Soil and Vegetation in Canada

All definitions are in BLUETake NOTES, summarize when necessary and put

things in your own words

Learning Target:

• Today I will learn about the soil and natural vegetation regions in Canada

• I will define the terms associated with soil and natural vegetation

Components of Soil:• Soil is made up of the following 4 ingredients:1. MINERALS: are nutrients that plants need to grow

(Examples – Calcium, phosphorus and potassium)2. BACTERIA AND ORGANIC MATERIALS: these provide

more nutrients and hold the moisture for plants.3. AIR4. MOISTURE OR WATER

• If one of the above is missing, than the material cannot be considered soil

• How will you remember this? Create an acronym!• BAMM = Bacteria and Organic Materials, Air, Moisture,

Minerals

TWO TYPES OF SOIL:

• There are two main types of soil

• PODZOLS: found in areas covered by forests

• CHERNOZEMS: found in areas covered by grasslands

Canada has 6 Soil Regions

1. Tundra

2. Podzols

3. Brown Earths

4. Chernozems

5. Chestnut

6. Mountain

• Refer to page 43 of your textbook.

• What type of soil is in our province?

Vegetation in Canada

Natural Vegetation:

plants that grow without human intervention

There are three types of natural vegetation in Canada

Tundra

• TUNDRA: areas where trees do not grow well, covered by small plants and shrubs

• Examples: permafrost, small shrubs, mosses, lichen.

Grasslands

• GRASSLANDS: areas covered by grass

• Examples: short-grasses, cactus, long-grass, prairie, trembling aspen, willow spruce

Forests

• FORESTS: area filled with a high density (a lot) of trees

• There are three types of Forest in Canada (Coniferous, Deciduous, and Temperate)

TREES:

• There are two types of trees, deciduous and coniferous trees

DECIDUOUS TREES:

Broad leaf trees that lose their leaves in the winter, e.g. Maple, poplar, and white birch

TREES:

CONIFEROUS TREES:

Have cones and needle-like leaves

Canada has different Vegetation Regions:

1. Tundra

2. Coniferous Forest

3. Temperate Forests

4. Prairie

5. Deciduous Forest

• Refer to page 40 of your textbook

Something that will make you go hmmm....

• “if you climb up a mountain, you will find a similar sequence of vegetation to that you would find if you travelled from southern Canada to the high Arctic.”

• WHY?

Ecozones:

• Landform, climate, vegetation, and soil regions together with the people and animals that live in them form a new kind of region called an ECOZONE

• An ecozone is areas that has a unique combination of natural and human characteristics

Using your textbook:

• Put the following definitions in your Geography Glossary:

• Natural Vegetation, 3 types of Natural Vegetation (TUNDRA, GRASSLANDS, FORESTS)

• DECIDUOUS TREES and CONIFEROUS TREES

• Complete page 28 for workbook using page 40 of your textbook

• Once your done, you can work on your PT

Performance Task

• Landform Regions

• Climate Characteristics (use the data from yesterday)

– January Temperature

– July Temperature

– Annual Rainfall

– Important Climate Factors: (LOWERN)

• Natural Vegetation (use the data from today)

• Soils (use the data from today)

• Interesting Place in Province