2+Mixedwood+Plains

= The Mixedwood Plains Ecozone = ==

**Rocks and Minerals** The Mixedwood Plains ecozone is mainly made up of sedimentary rock. The rolling landscape that describes this ecozone comes from sedimentary rock that was formed in the Palezoic era. There are several minerals that are mined in this area they include iron ore, zinc, silver, coal, copper and lead. There are approximately 17 important mines located in the Mixedwood Plains, and they are all found in Ontario and Quebec.



**Climate**

The Mixedwood Plains ecozone is located in the Southeastern climate region. The Mixedwood Plains climate can generally be described as having cool short winters compared to the Arctic ecozones, and relatively long, mild summers. The annual average temperature of Toronto is 7.17 degC. The temperature range is 28 degC (-7 degC to 21 degC). The total precipitation is approximately 783mm and most of this precipitation falls in the summertime. The type of precipitation in this ecozone is convectional precipitation which occurs mostly in the in the form of rain. Prevailing winds that blow from west to east are called the "Westerlies." These Westerlies move the air masses that affect this ecozones weather. For example, the dry cold Arctic air mass can be carried into the Mixedwood Plains by the "Westerlies" and can make the occasional summer day very cool.



Another air current affecting this region is the "Alberta Clipper." This air mass can also affect the weather because it can decrease the temperature drastically and cause heavy snowfalls.

The factors that affect the Mixedwood Plains ecozone are latitude and its nearness to water. Latitude affects this region due to the location of this ecozone (north of the equator), the suns energy is spread over a larger area. Therefore, we have our 4 seasons and summers that are not extremely hot. The Mixedwood plains is located in the interior so it has a continental climate. However, due to its nearness to the great lakes, the precipitation increases so the climate can be referred to as modified continental. The precipitation increases because the winds pick up the moisture from the great lakes. For example, in the winter we can experience "lake effect" snow storms which can drop 10-15cm of snow over this ecozone.

**Vegetation and Soil**

In the past, the Mixedwood Plains had plentiful amounts of vegetation. However, due to deforestation and construction, the amounts of trees that are left in the area has been severely reduced. The removal of vegetation destroys the habitats for wildlife, who are then forced to adapt to the now man-made surroundings, which is not good for them or us. Let it be clear, however, that there is still much wildlife and vegetation. The remaining vegetation, is very diverse and welcoming as a habitat. This land supports both coniferous and deciduous trees.The growing season of the Mixedwood plains is relatively long because of the long summers and moderate winter. The Great Lakes also help to moderate the over all temperature in the Mixedwood plains, therefore making the growing season even longer. The soil region we are part of is the Wet Climate soil region. The vegetation region is the mixed forest and the deciduous forest. The humus created from the leaves and needles of the deciduous and coniferous trees, helps to form a thick, brown topsoil layer rich in minerals. This soil is perfect for growing crops such as corn, beans, and many other vegetables. A combination of fertile soils and a mild climate creates ideal agricultural land. This amazing ecozone, is privileged to have the Niagara Fruit belt. The Niagara Fruit belt stretches from Hamilton to Grimsby, Ontario and provides people in this ecozone fresh, locally grown fruits such as cherries, peaches and strawberries.



**Wildlife** The mixed-wood plains supports lots of wildlife, including raccoon, skunks, coyotes, cows, bears, and squirrels. These animals have been facing displacement because of the growing human population which results in increased urban development. Also, there are hundreds of species of fish that live in the great lakes.



**Landforms** This ecozone is located in the Great Lakes- St. Lawrence Lowlands Landform region. The Mixedwood plains accounts for 9% of Canada's land. This landform region consists of 2 parts, the Great Lakes Lowland and the St. Lawrence Lowland. Both lowlands are formed from Sedimentary rock from the Paleozoic era and this rock is best seen in the Niagara Escarpment. In the Great Lakes part of the Lowlands, glaciation has formed a landscape of rolling hills and flat plains with glacial hills and deep river valleys. The St. Lawrence part of the lowlands was formed years ago by a rift valley that was created as a result of double faulting, that ended up separating the Canadian Shield from the Appalachian Mountains. Therefore, faulting played a major role in creating the St. Lawrence Lowlands.

