Eastern Great Lakes lowland forests
Encyclopedia
The Eastern Great Lakes lowland forests is a Temperate Broadleaf and Mixed Forests
Temperate broadleaf and mixed forests
Mixed forests are a temperate and humid biome. The typical structure of these forests includes four layers. The uppermost layer is the canopy composed of tall mature trees ranging from 33 to 66 m high. Below the canopy is the three-layered, shade-tolerant understory that is roughly 9 to...

 ecoregion
Ecoregion
An ecoregion , sometimes called a bioregion, is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than an ecozone and larger than an ecosystem. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of land or water, and contain characteristic, geographically distinct assemblages of natural...

 of North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...

, mostly in eastern Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

.

Setting

This area includes much of northern New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

 state (save for the Adirondacks), western Vermont
Vermont
Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...

, the Saint Lawrence Lowlands
Saint Lawrence Lowlands
The St. Lawrence Lowlands is an ecoregion of Mixedwood Plains and a physiographic region of Canada and the United States. It is sometimes named the "Great Lakes/St. Lawrence Lowlands", but that name improperly includes the Great Lakes Basin which, while it might drain to the Atlantic Ocean by way...

 in southern Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....

 and most of southern Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....

 between Lake Ontario
Lake Ontario
Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south by the American state of New York. Ontario, Canada's most populous province, was named for the lake. In the Wyandot language, ontarío means...

 and Georgian Bay
Georgian Bay
Georgian Bay is a large bay of Lake Huron, located entirely within Ontario, Canada...

 on Lake Huron
Lake Huron
Lake Huron is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. Hydrologically, it comprises the larger portion of Lake Michigan-Huron. It is bounded on the east by the Canadian province of Ontario and on the west by the state of Michigan in the United States...

. The region includes the Frontenac Axis
Frontenac Axis
The Frontenac Axis is an exposed strip of Precambrian rock in Canada and the United States which links the Canadian Shield with the Adirondack mountain range in New York, an extension of the Laurentian mountains of Québec. The axis separates the St. Lawrence Lowlands and the Great Lakes Lowlands....

, the Niagara Escarpment
Niagara Escarpment
The Niagara Escarpment is a long escarpment, or cuesta, in the United States and Canada that runs westward from New York State, through Ontario, Michigan, Wisconsin and Illinois...

 up to Manitoulin Island
Manitoulin Island
Manitoulin Island is a Canadian island in Lake Huron, in the province of Ontario. It is the largest island in a freshwater lake in the world. In addition to the historic Anishinaabe and European settlement of the island, archeological discoveries at Sheguiandah have demonstrated Paleo-Indian and...

 on Lake Huron, and Lake Simcoe
Lake Simcoe
Lake Simcoe is a lake in Southern Ontario, Canada, the fourth-largest lake wholly in the province, after Lake Nipigon, Lac Seul, and Lake Nipissing. At the time of the first European contact in the 17th century the lake was called Ouentironk by the Huron natives...

. Meanwhile the forests south of Lake Ontario are classified as the Southern Great Lakes forests ecoregion and in Canada the higher elevations of the Canadian Appalachian Mountains
Appalachian Mountains
The Appalachian Mountains #Whether the stressed vowel is or ,#Whether the "ch" is pronounced as a fricative or an affricate , and#Whether the final vowel is the monophthong or the diphthong .), often called the Appalachians, are a system of mountains in eastern North America. The Appalachians...

 and the Laurentian Mountains
Laurentian mountains
The Laurentian Mountains are a mountain range in southern Quebec, Canada, north of the St. Lawrence River and Ottawa River, rising to a highest point of 1166 metres at Mont Raoul Blanchard, north east of Quebec City in the Reserve Faunique des Laurentides. The Gatineau, L'Assomption, Lièvre,...

 constitute the Eastern Canadian forests
Eastern Canadian forests
The Eastern Canadian forests is an ecoregion of Canada as defined by the World Wildlife Fund categorization system.-Setting:This ecoregion contains a number of mountainous areas on the east coast of Canada and along the Saint Lawrence River in eastern Quebec The Eastern Canadian forests is an...

.

This region has warm summers and cold, snowy winters.

