Taiga ShieldBy: Roberta and Seher

IntroductionThe Taiga Shield Zone is located just to the East of the Taiga Plains, South of the Southern Artic Zone, and North of the Boreal Shield. It is intersected by the Hudson Bay and the Hudson Plains.It is part of the subarctic region of Canada.

Part of the Wet-climate Soil Region of Canada, and the Boreal and Taiga vegetation region.

Glaciers have scraped the earth bare in this region

Precipitation ranges from 200mm to 1000mm on the Labrador Coast

Thin soils prevent deep rooting plants from growing here

Terrain has rolling hills with several upland areas and long eskers.

Key words and Concepts• Taiga – the sometimes swampy coniferous forest of

high northern latitudes, esp. that between the tundra and steppes of Siberia and North America

• Subarctic – a climate characterized by long cold winters and short mild summers

• Hydroelectric – relating to or denoting the generation of electricity using flowing water

• Wet-climate Soil – a region with soil that contains much moisture

Human Activities

• A population made up of 60% Aboriginals• About 340, 000 people in total• Untouched wildlife and nature (mostly)• Mining, hydroelectric activity, hunting, fishing,

etc. largely dictate settlement

Positive Points:

• Diversity of wildlife (migrating stop)• Suited for many types of recreational activities• Many valuable minerals (iron, gold, occasionally

diamonds, etc)• A wide variety of climates

Negative Points:

• Short summers, long winters (average temperature below 0˚C)

• Short growing season (100-140 days), cool and damp weather

• Low to moderate precipitation in some parts• Permafrost in more Northern parts• Heavily leached thin soil; lacking in nutrients

Interesting points:

• 4 billion years old; has a lot of the history of Canada

• Swampy marsh lands, forests, hills and mountain landforms

• Damp, soggy areas of the soil tilts trees, creating a ‘drunken forest’

• Just below the tree line - mostly coniferous trees and shrubs

• Variety of vegetation - wetlands, shrub lands, meadows, forests

Geographic Issues• Habitat loss and environmental degradation are the main

factors that threaten wildlife in the Taiga Shield• Urbanization along Great Slave lake creates impacts on

surrounding wildlife.  • Protected areas are mainly in the southeastern part of the

ecozone although a part of the Thelon National Wildlife Sanctuary is located in the in the Northwest Territories (north-central part of ecozone)

• The Sand Lakes Provincial Park and Caribou River Provincial Park are the largest reserves (in terms of area) located within the Taiga Shield.  They monitor the fly-in hunt camps to preserve the caribou

• The Grizzly bear population is under special care due to their loss of terrestrial habitats through flooding associated with hydro-electric projects

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YruocBILrrQ

Bibliography• http://

ecozones.ca/english/zone/TaigaShield/index.html• http://

canadianbiodiversity.mcgill.ca/english/ecozones/taigashield/taigashield.htm#loc

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taiga_Shield_Ecozone_(CEC)

• https://ecozoneexperts.wikispaces.com/Taiga+Shield

• http://rai108.tripod.com/• https://sites.google.com/site/ecozonestaigashield/

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