Arctic Ecozone+ status and trends assessment 1 2 3 4 J. Eamer, G. Henry, A. Gunn, and L. Harding Canadian Biodiversity: Ecosystem Status and Trends 2010 Technical Ecozone+ Report 1 Environment Canada (to 2011); current: SLR Consulting (Canada) Ltd., 200-1620 West 8th Avenue, Vancouver, BC 2 Department of Geography, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC 3 368 Roland Road, Salt Spring Island, BC 4 SciWrite, 2339 Sumpter Drive, Coquitlam, BC Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication Arctic Ecozone+ status and trends assessment. Issued also in French under title: Évaluation de l’état et des tendences de l’écozone+ de l’Arctique. Electronic monograph in PDF format. ISBN 978-0-660-23433-5 Cat. no.: En14-43/01-1-2014E-PDF Information contained in this publication or product may be reproduced, in part or in whole, and by any means, for personal or public non-commercial purposes, without charge or further permission, unless otherwise specified. You are asked to: • Exercise due diligence in ensuring the accuracy of the materials reproduced; • Indicate both the complete title of the materials reproduced, as well as the author organization; and • Indicate that the reproduction is a copy of an official work that is published by the Government of Canada and that the reproduction has not been produced in affiliation with or with the endorsement of the Government of Canada. Commercial reproduction and distribution is prohibited except with written permission from the author. For more information, please contact Environment Canada’s Inquiry Centre at 1- 800-668-6767 (in Canada only) or 819-997-2800 or email to [email protected]. This report should be cited as: Eamer, J., Henry, G., Gunn, A and Harding L. 2014. Arctic Ecozone+ Ecozone+ Status and Trends Assessment. Canadian Biodiversity: Ecosystem Status and Trends 2010, Technical Ecozone+ Report. Canadian Councils of Resource Ministers, Ottawa, ON. xii + 246 pp. http://www.biodivcanada.ca/default.asp?lang=En&n=137E1147-1 © Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada, 2014 Aussi disponible en français PREFACE The Canadian Councils of Resource Ministers developed a Biodiversity Outcomes Framework (Environment Canada, 2006) in 2006 to focus conservation and restoration actions under the Canadian Biodiversity Strategy (Federal-Provincial-Territorial Biodiversity Working Group, 1995). Canadian Biodiversity: Ecosystem Status and Trends 2010 (Federal, Provincial and Territorial Governments of Canada, 2010) was the first report under this framework. It presents 22 key findings that emerged from synthesis and analysis of background technical reports prepared on the status and trends for many cross-cutting national themes (the Technical Thematic Report Series) and for individual terrestrial and marine ecozones+ of Canada (the Technical Ecozone+ Reports). More than 500 experts participated in data analysis, writing, and review of these foundation documents. Summary reports were also prepared for each terrestrial ecozone+ to present the ecozone+-specific evidence related to each of the 22 national key findings (the Evidence for Key Findings Summary Report Series). Together, the full complement of these products constitutes the 2010 Ecosystem Status and Trends Report (ESTR) (Figure 1). Figure 1. Ecosystem status and trends (ESTR) report series. This report is the technical report for the Arctic Ecozone+ which includes all, or portions of, Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Quebec, and Newfoundland and Labrador. A range of authors and reviewers contributed to the report from government, academia, non- governmental, and consulting sectors. No claim is made that the information presented is exhaustive. As in all ESTR products, the time frames over which trends are assessed vary – both because time frames that are meaningful for these diverse aspects of ecosystems vary and because the assessment is based on the best available information, which is over a range of time periods. Information about the broader ESTR project and its other reporting products is available at: http://www.biodivcanada.ca/default.asp?lang=En&n=83A35E06-1. i Sources of information for this report include research results published in books, scientific journals, and government reports, and records from monitoring and management-related studies. Information from experts is also included (as personal communications) for some subjects when, for example, study results have not yet been published. An important source of information throughout this report is the series of thematic reports prepared for the ESTR. In most cases, these reports are national in scope, with status and trends synthesized both nationally and by ecozone+. The reports include analyses of specific datasets, set in the context of the broader