Her photographs of this park, of the barren flats of land reaching out into the delta and punctuated with a thick band of greenery that curves along the river’s edge, capture this vision.” Ann Thomas, Curator of Photography at the National Gallery of Canada in: Passionate Vision ~ Discovering Canada’s National Parks by Roberta Bondar, Douglas & McIntyre Publishers, Vancouver 2000 pp. As she viewed Wood Buffalo National Park’s huge, virtually inaccessible tract of salt and mud flats from a helicopter, Bondar remembered looking at the Earth from space and recognizing the importance of protecting vast areas of wilderness. “Although the aerial photographs are taken from only a few thousand metres above the surface of the Earth, they offer a glimpse of how the planet must look from space. SEE ALSO Biodiversity Canada’s Grasslands Biome resource Grasslands are important as habitat for many species, including many species at risk. They also provide soil and water conservation, nutrient recycling, pollination, habitat for livestock grazing, genetic material for crops, recreation, climate regulation, and storage for about 34% of the terrestrial global carbon stock. Maintained historically by drought, fire, and grazing, temperate grasslands are the Earth’s most altered, and one of the most threatened ecosystems, with the highest risk of biome-wide biodiversity loss. Although other ecosystem types, such as oak savannahs, alvars, and dunes support grasslands, this finding focuses on prairie and steppe. Grasslands are open ecosystems dominated by herbaceous (non-woody) vegetation. Typical temperate grasslands, like those in Canada, occur where there is low moisture, cold winters, and deep, fertile soils. SEE ALSO Biodiversity Canada’s Forest Biome resource Forests also provide ecosystem services, including the regulation of water flow across the landscape, erosion control, purification, climate stabilization, and immense economic benefits. It is estimated that approximately two-thirds of the species in Canada are associated with forests for at least part of their life cycle. 27 to 30.įorest Biome Boreal Forest, Prince Albert National Park of Canada, Saskatchewan, Canadaįorests are dynamic and diverse ecosystems, where complex interactions occur between species and ecological processes, from below ground to high in the canopy.įorests are important to biodiversity because they provide habitat for a wide array of plant and animal species from microorganisms to large mammals and because they are a pool of genetic diversity. Ann Thomas, Curator of Photography at the National Gallery of Canada in: Passionate Vision ~ Discovering Canada’s National Parks by Roberta Bondar, Douglas & McIntyre Publishers, Vancouver 2000 pp. With their clear and passionate detailing of the forms and moods of the landscape, Bondar’s images belong to the long tradition, embodied most recently in the work of twentieth-century American photographer Ansel Adams, of documenting the natural environment through photography”. “In the years following her space flight, with the eye of an artist and the wisdom of a well-trained microscopist, Roberta Bondar has focused on observing just one sliver of the thin layer of life: the Canadian wilderness. By looking more closely at the biomes, we can begin to understand how intrinsic these ecosystems are to various life forms and, ultimately, the health and wellbeing of human beings. Through these images we can explore both the artistic dimensions of landscape photography and also the diversity and wonder within the various biomes on Earth. Bondar’s fine art photographs capture the natural landscape with respect and curiosity. Canadian Biodiversity: Ecosystem Status and Trends 2010 p2. Examples that follow include: Forests, Grasslands, Wetlands, Lakes and Rivers, Coastal and Marine, Deserts, Ice Across Biomes. (Federal, Provincial and Territorial Governments of Canada. A biome is a large community of plants and animals that occupies a distinct type of environment.
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