| Eastern Canadian boreal forests |
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This ecoregion encompasses eastern Quebec, southern Labrador, much of the island of Newfoundland, and the highlands of New Brunswick, and Cape Breton Island. Summers in the region are generally cool (mean ca. +12°C). Winters tend to be colder in Quebec and Labrador (ca. -11°C), but milder in Newfoundland (ca. -3°C). Precipitation ranges from 800 to 1,600 mm. A wide range of physiographic features are the result of glaciation. Some of the highest terrain on the east coast of Canada (> 1,000 m asl) is found in the Gaspé Peninsula.
These forests are dominated by Balsam Fir (Abies balsamea) and Black Spruce (Picea mariana). Barrens with lichen-heath communities are found on hill tops. Moose (Alces alces), American Black Bear (Ursus americanus), Canada Lynx (Lynx canadensis), American Marten (Martes americana), and North American Beaver (Castor canadensis) are found throughout the ecoregion; the moose has been reintroduced in Cape Breton, and introduced in Newfoundland. Woodland Caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou) occurs north of St. Lawrence River, with isolated populations in Newfoundland and the Gaspé Peninsula. Large numbers of birds migrate through the region along the Atlantic Flyway. Most of the breeding range of the vulnerable Bicknell’s Thrush’s (Catharus bicknelli) is within Eastern Canadian boreal forests. The coastline supports a sizable population of Common Eider (Somateria mollissima), and large colonies of seabirds, including Kittiwake (Rissa tridactyla), Northern Gannet (Morus bassanus), Atlantic Puffin (Fratercula arctica), etc. Parts of the ecoregion, including the Gaspé, northern New Brunswick and Newfoundland, have been extensively logged, and little mature forest remains. In Newfoundland, some areas have not returned to their original conditions because of browse and seed predation by introduced mammals.
Important protected areas in Quebec include Parc de la Gaspésie, and Forillon and Mingan Archipelago national parks; Cape Breton Highlands National Park in northern Nova Scotia; Terra Nova National Park, Bay du Nord, Avalon, and Middle Ridge provincial reserves in Newfoundland.
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