**Economics** <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">The flat land of the Mixedwood Plains is excellent for large transportation routes like QEW, 401 and the 407, and the development of cities such as Toronto, Montreal. Therefore, the Mixedwood Plains is the most densely populated ecozone in Canada. Almost 50% of Canada's population live here! The area is also rich in Manufacturing industry such as car factories, power plants and food production. Due to this ecozones huge population, there is a need for education in colleges and universities. So, many students from all over Canada come to this area for further education. These students often remain in the area because there are so many job opportunities, especially in Toronto, where you can find the best jobs in business, finance and government. Lastly, the Mixedwood Plains has the highest GDP of 325.2 billion of all the ecozones. GDP stands for Gross Domestic Product and this is a measure of how rich the economy is. This ecozones economy is rich because there are many jobs in construction, manufacturing, agriculture, recreation and business.



<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">**The Future of the Mixedwood Plains** <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">We all believe that the population of the Mixedwood Plains ecozone will continue to grow. This will negatively impact the ecozone in 2 ways. The first way is increased pollution. Each day thousands of cars commute to work everyday releasing harmful, poisonous fumes into the air. An increased population will only make this problem worse. The second way that an increased population will impact this ecozone is a decrease in green space. An increased population results in more housing development which decreases our green space. This would destroy animal's habitats and we would lose our plants and trees. Plants and trees help to clean our air because they use CO2 for photosynthesis to make their own food. Therefore if there is no more trees or plants, more CO2 will be in the air that can be harmful to our health.



<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">**Tourism** <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">The Mixedwood Plains ecozone is the most popular for tourism, especially in the summer months. People from all over Canada come to Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa and Quebec city to enjoy the restaurants, sports teams, theatre, shows, hotels, shopping, the CN Tower, Niagara Falls, canoeing and hiking. Also, in the winter time, many tourists come to this ecozone to do winter sports such as skiing and snowboarding.



<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">**Fun Facts** <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">-The Mixedwood Plains ecozone covers the smallest area of all the ecozones of Canada (107 017km2). However, it has the highest total population of over 15 million.

-<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> The Great Lakes that are located directly below the Mixedwood Plains ecozone are actually large holes that were gouged out by glaciers.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">- This is the ecozone that we all live in today.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">- The Mixedwood Plains contains one of the 7 Wonders of the World - Niagara Falls!



<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">**Trivia Questions** <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">True or False? <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">1. The mixedwood plains is located at the southernmost tip of Canada <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">2. This ecozone has a continental climate

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Short Answer <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">3. What is the type of rock that this ecozone is made up of? <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">4. What kind of trees does the Mixedwood Plains contain?

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Multiple Choice <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">5. What climate factors affect the Mixedwood Plains climate? <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">a) nearness to water <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">b) latitude <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">c)winds and air masses <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">d) all of the above <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">e) a and c

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Bibliography *

1. Bernhardt, Torsten. "Mixed-wood Plains." //Canadian BiodiversityWeb-site//. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Oct 2011. <Museums Assistance Program of Heritage Canada. >.

2.Lui, Joshua, and Timothy Yip. "Mixed-Woods Plains Ecozones." A Joshua Liu and Timothy Yip Production, 2003-2004. Web. 27 Oct 2011. <http://mixedplains.tripod.com/landforms.html>.

3. Clark, Bruce, John Wallace, and Kim Earle. //Making Connections//. Second Edition. Pearson Education Canada, 2006. 160-180. Print.

4. Wibow, Inggrid. "Mixed-Woods Plains Ecozones." //Canadian Atlas Online//. N.p., 2009. Web. 27 Oct 2011. <http://mwood.awardspace.com/research.php?wildlife>.

5. Canada, Parks. "Parks Canada." //Terrestrial Ecozones of Canada//. N.p., 2009. Web. 27 Oct 2011. <http://www.pc.gc.ca/apprendre-learn/prof/itm2-crp-trc/htm/ecozone_e.asp>

6. Geographic, Canadian. "Mixed-wood Plains." //Canadian Atlas Online//. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Oct 2011. <http://www.canadiangeographic.ca/atlas/themes.aspx?id=mixedwood&sub=mixedwood_features_people&lang=En>.