Aspen Parkland

As Aspen Parkland, and accordingly Aspen Parkland ecoregion a region in North America is called, which lies mainly in the central Canada in the transition between high grass prairie and boreal forest. It is therefore attributed to the type of landscape of the forest-steppe. The name derives are naturally occurring, loose groves of American Aspen ( " Aspen "), which are interspersed with open grassland and give the landscape a park -like appearance. Today, the region is, however, mainly agricultural. The Aspen Parkland region is divided into two disjoint subregions. The smaller, northernmost, is located in the area of the Peace River in Alberta and project further to British Columbia in the second, much larger stretches in an arc from the central Alberta through central Saskatchewan and southwestern Manitoba to the United States into it.

The climate of the region is dominated by short, warm summers (average temperature 15 ° C) and long, cold winters (average temperature 12.5 ° C) with permanent snow cover. The average annual temperature is between 0.5 ° C and 2.5 ° C, the average rainfall is 375-700 mm per year.

Characteristic vegetation elements are stocks of the American Aspen Tree with smaller proportions of balsam poplar and an understory of shrubs and herbaceous plants. Types of climax vegetation are white spruce and balsam fir, but due to forest fires relatively rare. On drier sites with sandy soils are found also the jack pine. On drier sites with loamy chernozems grow stocks from American White Oak. In waterlogged Gleyböden also Black Spruce and Tamarack come pastures and various sedges, occasionally.

In some heavily glacially influenced landscape, there are numerous, wooded swamps and lakes that provide valuable roosting and breeding sites especially waterfowl. These include American White Pelican, cormorants, gulls different, in particular the typical for the region Präriemöwe, and terns. Other breeding birds are tail chicken, ruffed grouse and Hudsonelster. Typical, occurring here mammals include moose, white-tailed deer, American Black Bear, wolf, coyote, red fox, pine marten, mink American, Canadian beaver, snowshoe hare, Eastern cottontail rabbit, Northern Gopher and Franklin ground squirrel.