Northern Cordillera forests

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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 km2 (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]

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.

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[]

External links[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Northern Cordillera forests.

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