These needles have tiny pores which allow gases to move in and out of the trees: this is how they “breathe.” These pores are sunken into the waxy layer, to help reduce water loss. Their narrow needles have thick waxy coatings which protect the trees from drying winds. Their conical shapes reduce snow buildup on branches in winter, so that they do not break under the snow load. Broad-leaf deciduous trees, such as trembling aspen, balsam poplar, and birch, are also widely distributed across the boreal forest.Ĭoniferous trees are particularly well suited to the harsh boreal climate. Except for tamarack, which drops its needles every fall, they remain green all year.
Spruce, fir, pine, and tamarack are the main species found in the Canadian boreal forest. There are about 20 species of them, and most are coniferous, which means that they produce their seeds in cones. To describe it, let's begin with the trees that make up the forest canopy.
The climate in the boreal forest is characterized by long, very cold, dry winters and short, cool, moist summers. It is rich in natural resources too, with extensive mineral, oil, and gas deposits, as well as waterways for hydroelectric power. It is home to more than four million people, including most of Canada's Aboriginal people. The boreal region also contains more than 1.5 million lakes and many of the main river systems in the country. Many of the species that we think of as being particularly Canadian-black spruce, jack pine, moose, caribou, gray jays, loons, wood frogs, and lake trout-are part of the boreal ecosystem. Stretching more than 5 000 km from Newfoundland and Labrador in the east to Yukon in the west, and extending south 1 000 km from the edge of the arctic tundra, the boreal region occupies more than half of Canada's land area. You might also be surprised to learn that it is one of the largest forest ecosystems on the planet, and it shelters thousands of wildlife species.Ĭanada contains about a third of this northern forest, named after Boreas, the Greek god of the North Wind.
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