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Boreal Shield - Sudbury, Ontario

Landforms

The land of the Boreal Shield is described as rocky, rolling hills, with exposed granite bedrock formed in the precambrian era. Igneous and metamorphic rocks can be found here.


The formation of the land began in the Precambrian (earliest) era, when magma rose through cracks in the Earth, cooled, then eroded over time. It has also been said that mountain ranges once existed here, but the previously mentioned erosion left behind hills [30]..


The land was also formed by glaciers, which passed over the area countless times, creating depressions (which later became wetlands and lakes), scraping rock to make it flatter, and depositing sand, gravel, and minerals.


          

Climate


The climate in Sudbury, Ontario, is a representation of the climate of parts of the Boreal Shield ecozone- sections at around the same latitude as it. Since it is the largest ecozone in Canada, and it stretches very far north as well as south, it is improbable that the climate of Sudbury alone could resemble that of Windsor (a southern city), or St. John's (which is, in fact, a maritime climate).


It is a continental climate. In Sudbury, there are cold winters, and hot summers, as well as a temperature range of about thirty degrees Celsius (over twenty-five degrees). The area receives a summer max in precipitation, and less than one thousand milimetres of it.

Soil and Vegetation


Soils in the Boreal Shield are prone to serious leaching, and could be compared to swampy areas, or bare rock. The growing season is also very short, so agriculture is not one of the ecozone's primary industries- instead, one could find that forestry and mining are. Forestry takes up about 80% of this area [7]. Any plant life that grows here also needs to be able to endure low temperatures, acidic soils (which are ideal for conifers), the short growing season, and forest fires [31]. These frequest fires can be a threat to humans as well as forests. However, they are also essential to the growth and development of the land, as they cause new trees to begin to grow, they can burn away poisoned or infected insects and trees, and can make more diverse habitats available to wildlife [31].

There are conifers (north)and deciduous trees (south)in this ecozone. Examples of trees found here are white spruce, black spruce, balsam fir, tamarack, trembling aspen, balsam poplar, red pine, jack pine, red maple, mountain maple, speckled alder, pin cherry, paper birch and white birch. Some other plants found, though, are sphagnum moss, willow, alder, Labrador tea, blueberry, bog rosemary, feathermoss, cottongrass, sedges, kalmia heath, high bush cranberry, baneberry, shield fern, goldenrod, water lilies and cattails [6].

      

Wildlife

    

The wildlife is very diverse in this ecozone, because it is so large (in terms of area). There is a variety of small and large mammals- both carnivores and herbivores, as well as birds and reptiles.


To start, there are only four large carnivorous mammals- the black bear, lynx, bobcat, and wolf. Small carnivorous mammals are a little more common; they are the marten, fisher ermine, mink, river otter, coyote, red fox, short-tailed weasel, and many more. As for mammals that are herbivores, one can find large ones- woodland caribou, barren-ground caribou, white-tailed deer, moose- and small ones- raccoons, eastern chipmunks, beavers, muskrats, snowshoe hares, red squirrels, porcupines, woodchucks, arctic hares, etc [6].


Bird species are also very common; examples of birds of prey are the boreal owl, bald eagle, turkey vulture, and broad-winged hawk. Songbirds are found too, like blue jays, ravens, mourning doves, cardinals, and willow ptarmigan. Finally, birds found in the forest include ruffed grouse, pileated woodpecker, and spruce goose [6].

Of reptiles and amphibians, frogs and toads, salamanders, turtles, and snakes can be found. To name a few of the species: the spring peeper, wood frog, blue-spotted salamander, eastern redback salamander, common snapping turtle, painted turtle, maritime garter snake and common gartern snake [6].