Monday, December 15, 2008

All about Saskatchewan

Saskatchewan
Introduction
In this report will be information about the soil, vegetation and climate zones of Saskatchewan.

Climate zones
In this section it will discuss the five main climate zones of Saskatchewan.

The five main climate zones of Saskatchewan are the arctic and tundra climate which is way up in the north end of Saskatchewan. The subarctic climate zones is in part of central Saskatchewan and goes up to about Lake Athabasca. The humid continental climate zone is in the south-central part of Saskatchewan. The subhumid continental climate zone is in the southern part of the province and is in the south-western part of the province. The semi arid climate zone is in the south western corner of Saskatchewan but around Maple Creek there is some subhumid continental climate zone.

Vegetation zones
The next section of this report will discuss the six main vegetation zones of Saskatchewan.

In the forest and tundra zone there are very few plants and most of them are shrubs and small bushes. There are no major plants because the ground is frozen all year round. In the summer the ground thaws, but not much so the plants only grow so big.
The boreal forest zone is made up of mostly coniferous trees and those trees that do not have leaves but have needles (evergreen).
Next we have the mixed forest zone is where there is both coniferous and deciduous trees grow in the same place (deciduous trees have leaves).
Next we have the parkland zone which is made up of mostly deciduous trees or trees that have leaves. This zone is in the south-central part of Saskatchewan.
In the southern part of the province you will find tall prairie grasses as the name would suggest, are mostly tall grasses.
Short prairie grass is in the south western part of Saskatchewan and is mostly short grasses. There is some tall prairie grass out in that Maple Creek area.
Continued on page 2

Soil Zones
The last section of this report will be about the five main soil zones of Saskatchewan.

Way up north were there is not that much civilization is the Canadian Shield. The Canadian Shield covers about half of Canada and is very ancient rock. On the southern edge there is a little bit of good farming soil. The northern area of the Canadian Shield is tundra and boreal forest. In the Canadian Shield there are lots of good mineral deposits like uranium, and zinc.
The gray soil zone is where the mixed forest grows because the soil is rich and it is all around a good quality. A farmer could easily average about 30 bushels of wheat per acre.
The black soil zone is good farming quality and the frost comes a little later on in the year. A farmer could also average 30 bushels of wheat per acre.
Next we have the dark brown soil zone and that is good for crops but it is not as good as it could be. There is often a low amount of rainfall in this region. A farmer could average 25 bushels of wheat per acre.
Lastly there is the brown soil zone. This soil is not that great for crops and there is often little to no rainfall in the region. The average for wheat is 20 bushels per acre.

Conclusion
In conclusion the climate zones of Saskatchewan are the arctic climate, subarctic climate, humid continental, sub humid continental, and the semi arid climate zone. As well as the vegetation zones such as the arctic and tundra, the boreal forest, the mixed forest, parkland, tall prairie grass, and the small prairie grasses. And finally the soil zones of Saskatchewan are the Canadian shield zone, the gray soil zones, the black soil zone, the dark brown soil zone, the brown soil zone.

That’s all folks
By: Trevor Lang