Laurentian Mixed Forest Province

The Laurentian Mixed Forest Province, also known as the North Woods, is a forested ecoregion in the United States and Canada. Among others, this terminology has been adopted by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. Similar, though not necessarily entirely identical regions, are identified by the United States Environmental Protection Agency as Northern Lakes and Forests, and by the World Wildlife Fund by regions such as the Western Great Lakes forests and Eastern forest-boreal transition.

Geography

In the United States, it consists of a broad region of northern Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan (Northern Michigan and the Upper Peninsula) and the forested areas of New England. In Canada, it is found in Ontario around the Great Lakes and the Saint Lawrence River through Quebec to Quebec City.

Ecology

The area is a Temperate broadleaf and mixed forests biome transition zone between the true boreal forest to the north and Big Woods to the south, with characteristics of each. It has areas of both broadleaf and conifer forest cover, and bodies of water ranging from lakes to conifer bogs and swamps. Conifers include pines, spruces, firs, and junipers; deciduous types include aspens, oaks, paper birches, mountain ash and maples.

Northwoods (forest)

The Northwoods are the boreal forest of North America, covering about half of Canada and parts of Minnesota, Maine, Montana, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Vermont.

For the American part, see North Woods.

The Boreal forest and its alpine cousins are host to a wide variety of deer, ranging from the large moose (inset, right) to the whitetail deer. All of these large herbivores prefer the cool forest lest they overheat in the sun, but all need open land on which to graze. Of the deer, moose are perhaps best adapted to wetlands and thrive in the boggy boreal forest.

The temperate conifer forests of the United States contain more than forty important cone-bearing forest tree species. These forests all have members of the taxonomic family called Pinaceae and most are commercially sought. However, some have uses outside the traditional forest product market. This massive softwood forest is spread over the entire North American continent and makes up the major portion of both trees and volume. There are five principle forest regions in North America that comprise the coniferous forest. The forests are equally spread geographically between east and west. Because of the forest's great size, and because of differing climate and soils, North America is favored by a rich variety of these "evergreens". This forest supports four times as many tree species as Europe does.