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Alberta/British Columbia foothills (WWF ecoregion NA0502) View National Geographic WildWorld profile,(WildWorld home), View  WWF Wildfinder animal species list (WildFinder home)

Foothills west of Edmonton, Alberta
Foothills west of Edmonton, Alberta (c) 2005 Scott and Ruth Bassett

Alberta/British Columbia foothills map
Source of bioregions data: Olson, D. M. and E. Dinerstein. The Global 200: Priority ecoregions for global conservation. (PDF file) Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden 89:125-126.

Distinctiveness (1=highest,4=lowest): 4 (nationally important)
This ecoregion has one of North America's highest moose densities and is a transitional area for bird and mammal species.*

Conservation Status (1=most endangered, 5=most intact): 1 (critical)
There is virtually no undisturbed habitat in this region.  Logging, agricultural conversion, and grazing have disturbed and fragmented the area.*

Characteristic species*
 
Pinus contorta   (lodgepole pine)
Populus tremuloides  (quaking aspen)
Picea glauca  (white spruce)
Populus balsamifera (balsam poplar)
Betula papyrifera (paper birch)
Abies balsamea (balsam fir)

Picea mariana (black spruce) (c) 2004 Maurice J. Kaurmann

Larix laricina (tamarack)

* Ricketts, T.H., E. Dinerstein, D.M. Olson, C.J. Loucks, et al.  (1999) Terrestrial Ecoregions of North America: A Conservation Assessment.  World Wildlife Fund - United States and Canada.  Island Press, Washington, D.C. pp. 212-213.

Except as noted, images copyright 2002-2005 Steve Baskauf - Terms of use