This article is about
WWF classifications. For an alternate classification system, see
Ecozones of Canada .
Terrestrial ecoregions of Canada The following is a list of ecoregions in Canada as identified by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).
Terrestrial ecoregions The terrestrial ecoregions of Canada are all within the Nearctic realm , which includes most of North America . The Nearctic, together with Eurasia's Palearctic realm , constitutes the Holarctic realm of the Northern Hemisphere .[ 1]
British Columbia is the most biodiverse province with 18 ecoregions across 4 biomes. By contrast, Prince Edward Island is the least biodiverse with just one ecoregion - the Gulf of St. Lawrence lowland forests - encompassing the entire province.
Biome Ecoregion Province/Territory Boreal forests/taiga Central Canadian Shield forests Ontario , Quebec Boreal forests/taiga Eastern Canadian forests New Brunswick , Newfoundland and Labrador , Nova Scotia , Quebec Boreal forests/taiga Eastern Canadian Shield taiga Newfoundland and Labrador , Quebec Boreal forests/taiga Interior Alaska–Yukon lowland taiga Yukon Boreal forests/taiga Mid-Continental Canadian forests Alberta , Manitoba , Northwest Territories , Saskatchewan Boreal forests/taiga Midwestern Canadian Shield forests Alberta , Manitoba , Ontario , Saskatchewan Boreal forests/taiga Muskwa–Slave Lake forests Alberta , British Columbia , Northwest Territories Boreal forests/taiga Newfoundland Highland forests Newfoundland and Labrador Boreal forests/taiga Northern Canadian Shield taiga Alberta , Manitoba , Northwest Territories , Nunavut , Saskatchewan Boreal forests/taiga Northern Cordillera forests British Columbia , Northwest Territories , Yukon Boreal forests/taiga Northwest Territories taiga Northwest Territories , Yukon Boreal forests/taiga South Avalon–Burin oceanic barrens Newfoundland and Labrador Boreal forests/taiga Southern Hudson Bay taiga Manitoba , Ontario , Quebec Boreal forests/taiga Yukon Interior dry forests British Columbia , Yukon Temperate broadleaf and mixed forests Eastern forest–boreal transition Ontario , Quebec Temperate broadleaf and mixed forests Eastern Great Lakes lowland forests Ontario , Quebec Temperate broadleaf and mixed forests Gulf of St. Lawrence lowland forests New Brunswick , Nova Scotia , Prince Edward Island , Quebec Temperate broadleaf and mixed forests New England–Acadian forests New Brunswick , Nova Scotia , Quebec Temperate broadleaf and mixed forests Southern Great Lakes forests Ontario Temperate broadleaf and mixed forests Western Great Lakes forests Manitoba , Ontario Temperate coniferous forests Alberta Mountain forests Alberta , British Columbia Temperate coniferous forests Alberta–British Columbia foothills forests Alberta , British Columbia Temperate coniferous forests British Columbia mainland coastal forests British Columbia Temperate coniferous forests Cascade Mountains leeward forests British Columbia Temperate coniferous forests Central British Columbia Mountain forests British Columbia Temperate coniferous forests Central Pacific coastal forests British Columbia Temperate coniferous forests Fraser Plateau and Basin complex British Columbia Temperate coniferous forests Haida Gwaii forests British Columbia Temperate coniferous forests North Central Rockies forests Alberta , British Columbia Temperate coniferous forests Northern transitional alpine forests British Columbia Temperate coniferous forests Okanagan dry forests British Columbia Temperate coniferous forests Puget lowland forests British Columbia Temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands Canadian aspen forests and parklands Alberta , British Columbia , Manitoba , Saskatchewan Temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands Montana valley and foothill grasslands Alberta Temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands Northern mixed grasslands Manitoba , Saskatchewan Temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands Northern short grasslands Alberta , Saskatchewan Temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands Northern tall grasslands Manitoba Tundra Alaska–St. Elias Range tundra British Columbia , Yukon Tundra Arctic coastal tundra Northwest Territories , Yukon Tundra Baffin coastal tundra Nunavut Tundra Brooks–British Range tundra Northwest Territories , Yukon Tundra Davis Highlands tundra Nunavut Tundra High Arctic tundra Northwest Territories , Nunavut Tundra Interior Yukon–Alaska alpine tundra Yukon Tundra Low Arctic tundra Manitoba , Northwest Territories , Nunavut , Quebec Tundra Middle Arctic tundra Northwest Territories , Nunavut , Quebec Tundra Ogilvie–MacKenzie alpine tundra Northwest Territories , Yukon Tundra Pacific Coastal Mountain icefields and tundra British Columbia , Yukon Tundra Torngat Mountain tundra Newfoundland and Labrador , Quebec
Marine ecoregions Canada is unique among countries in that it borders three marine realms : the Arctic , Temperate Northern Atlantic , and Temperate Northern Pacific . These realms can be further subdivided into three marine biomes and fifteen marine ecoregions based upon biological distinctiveness.[ 2]
Quebec is the only province that borders both the Arctic and Temperate Northern Atlantic realms.
Biome Ecoregion Province/Territory Arctic Baffin Bay -Davis Strait Nunavut Arctic Beaufort - Amundsen - Viscount Melville - Queen Maud Northwest Territories , Nunavut Arctic Beaufort Sea continental coast and shelf Northwest Territories , Yukon Arctic High Arctic Archipelago Northwest Territories , Nunavut Arctic Hudson Complex Manitoba , Nunavut , Ontario , Quebec Arctic Lancaster Sound Nunavut Arctic Northern Grand Banks - Southern Labrador Newfoundland and Labrador Arctic Northern Labrador Newfoundland and Labrador , Nunavut Cold temperate northeast Pacific North American Pacific Fjordland British Columbia Cold temperate northeast Pacific Oregon, Washington, Vancouver coast and shelf British Columbia Cold temperate northeast Pacific Puget Trough/Georgia Basin British Columbia Cold temperate northwest Atlantic Gulf of Maine - Bay of Fundy New Brunswick , Nova Scotia Cold temperate northwest Atlantic Gulf of St. Lawrence - Eastern Scotian Shelf New Brunswick , Newfoundland and Labrador , Nova Scotia , Prince Edward Island , Quebec Cold temperate northwest Atlantic Scotian Shelf Nova Scotia Cold temperate northwest Atlantic Southern Grand Banks - South Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador
See also
References ^ Ricketts, Taylor H; Eric Dinerstein; David M. Olson; Colby J. Loucks; et al. (1999). Terrestrial Ecoregions of North America: a Conservation Assessment. Island Press; Washington, DC. ^ SPALDING, MARK D.; FOX, HELEN E.; ALLEN, GERALD R.; DAVIDSON, NICK; FERDAÑA, ZACH A.; FINLAYSON, MAX; HALPERN, BENJAMIN S.; JORGE, MIGUEL A.; LOMBANA, AL; LOURIE, SARA A.; MARTIN, KIRSTEN D. (2007). "Marine Ecoregions of the World: A Bioregionalization of Coastal and Shelf Areas" BioScience . 57 (7): 573– 583. doi :10.1641/b570707 ISSN 0006-3568 .
