:Northwest Territories taiga
{{Short description|Taiga ecoregion located in the Northwest Territories and Yukon provinces of Canada}}{{Infobox ecoregion
|name = Northwest Territories taiga
|image = View over Churches and Shoreline - Hamlet of Tsiigehtchic - Near Inuvik - Northwest Territories - Canada.jpg
|image_size = 280px
|image_alt =
|caption = Mackenzie River near Inuvik
|map = Northwest Territories taiga map.svg
|map_size = 250px
|map_alt =
|map_caption =
|biogeographic_realm = Nearctic
|biome = Boreal forests/taiga
|animals =
|bird_species = 131 {{Cite web|title=The Atlas of Global Conservation|url=http://maps.tnc.org/globalmaps.html|access-date=2020-11-06|website=maps.tnc.org}}
|border = Arctic coastal tundra
|border1 = Arctic foothills tundra
|border2 = Brooks-British Range tundra
|border3 = Interior Alaska-Yukon lowland taiga
|border4 = Low Arctic tundra
|border5 = Muskwa-Slave Lake forests
|border6 = Northern Canadian Shield taiga
|border7 = Northern Cordillera forests
|border8 = Ogilvie-MacKenzie alpine tundra
|area = 345763
|country = Canada
|countries =
|state = Northwest Territories and Yukon
|region_type = Territories
|elevation =
|coordinates = {{coord|65.75|N|124.75|W|display=title,inline}}
|geology =
|seas =
|rivers =
|climate = Subarctic (Dfc)
|soil =
|conservation = Relatively Stable/Intact
|global200 =
|habitat_loss = 0
|protected = 4.25
|embedded =
}}
The Northwest Territories taiga ecoregion (WWF:NA0614) is located in the Northwest Territories and Yukon provinces of Canada. It covers forest and tundra along the Mackenzie River Valley and the surrounding highlands in the southern portion of the valley.{{Cite web|title=Northwest Territories taiga {{!}} Ecoregions {{!}} WWF|url=https://www.worldwildlife.org/ecoregions/na0614|access-date=2020-11-06|website=World Wildlife Fund|language=en}}
Location and description
The ecoregion stretches 1,200 km from the Great Slave Lake in the south to the mouth of the Mackenzie River at the Arctic Ocean in the north. The river valley is one of broad lowlands, with plateaus on the edges and highlands in the southwest. The median elevation is {{convert|348|m|ft}}, and the highest point is {{convert|2208|m|ft}}.
Climate
The climate of the ecoregion is Subarctic climate, without dry season (Köppen climate classification Subarctic climate (Dfc)). This climate is characterized by mild summers (only 1–3 months above {{convert|10|°C|1}}) and cold, snowy winters (coldest month below {{convert|-3|°C|1}}).{{cite web|first1=M. |last1=Kottek |first2=J. |last2=Grieser |first3=C. |last3=Beck |first4=B. |last4=Rudolf |first5=F. |last5=Rubel |date=2006 |title=World Map of Koppen-Geiger Climate Classification Updated|url=http://koeppen-geiger.vu-wien.ac.at/pdf/Paper_2006.pdf|publisher=Gebrüder Borntraeger 2006|language=en|access-date=May 1, 2021}}{{cite web|title=Dataset - Koppen climate classifications|url=https://datacatalog.worldbank.org/dataset/world-maps-k%C3%B6ppen-geiger-climate-classification|publisher=World Bank|language=en|access-date=May 1, 2021}} Annual precipitation averages 200–400 mm/year across most of the region, reaching 500 mm/year in the south.
Flora and fauna
About half of the region is forested, split evenly between closed canopy and open forest. Characteristic trees are black spruce (Picea mariana), with shrubs of dwarf birch (Betula nana), Labrador tea (Ledum decumbens), and willow (Salix). Higher elevations support mixed forests of white and black spruce (Picea glauca), jack pine (Pinus banksiana), lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta), tamarack (Larix laricina), quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides), and balsam poplar (Populus balsamifera). Another 33% of the region is covered in shrubs or herbaceous cover; much of this terrain is low-lying wetlands. The remainder is water or sparse vegetation.
Mammals of the area include woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus), moose (Alces alces), bison (Bison bison), wolf (Canis lupus), black bear (Ursus americanus), marten (Martes americana), lynx (Lynx canadensis), and Arctic ground squirrel (Urocitellus parryii).
Protected areas
About 10% of the region is officially protected, including:
- Nahanni National Park Reserve, protecting a portion of the South Nahanni River and the Mackenzie Mountains
- Edéhzhíe Protected Area
- Ts’udé Nilįné Tuyeta Territorial Protected Area
See also
- List of ecoregions in Canada (WWF)
- [https://www.oneearth.org/ecoregions/northwest-territories-taiga/ Northwest Territories Taiga] One Earth
{{Wikimedia Commons|Category:Northwest Territories Taiga Ecoregion|Northwest Territories taiga}}