By: Roberta and Seher

The 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.

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

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

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

Short summers, long winters (average temperature below 0˚C) Short growing season ( days), cool and damp weather Low to moderate precipitation in some parts Permafrost in more Northern parts Heavily leached thin soil; lacking in nutrients

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

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

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