Northern Cordillera forests

Northern Cordillera forests is a taiga ecoregion that extends across the northern interior of British Columbia, southern Yukon, and a small area of the Northwest Territories as defined by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) categorization system.

Northern Cordillera forests
Coniferous forest and deciduous shrubs along the Stewart–Cassiar Highway near Good Hope Lake
Ecology
Realm	Nearctic
Biome	Boreal forests/taiga
Borders	List Alaska-St. Elias Range tundra Alberta-British Columbia foothills forests Central British Columbia Mountain forests Interior Yukon-Alaska alpine tundra Muskwa-Slave Lake forests Northern transitional alpine forests Northwest Territories taiga Ogilvie-MacKenzie alpine tundra Pacific Coastal Mountain icefields and tundra Yukon Interior dry forests
Bird species	165 [1]
Mammal species	55 [1]
Geography
Area	262,884 km^2 (101,500 sq mi)
Country	Canada
Provinces/territories	British Columbia, Northwest Territories, and Yukon
Conservation
Conservation status	Vulnerable
Habitat loss	0%[1]
Protected	11.6%[1]

Setting

This ecoregion occupies a transitional region of mountains, valleys, and high plateaus between the Coast and Saint Elias Mountains to the west, and the Northern Rocky Mountains to the east.

Climate

This ecoregion has a predominantly subarctic climate (Köppen Dfc ) with cool summers and cold winters. Mean annual precipitation is approximately 350-600 mm, but increases up to 1000 mm at higher elevations. The highest elevations feature an alpine tundra climate.

Ecology

Flora

The lower mountains and valleys are dominated by alpine fir, Engelmann spruce, lodgepole pine, and black and white spruce all intermixed with a variety of deciduous shrubs. Higher elevations are dominated by dwarf birch, willow, and a variety of dwarf ericaceous shrubs. The highest elevations are dominated by grass, lichen, and moss.[2]

Fauna

Fauna found throughout this ecoregion include grizzly bear, black bear, moose, mountain goat, beaver, red fox, wolves, ptarmigan, and snowy owl.[2]

Conservation

Some protected areas of this ecoregion include:

• Denetiah Provincial Park and Protected Area
• Kusawa Territorial Park
• Nahanni National Park Reserve
• Neʼāhʼ Conservancy
• Spatsizi Plateau Wilderness Provincial Park
• Tā Chʼilā Provincial Park

See also

• List of ecoregions in Canada (WWF)

References

1. "The Atlas of Global Conservation". maps.tnc.org. Retrieved 2020-10-28.
2. "Northern Cordillera forests | Ecoregions | WWF". World Wildlife Fund. Retrieved 2020-10-29.

External links

• "Northern Cordillera forests". Terrestrial Ecoregions. World Wildlife Fund.