scientific literature. In this report, the thematic reports are summarized and discussed in terms of the Arctic Ecozone+. Key trend analyses are reproduced. Note, however, that analyses in the thematic reports cover a range of dates and have not been updated. This report also draws on summaries and features prepared for the main ESTR report Canadian biodiversity: Ecosystem status and trends 2010 (Federal, Provincial and Territorial Governments of Canada, 2010) and on Arctic Council’s Arctic Biodiversity Assessment (CAFF, 2013), a source of information on Canadian Arctic biodiversity and on the circumpolar context of status and trends. ii Ecological classification system – ecozones+ A slightly modified version of the Terrestrial Ecozones of Canada, described in the National Ecological Framework for Canada (Ecological Stratification Working Group, 1995), provided the ecosystem-based units for all reports related to this project (Figure 2). Modifications from the original framework include: adjustments to terrestrial boundaries to reflect improvements from ground-truthing exercises; the combination of three Arctic ecozones into one; the use of two ecoprovinces – Western Interior Basin and Newfoundland Boreal; the addition of nine marine ecosystem-based units; and, the addition of the Great Lakes as a unit. This modified classification system is referred to as “ecozones+” throughout these reports to avoid confusion with the more familiar “ecozones” of the original framework (Rankin et al., 2011). Figure 2. Canada’s ecozones+. The southern boundary of the Arctic Ecozone+ corresponds with the northern edge of the boreal forest. Adjustments to the Taiga Shield/Arctic boundary, based on ground-truthing, were made in the ecozone+ classification. As noted above, three Arctic terrestrial ecozones were combined into the Arctic Ecozone+. This is a vast and diverse ecozone+ and the original three Arctic ecozones represent distinct ecological units. Where appropriate they are discussed separately and referred to as the Southern Arctic, Northern Arctic, and Arctic Cordillera regions of the Arctic Ecozone+. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Lead authors: J. Eamer, G. Henry, A. Gunn and L. Harding Contributing authors: R. Brown, S. Carrière, B. Collins, S. Elmendorf, G. Gauthier, J. Goulet, C. Haas, E. Jacobsen, J. Paquet, T. Prowse, A. Shabbar, R. Smith, and L. Toretti Authors of ESTR Thematic Technical Reports from which material is drawn Ecological classification system for the ecosystem status and trends report: R. Rankin, M. Austin, and J. Rice Guidance for the preparation of ESTR products – classifying threats to biodiversity: C. Wong Guidance for the preparation of ESTR products – land classification scheme: J. Frisk Large-scale climate oscillations influencing Canada, 1900–2008: B. Bonsal and A. Shabbar Canadian climate trends, 1950–2007: X. Zhang, R. Brown, L. Vincent, W. Skinner, Y. Feng, and E. Mekis Wildlife pathogens and diseases in Canada: F.A. Leighton Trends in permafrost conditions and ecology in northern Canada: S. Smith Northern caribou population trends in Canada: A. Gunn, D. Russell, and J. Eamer Landbird trends in Canada, 1968–2006: C. Downes, P. Blancher, and B. Collins Trends in Canadian shorebirds: C. Gratto-Trevor, R.I.G. Morrison, B. Collin, J. Rausch, M. Drever, and V. Johnston Monitoring biodiversity remotely: a selection of trends measured from satellite observations of Canada: F. Ahern, J. Frisk, R. Latifovic, and D. Pouliot Biodiversity in Canadian lakes and rivers: W.A. Monk and D.J. Baird Review conducted by scientists and renewable resource and wildlife managers from relevant territorial and federal government agencies through a review process recommended by the ESTR Steering Committee. Additional reviews of specific sections conducted by university researchers in their field of expertise at the request of the authors. Peer review of the final draft coordinated by the Canadian Society for Ecology and Evolution. The report was greatly improved by the reviews of D. Berteaux, P. Hale, and one anonymous reviewer. Direction provided by the ESTR Steering Committee composed of representatives of federal, provincial and territorial agencies. Editing, synthesis, technical contributions, maps and graphics, and report production by the ESTR Secretariat, J. Eamer, M. Osmond-Jones, P. Lilley, K. Badger, E. Jacobsen, and M. Connolly. Aboriginal Traditional Knowledge compiled from publicly available sources by D. Hurlburt. iv Table of Contents PREFACE ......................................................................................................................................................... I Ecological classification system – ecozones+ ......................................................................................