The Gulf of St. Lawrence lowland forests are a Temperate Broadleaf and Mixed Forests

Temperate broadleaf and mixed forests

Mixed forests are a temperate and humid biome. The typical structure of these forests includes four layers. The uppermost layer is the canopy composed of tall mature trees ranging from 33 to 66 m high. Below the canopy is the three-layered, shade-tolerant understory that is roughly 9 to...

 ecoregion

Ecoregion

An ecoregion , sometimes called a bioregion, is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than an ecozone and larger than an ecosystem. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of land or water, and contain characteristic, geographically distinct assemblages of natural...

 of eastern Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

Setting

Located on the Gulf of Saint Lawrence

Gulf of Saint Lawrence

The Gulf of Saint Lawrence , the world's largest estuary, is the outlet of North America's Great Lakes via the Saint Lawrence River into the Atlantic Ocean...

, the world's largest estuary, this ecoregion covers all of Prince Edward Island

Prince Edward Island

Prince Edward Island is a Canadian province consisting of an island of the same name, as well as other islands. The maritime province is the smallest in the nation in both land area and population...

, the Les Îles-de-la-Madeleine

Magdalen Islands

The Magdalen Islands form a small archipelago in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence with a land area of . Though closer to Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia, the islands form part of the Canadian province of Quebec....

 of Quebec, most of east-central New Brunswick

New Brunswick

New Brunswick is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the only province in the federation that is constitutionally bilingual . The provincial capital is Fredericton and Saint John is the most populous city. Greater Moncton is the largest Census Metropolitan Area...

, the Annapolis Valley

Annapolis Valley

The Annapolis Valley is a valley and region in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. It is located in the western part of the Nova Scotia peninsula, formed by a trough between two parallel mountain ranges along the shore of the Bay of Fundy.-Geography:...

, Minas Basin

Minas Basin

The Minas Basin is an inlet of the Bay of Fundy and a sub-basin of the Fundy Basin located in Nova Scotia, Canada. It is known for its extremely high tides.- Geography :- Boundary :...

 and the Northumberland Strait

Northumberland Strait

The Northumberland Strait is a strait in the southern part of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence in eastern Canada...

 coast of Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...

. This area has a coastal climate of warm summers and mild but snowy winters with an average annual temperature of around 5°C going up to 15°C in summer, the coast is cooler than the islands or the sheltered inland valleys.

Flora

The warmer climate allows more hardwood trees to grow in the Gulf of St Lawrence than in most of this part of northeast North America. Trees of the region include Eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis), balsam fir (Abies balsamea), American elm (Ulmus americana), black ash (Fraxinus nigra

Fraxinus nigra

Fraxinus nigra is a species of Fraxinus native to much of eastern Canada and the northeastern United States, from western Newfoundland west to southeastern Manitoba, and south to Illinois and northern Virginia....

, Eastern White Pine

Eastern White Pine

Pinus strobus, commonly known as the eastern white pine, is a large pine native to eastern North America, occurring from Newfoundland west to Minnesota and southeastern Manitoba, and south along the Appalachian Mountains to the northern edge of Georgia.It is occasionally known as simply white pine,...

 (Pinus strobus), red maple, (Acer rubrum) Northern Red Oak (Quercus rubra), black spruce (Picea mariana), red spruce (Picea rubens)and white spruce (Picea glauca).

Fauna

The forests are home to a variety of wildlife from mammals including American Black Bear

American black bear

The American black bear is a medium-sized bear native to North America. It is the continent's smallest and most common bear species. Black bears are omnivores, with their diets varying greatly depending on season and location. They typically live in largely forested areas, but do leave forests in...

 (Ursus americanus), moose

Moose

The moose or Eurasian elk is the largest extant species in the deer family. Moose are distinguished by the palmate antlers of the males; other members of the family have antlers with a dendritic configuration...

 (Alces alces), white-tailed deer

White-tailed Deer

The white-tailed deer , also known as the Virginia deer or simply as the whitetail, is a medium-sized deer native to the United States , Canada, Mexico, Central America, and South America as far south as Peru...