Flora

This ecoregion is a transition area between the taiga
Taiga
Taiga , also known as the boreal forest, is a biome characterized by coniferous forests.Taiga is the world's largest terrestrial biome. In North America it covers most of inland Canada and Alaska as well as parts of the extreme northern continental United States and is known as the Northwoods...

 to the north and the temperate deciduous forest
Temperate deciduous forest
A temperate deciduous forest, more precisely termed temperate broadleaf forest or temperate broadleaved forest, is a biome found in North America, southern South America, Europe, and Asia. A temperate deciduous forest consists of trees that lose their leaves every year...

 to the south and thus contains a variety of habitats including freshwater marshes, dunes, bogs, fens, and hardwood and conifer swamps. Trees of the woodland include eastern hemlock
Eastern Hemlock
Tsuga canadensis, also known as eastern or Canadian hemlock, and in the French-speaking regions of Canada as pruche du Canada, is a coniferous tree native to eastern North America. It ranges from northeastern Minnesota eastward through southern Quebec to Nova Scotia, and south in the Appalachian...

 (Tsuga canadensis), pine
Pine
Pines are trees in the genus Pinus ,in the family Pinaceae. They make up the monotypic subfamily Pinoideae. There are about 115 species of pine, although different authorities accept between 105 and 125 species.-Etymology:...

s, maple
Maple
Acer is a genus of trees or shrubs commonly known as maple.Maples are variously classified in a family of their own, the Aceraceae, or together with the Hippocastanaceae included in the family Sapindaceae. Modern classifications, including the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group system, favour inclusion in...

, and oaks. Particular areas include the oak
Oak
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus , of which about 600 species exist. "Oak" may also appear in the names of species in related genera, notably Lithocarpus...

/pine
Pine
Pines are trees in the genus Pinus ,in the family Pinaceae. They make up the monotypic subfamily Pinoideae. There are about 115 species of pine, although different authorities accept between 105 and 125 species.-Etymology:...

 mix of the Albany Pine Bush, areas of dry rocky alvar
Alvar
An alvar is a biological environment based on a limestone plain with thin or no soil and, as a result, sparse vegetation. It is also known as a pavement barren although this term is also used for similar landforms based on sandstone. In the United Kingdom the exposed landform is called a limestone...

 plain, and the white cedars (Thuja occidentalis
Thuja occidentalis
Thuja occidentalis is an evergreen coniferous tree, in the cypress family Cupressaceae, which is widely cultivated for use as an ornamental plant known as American Arbor Vitae. The endemic occurrence of this species is a northeastern distribution in North America...

)
of the Niagara Escarpment
Niagara Escarpment
The Niagara Escarpment is a long escarpment, or cuesta, in the United States and Canada that runs westward from New York State, through Ontario, Michigan, Wisconsin and Illinois...

.

Fauna

The Eastern Great Lakes lowland forests are very rich in wildlife. Birds include cardinal
Cardinal (bird)
The Cardinals or Cardinalidae are a family of passerine birds found in North and South America. The South American cardinals in the genus Paroaria are placed in another family, the Thraupidae ....

s, Downy Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
The Downy Woodpecker is a species of woodpecker, the smallest in North America.- Description :Adult Downy Woodpeckers are mainly black on the upperparts and wings, with a white back, throat and belly and white spotting on the wings. There is a white bar above the eye and one below. They have a...

, Wood Duck
Wood Duck
The Wood Duck or Carolina Duck is a species of duck found in North America. It is one of the most colourful of North American waterfowl.-Description:...

 and Eastern Screech Owl
Eastern Screech Owl
The Eastern Screech Owl or Eastern Screech-Owl is a small owl that is relatively common in Eastern North America, from Mexico to Canada.-Description:...

. Large mammals including American Black Bear
American black bear
The American black bear is a medium-sized bear native to North America. It is the continent's smallest and most common bear species. Black bears are omnivores, with their diets varying greatly depending on season and location. They typically live in largely forested areas, but do leave forests in...

 (Ursus americanus), moose
Moose
The moose or Eurasian elk is the largest extant species in the deer family. Moose are distinguished by the palmate antlers of the males; other members of the family have antlers with a dendritic configuration...

 (Alces alces), and Gray Wolf
Gray Wolf
The gray wolf , also known as the wolf, is the largest extant wild member of the Canidae family...

