundra.
Coniferous trees, or evergreens, are cone-bearing trees with thin needle-shaped leaves.
They can stand the cold conditions because of their thick bark, which stops them from
loosing moisture. Examples of needle-leaved trees are spruce, pine and fir.
Although needle-leaved trees are dominant in this region, broad-leaved trees such as
poplar and whitebirch are also present. Broad-leaved trees are also called deciduous trees.
3. Deciduous
The only solely broad-leaved forests in Canada are found in the south-western part of
Ontario, in the Deciduous vegetation region. Here, the summers are long and hot, the
winters mild and the precipitation plentiful. Only small woodlots of maple, beech, hickory
and black walnut are left because most of the region has been taken over for farming and
urban development.
4. Mixed Forest
South of the Boreal and Taiga forests, in eastern Canada is a mixed forest of needleleaved and broad-leaved trees. Spruce, fir, pine, cedar and hemlock are found in the same
forest with maple, beech, ash, oak and birch. The mixed forest is a transition zone
between the boreal forest to the north and the broad-leaved forest to the south. In the
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autumn, tourists visit these forests to admire the magnificent colours of the changing
leaves. The humus created from the leaves of such a wide variety of trees creates a deep
grey-brown topsoil rich in minerals. Soils in mixed forest region are suitable for farming.
Today, little of the forest remains in the southern part of the region because of farming,
lumbering, urban development and transportation routes.
4. Grasslands
The Grasslands, or the prairies, are located in the southern part of Manitoba,
Saskatchewan and Alberta. The climate here is too dry for most species of tree to survive.
Some, such as trembling aspen, willow, and spruce grow in river valleys where more
moisture is available. Grass, however is suited to this dry climate.
The Grasslands consist of three sub-regions. The driest areas of southern Saskatchewan
and Alberta make up the Short-Grass Prairie. Drought resistant short grasses, sagebrush,
and cactus are the only types of vegetation. The land is used for grazing animals,
particularly cattle. Surrounding the short-grass prairie is a region where increased
precipitation encourages the growth of taller grasses, called the Long-Grass Prairie. This
area is ideal for growing grain and oil seeds such as canola.
Between the drier Grasslands and the cooler and wetter boreal forest is the sub-region
called the Parkland. This is a transition zone of Grasslands dotted with clumps of trees.
Needle-leaved trees grow in the northern part and broad-leaved trees grow in the
southern part.
6. Cordilleran Vegetation
In the Cordillera, the climate changes rapidly from valley to mountain, and from one side
of a mountain to the other. As a result, the Cordilleran vegetation varies greatly. Grasses
and cactuses grow in dry valleys, while needle-leaved trees grow on the slopes where
precipitation is heavier. These forests are important to the logging industry of British
Columbia. On the higher slopes of the Cordilleran mountain ranges, the vegetation is
similar to that of the tundra. There are no trees, only meadows and flowers and shrubs. On
the highest slopes, vegetation cannot survive. Here, there is only bare rock, snow and ice.
7. West Coast Forest:
Along the west coast of Canada grow lush forest of Douglas fir, spruce, red cedar and
western hemlock. The most famous tree along the west coast is the Douglas fir, which
reaches heights of 100 m and diameters of almost 5 m. These trees are the largest trees
found in Canada. The large amounts of rainfall and the mild climate provide excellent
growing conditions for the trees of this forest. Trees of more than 1 m in diameter and
over 50 m high are common. These splendid trees have played an important role in British
Columbia’s forest industry.
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Natural Vegetation Regions of Canada: Review Questions
Use the Vegetation Region captions provided to you on pages 2 and 3 of this package or pages
150-155 of your text book to answer the following questions.
1. What vegetation region is the most northerly? Why do trees not grow in this region?
2. What is permafrost?
3. What is a usual size of a large tree found in the West coast forest vegetation region?
4. What allows for the excellent growing conditions in this region?
5. What causes the diverse vegetation in the Cordilleran vegetation region?
6. What line marks the northern boundary of the Boreal & Taiga vegetation region?
7. What prevents needle-leaved trees from losing moisture?
8. What are the three sub-regions of the Grassland vegetation region?
9. Why is the parkland area called a transition zone?
10. What part of the country is the Mixed Forest in?
11. Why is the Mixed forest called ‘mixed’?
12. Why do tourists visit the Mixed forest?
13. What conditions promote tree growth in the Deciduous Forest?
14. Why are only small woodlots remaining from this rich and once dense forest?
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