Field Guide to the Ecosites of Saskatchewan's Provincial Forests

Download or read book Field Guide to the Ecosites of Saskatchewan's Provincial Forests written by M. S. McLaughlan and published by . This book was released on 2010-01-01 with total page 338 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "The forest ecosystems of Saskatchewan are represented at the site level with 81 ecosites that span Saskatchewan's four ecozones: Taiga Shield, Boreal Shield, Boreal Plain and Prairie. Field sampling provided the raw data upon which the ecosite classification was built. Nearly 1700 semi-permanent relevés were established in 69 of the province's 80 forested ecodistricts. Each relevé provided information about the cover-abundance and growth form of each plant encountered, forest mensuration data, and soil and site characteristics. The ecosite classification provides summaries of the site attributes for each ecosite within the four ecozones; it also illustrates the relationship among the ecosites, within an ecozone, through a two-way matrix of moisture and species richness values. This ecosystem classification facilitates better integration of forest management disciplines by providing a common ecosystem language that forms an explicit operational framework for resource managers. Brief descriptions and ecological interpretations are also provided for each ecosite and usually include significant features and/or a statement about the possible successional trajectory for the ecosite in the absence and presence of disturbance."--Document.