 (Odocoileus virginianus), Red Fox

Red Fox

The red fox is the largest of the true foxes, as well as being the most geographically spread member of the Carnivora, being distributed across the entire northern hemisphere from the Arctic Circle to North Africa, Central America, and the steppes of Asia...

 (Vulpes vulpes), Snowshoe Hare

Snowshoe Hare

The Snowshoe Hare , also called the Varying Hare, or Snowshoe Rabbit, is a species of hare found in North America. It has the name "snowshoe" because of the large size of its hind feet and the marks its tail leaves. The animal's feet prevent it from sinking into the snow when it hops and walks...

 (Lepus americanus), North American Porcupine

North American Porcupine

The North American Porcupine , also known as Canadian Porcupine or Common Porcupine, is a large rodent in the New World porcupine family. The Beaver is the only rodent larger than the North American Porcupine found in North America...

 (Erithyzon dorsatum), fisher

Fisher (animal)

The fisher is a medium-size mammal native to North America. It is a member of the mustelid family, commonly referred to as the weasel family. The fisher is closely related to but larger than the American Marten...

 (Martes pennanti), North American Beaver (Castor canadensis), bobcat

Bobcat

The bobcat is a North American mammal of the cat family Felidae, appearing during the Irvingtonian stage of around 1.8 million years ago . With twelve recognized subspecies, it ranges from southern Canada to northern Mexico, including most of the continental United States...

 (Lynx rufus), American Marten

American Marten

The American marten is a North American member of the family Mustelidae, sometimes referred to as the pine marten. The name "pine marten" is derived from the common but distinct Eurasian species of Martes...

 (Martes americana), raccoon

Raccoon

Procyon is a genus of nocturnal mammals, comprising three species commonly known as raccoons, in the family Procyonidae. The most familiar species, the common raccoon , is often known simply as "the" raccoon, as the two other raccoon species in the genus are native only to the tropics and are...

 (Procyon lotor) and muskrat

Muskrat

The muskrat , the only species in genus Ondatra, is a medium-sized semi-aquatic rodent native to North America, and introduced in parts of Europe, Asia, and South America. The muskrat is found in wetlands and is a very successful animal over a wide range of climates and habitats...

 (Ondatra zibethica). The area is habitat for maritime ringlet butterflies (Coenonympha nipisiquit

Coenonympha nipisiquit

The rare Maritime Ringlet is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It is a "species at risk" in Canada due to water pollution and its limited range. Its range is restricted in Canada from New Brunswick to Quebec.-About:...

) and other invertebrates. Birds include many seabirds, a large colony of Great Blue Heron

Great Blue Heron

The Great Blue Heron is a large wading bird in the heron family Ardeidae, common near the shores of open water and in wetlands over most of North and Central America as well as the West Indies and the Galápagos Islands. It is a rare vagrant to Europe, with records from Spain, the Azores and England...

 (Ardea herodias), the largest remaining population of the endangered Piping Plover

Piping Plover

The Piping Plover is a small sand-colored, sparrow-sized shorebird that nests and feeds along coastal sand and gravel beaches in North America. The adult has yellow-orange legs, a black band across the forehead from eye to eye, and a black ring around the neck...

 and one of the largest colonies of Double-crested Cormorant

Double-crested Cormorant

The Double-crested Cormorant is a member of the cormorant family of seabirds. It occurs along inland waterways as well as in coastal areas, and is widely distributed across North America, from the Aleutian Islands in Alaska down to Florida and Mexico...

 (Phalacrocorax auritus) in the world.

Threats and preservation

Most of this ecoregion has been altered by logging and clearance for agriculture with only 3% of original habitat remaining and that highly fragmented. The only large block of intact habitat remains in the area around Kouchibouguac National Park

Kouchibouguac National Park

Kouchibouguac National Park is located on the east coast of New Brunswick, north of the town of Richibucto. The park includes barrier islands, sand dunes, lagoons, salt marshes and forests. It provides habitat for seabirds, including the endangered Piping Plover, and the second largest tern colony...

in New Brunswick, although even here logging is ongoing.