Muskwa-Slave Lake forests
The Muskwa-Slave Lake forests are a significant boreal-taiga biome located in North America, encompassing regions in the southwestern Northwest Territories, northwestern Alberta, and northeastern British Columbia. This unique area features diverse ecological landscapes, including plateaus, wetlands, and a narrow boreal forest corridor that aligns with the Mackenzie River. The forests are known for their cold winters and mild summers, with an average annual temperature of around 26°F (-3.3°C) and annual precipitation ranging from 10 to 20 inches (250 to 500 mm).
Home to approximately 5,000 free-ranging wood bison, the Muskwa-Slave Lake forests support various flora and fauna, including species like spruce, aspen, and multiple bird species that utilize the area as a migratory corridor. The biome faces threats from climate change, habitat loss due to industrial activities such as logging, and potential disruptions from invasive species. Conservation efforts within the region include protected areas like Wood Buffalo National Park, aimed at safeguarding these critical ecosystems. The Muskwa-Slave Lake forests represent a vital ecological region, contributing to the biodiversity and environmental health of northern Canada.
Muskwa-Slave Lake forests
- Category: Grassland, Tundra, and Human Biomes.
- Geographic Location: North America.
- Summary: The Muskwa-Slave Lake forests, which are home to a large population of the remaining free-ranging wood bison, are a collection of ecologically diverse plateaus and the narrow boreal forest corridor of the Mackenzie River plain.
The Muskwa-Slave Lake Forests biome of Canada is located in the southwestern section of the Northwest Territories (NWT), the northwestern section of Alberta, and the northeastern section of British Columbia (BC), with a small corridor stretching up most of the Mackenzie River Valley. This boreal-taiga plain corresponds to several ecozones: the Mackenzie River Plain, Hay River Lowland, Northern Alberta Uplands, and the Horn and Muskwa Plateaus. The Mackenzie River Plain is a narrow boreal forest corridor that runs between the Franklin and Mackenzie Mountains and parallels the Yukon River, stretching just north of Fort Good Hope significantly into northern NWT.
The Horn Plateau stretches from the Horn River to the Mackenzie River, and runs west along the Willow-Lake River. This plateau extends over the flat Hay River Lowland and the Great Slave Lake Plain regions in the south and northeast. The Muskwa Plateau runs along the foothills of the northeastern BC Rocky Mountains, spans the border of the NWT, and makes up a portion of the Fort Nelson Lowland. The Northern Alberta Uplands encompasses the northern Alberta Caribou Mountains, as well as the Cameron Hills Uplands that extend over the NWT and BC borders.
Climate, Geography, and Soil
As a biome, the Muskwa-Slave Lake forests are classified as boreal-taiga forest; they span 100,300 square miles (259,780 square kilometers). The climate of the region ranges from mid to high subhumid boreal, depending on the location. This type of climate has very cold winters, cool to mild summers, and low precipitation. The average annual temperature of the Muskwa-Slave Lake forests ecoregion is around 26 degrees F (minus 3.3 degrees C). Winter temperatures range from 5 degrees F (minus 15 degrees C) to minus 12 degrees F (minus 24 degrees C), while the average summer temperature is 53 degrees F (12 degrees C). Annual precipitation is in the range of 10–20 inches (250–500 millimeters).
The Muskwa-Slave Lake Forests are composed of a series of plateaus: flats; gentle slopes; scarps; and wide, undulating plains along Mackenzie River. The ecoregion is interspersed with wetlands. Most of the terrain of the forests lies at 980–3,280 feet (300–1,000 meters) elevation. The region has discontinuous permafrost that ranges from sporadic to extensive, with low to moderate ice content and sparse ice wedges in the Mackenzie River Plain.
The dominant soils here include organic and turbic cryosols (mixed frozen soils), with some silty loam soil covering glacial till. The characteristic lowlands soils are well supplied with mixed organic material but with some permafrost-affected soils, while the dominant soils of the upland areas are luvisols typical of forest floors. Overall, the soil regime is fertile, especially relative to the high northern latitude of the biome. Wildfires in the forest and shrublands here are common, helping to replenish nutrients and minerals.
