| Eastern Great Lakes lowland forests (Canada and USA) |
.jpg) |
.jpg) |
.jpg) |
.jpg) |
.jpg) |
.jpg) |
.jpg) |
This ecoregion includes much of southern Ontario between Lake Ontario and Lake Huron (including the Bruce Peninsula and Manitoulin Island), southern Quebec along the St. Lawrence River, and lowlands surrounding the Adirondack Mountains in New York and Vermont. The Niagara Escarpment runs through the western part of the ecoregion, but the rest has low relief, with bedrock outcrops. Summers are warm and humid (mean is ca. +16°C), and winters cold and snowy (ca. -5°C). Mean annual precipitation is 700-1,000 mm. The Eastern Great Lakes forests are mostly mixed, of Sugar Maple (Acer saccharum), Red Maple (A. rubrum), Red Oak (Quercus rubra), American Beech (Fagus grandifolia), White Pine (Pinus strobus), Eastern White Cedar (Thuja occidentalis), and also Yellow Birch (Betula alleghaniensis), Eastern Hemlock (Tsuga canadensis), and Trembling Aspen (Populus tremuloides). Forest fires formerly played a greater role in this ecosystem, but fire suppression, along with logging, have altered forest composition, reducing the pine and oak component. Lakes and wetlands are typical of the area. The rare alvar communities (pavement barrens) are restricted primarily to this ecoregion in North America.
Although many large mammals, including the Black Bear (Ursus americanus), Moose (Alces alces), and Eastern Wolf (Canis lycaon) have been extirpated from much of this region, the White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus), Coyote (Canis latrans), and Raccoon (Procyon lotor) proliferate throughout. Up to 225 species of birds nest in the Eastern Great Lakes lowland forests. There are many interesting reptiles, including the Eastern Massasauga (Sistrurus catenatus), now confined to the Bruce Peninsula and eastern Georgian Bay, and Wood Turtle (Glyptemys insculpta). Over 95% of the habitat in this ecoregion has been cleared for agriculture, industrial and suburban development. The remaining relatively intact natural communities mostly consist of forest fragments, hardwood and conifer swamp, marshes, and barrens. Important protected areas include Bruce Peninsula National Park, Cabot Head Provincial Nature Reserve, and Awenda and Presqu’ile provincial parks (all in Ontario).
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)