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These and
the other 12 terrestrial ecozones contain many ecosystems,
each offering a biodiversity of populations of animal
and plant species that interact dynamically with each
other within a particular physical environment. Grasslands
National Park in southern Saskatchewan, for example, is
located in the semi-arid Prairies ecozone and contains
a single ecosystem, mixed grass, named after the dominant
plant species in this zone: spear, wheat, and blue gamma
grasses. These wind-swept short grasses share the park’s
low rolling hills and coulees with trees and shrubs such
as aspen and wolf willow, and with an array of wildlife,
including hawks, beavers, coyotes, porcupines, badgers,
and bobcats.
Most parks contain a number of ecosystems. Located in
the Boreal Plains ecozone – and larger than Switzerland
at almost 45,000 square kilometres – Wood Buffalo
National Park not surprisingly includes diverse ecosystems
and a cor- |
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abundance of animal and plant species. The largest herd
of bison in the world roams freely across the park’s
nearly level to gently rolling plains, while the endangered
whooping crane finds a protected haven for nesting in
an extensive waterland ecosystem containing marshes,
shallow ponds, lakes, streams, and bogs.
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Low rolling hills are
are typical of the terrain found in
the Prairies ecozone, such as this landscape in southern
Saskatchewan's Grasslands National Park. |
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Image © Parks Canada Ref.
#08.81.03.21(08)
Photograph by A. Cornellier. |
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