Flora
The Muskwa-Slave Lake Forests biome primarily consists of subalpine coniferous forest and wetlands. The plateaus in general house a diverse collection of grassland communities, such as feathermoss, bog cranberry, blueberry, Labrador tea, sedges, shrubs, juniper, cottongrass, sagewort, wild rose, sedge tussocks, shrubby cinquefoil, cowberry, lichens, and various peat mosses (sphagnum) that dominate the wetlands areas. In the wetlands of the Horn Plateau, the vegetation is characterized by perennially frozen peat bogs, low oval-shaped frost heaves called palsas, northern ribbed fens, and horizontal fens.
In both the Horn and Muskwa Plateau regions, spruce trees are the primary species: black spruce in the Horn, and white and black spruce in the Muskwa. The forest cover landscape includes open, fragmented and closed areas. Many swaths are mixed-wood forest. Characteristic trees throughout the ecoregion are quaking aspen (Populus tremloides), white spruce (Picea glauca), balsam fir (Abies balsamea), and black spruce (Picea mariana).
Fauna
Several key species of animal are found in the Muskwa-Slave Lake Forests biome. Common mammals include woodland and barren ground caribou, moose, mountain goats, Dall sheep, deer, and elk. Common predators are brown and black bears, red foxes, wolves, wolverines, lynxes, cougars, and martens. Small animals here include Arctic ground, red, and northern flying squirrels; beavers; snowshoe hares; muskrats; short-tailed weasels; minks; river otters; porcupines; deer mice; least chipmunks; singing voles; northern red-backed voles; and little brown myotis bats.
The ecoregion has a population of 5,000 free-ranging wood bison; the total population in Canada is about 10,000. These bison are mostly found in Wood Buffalo National Park. The wood bison is considered to be a threatened species in Canada. Habitat loss and changes in weather patterns threaten the animal.
There are abundant avian species; the Mackenzie Valley is a major migratory corridor for waterfowl. Examples of the waterfowl are northern pintails; Canada geese; Pacific and common loons; and horned, pied-billed, and red-necked grebes. Shorebirds include common snipe, great blue heron, American golden-plover, semipalmated plover, lesser yellowlegs, semipalmated and pectoral sandpipers, whooping cranes, and American coots. Game birds include willow ptarmigan and spruce, sharp-tailed, and ruffed grouse.
Other common birds are black-billed magpies, gray jays, ruffled and spruce grouse, boreal chickadees, common ravens, rusty blackbirds, three-toed woodpeckers, red-breasted nuthatches, Lapland longspurs, and Wilson’s warblers. The abundance of waterfowl, songbirds, shorebirds, and game birds attract numerous winged predators, such as great horned owls, ospreys, bald and golden eagles, hawk owls, Merlin’s and peregrine falcons, and gyrfalcons. The amphibian suite features frogs such as the northern leopard, wood, and boreal chorus; and Canadian toads. The one reptile reliably found here is the red-sided garter snake.
Land Use, Threats, and Conservation
Land-use issues are mainly various forestry activities such as logging. Logging is limited in some areas, but extensive in certain watersheds. There are small-scale pulpwood and sawmill factories. Other industrial activities include oil and gas exploration and extraction, as well as oil and gas pipeline corridors. Recreational activities are hunting, trapping, water sports, and tourism. The area is considered to be relatively stable, with 75 percent of the ecoregion remaining intact.
There are two main parks in the ecozone: Wood Buffalo National Park and Maxhamish Lake Provincial Park and Protected Area. Wood Buffalo is just south of Hay River and is the largest national park in Canada, at 11 million acres (4.5 million hectares). It was established in 1922 as a refuge for the free-roaming wood bison. Maxhamish Lake Provincial Park and Protected Area is approximately 68,000 acres (27,500 hectares).
Climate change appears to be the greatest threat to the Muskwa-Slave Lake boreal forests. This area may be one of the most vulnerable to the effects of rising temperatures. Disease, insect pests, and nonnative species will likely take advantage of the longer warm seasons. Methane released from permafrost will accelerate greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere. Warming trends may result in the loss of important habitats here, and some fear that various native and endemic species will not be able to effectively move to cooler areas before becoming extinct.
Bibliography
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