 (Canis lupus) have been removed from this ecoregion and remaining mammals include white-tailed deer
White-tailed Deer
The white-tailed deer , also known as the Virginia deer or simply as the whitetail, is a medium-sized deer native to the United States , Canada, Mexico, Central America, and South America as far south as Peru...

 (Odocoileus virginianus), coyote
Coyote
The coyote , also known as the American jackal or the prairie wolf, is a species of canine found throughout North and Central America, ranging from Panama in the south, north through Mexico, the United States and Canada...

 (Canis latrans), Snowshoe Hare
Snowshoe Hare
The Snowshoe Hare , also called the Varying Hare, or Snowshoe Rabbit, is a species of hare found in North America. It has the name "snowshoe" because of the large size of its hind feet and the marks its tail leaves. The animal's feet prevent it from sinking into the snow when it hops and walks...

 (Lepus americanus), eastern chipmunk
Eastern Chipmunk
The eastern chipmunk is a small squirrel-like rodent found in eastern North America, the sole living member of the chipmunk genus and subgenus Tamias....

 (Tamias striatus), American Red Squirrel
American Red Squirrel
The American Red Squirrel is one of three species of tree squirrel currently classified in the genus Tamiasciurus and known as pine squirrels...

 (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus) and eastern gray squirrel
Eastern Gray Squirrel
The eastern gray squirrel is a tree squirrel in the genus Sciurus native to the eastern and midwestern United States, and to the southerly portions of the eastern provinces of Canada...

 (Sciurus carolinensis).

Threats and preservation

The Saint Lawrence River is one of the most polluted in the world and these surrounding forests are vulnerable to clearance for agriculture and urban development including the cities of Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...

, Ottawa
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...

, Quebec City
Quebec City
Quebec , also Québec, Quebec City or Québec City is the capital of the Canadian province of Quebec and is located within the Capitale-Nationale region. It is the second most populous city in Quebec after Montreal, which is about to the southwest...

 and suburbs of Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...

, Syracuse
Syracuse, New York
Syracuse is a city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, United States, the largest U.S. city with the name "Syracuse", and the fifth most populous city in the state. At the 2010 census, the city population was 145,170, and its metropolitan area had a population of 742,603...

 and Albany, New York
Albany, New York
Albany is the capital city of the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Albany County, and the central city of New York's Capital District. Roughly north of New York City, Albany sits on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River...

. Less than 5% of natural forest remains intact. The fragmented blocks of remaining habitat include: the eastern end of Lake Ontario; Missisquoi National Wildlife Refuge
Missisquoi National Wildlife Refuge
Missisquoi National Wildlife Refuge is a National Wildlife Refuge located in the eastern shore of Lake Champlain in the U.S. state of Vermont. The refuge is in Franklin County in the northwest corner of the state near the International Boundary with Canada. It is the only National Wildlife Refuge...

 in Vermont; the Chaumont Barrens, Rome Sand Plains
Rome Sand Plains
Rome Sand Plains is a pine barrens consisting of a mosaic of sand dunes extending about above low peat bogs that lie between the dunes. The barrens are covered with mixed northern hardwood forests, meadows, and wetlands. The sand plains are about west of the city center of Rome, New York, which...

, the Albany Pine Bush and the proposed Split Rock Wildway
Split Rock Wildway
The Split Rock Wildway is a proposed wildlife corridor between the Split Rock Wild Forest and the Jay Mountain Wilderness Area in the eastern Adirondack Park in Essex County, New York. The area is located within the Champlain Valley along Lake Champlain...

 in New York; Bruce Peninsula
Bruce Peninsula
The Bruce Peninsula is a peninsula in Ontario, Canada that lies between Georgian Bay and the main basin of Lake Huron. The peninsula extends roughly northwestwards from the rest of Southern Ontario, pointing towards Manitoulin Island, with which it forms the widest strait joining Georgian Bay to...

 (the barrier between Georgian Bay and the main section of Lake Huron), Alfred Bog, Luther Marsh, the Ganaraska Forest and Carden Plain in Ontario; and Mont Saint-Hilaire
Mont Saint-Hilaire
Mont Saint-Hilaire , is an isolated hill, high, in the Montérégie region of southern Quebec. It is about thirty kilometres east of Montreal, and immediately east of the Richelieu River. It is one of the Monteregian Hills...

, Lac Saint-François National Wildlife Area and Cap Tourmente National Wildlife Areas in Quebec.
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