Essay on Canada´s Mixedwood Plains and Pollution

: Larchwood Lake may not ever be the same again. The story about Larchwood Lake is not that uncommon. Without doing extensive research into possible things that could occur by lowering the lake level, the Larchwood Lake Homeowner’s Association destroyed the very thing they were trying to protect. Carelessness and poor planning are not the only root causes however. There are a number of reasons that led to the degradation of Larchwood Lake that happen to relate to more macro level environmental issues. Those reasons are poorly designed environmental policy created by the E.P.A., poor understanding of lake ecology by the managers of the land, and false confidence in poorly planned ideas. By looking at how these factors contributed to the degradation of the lake, hopefully we will be able to make more ecological sound decisions in the future.

Canada is a country filled with different and diverse ecozones. Two ecozones in Ontario are the Boreal Shield and the Mixedwood Plains. The Boreal Shield covers a large portion of Canada. It has a lot of wooded areas and holds a small amount of Canada’s population. The Mixedwood Plains is Canada’s smallest ecozone. Even though it’s small, it holds much of Canada’s population. The Mixedwood Plains is a better place to live than the Boreal Shield based on its urban population, its more comfortable climate and its strong economic base.

The mixedwood plains ecozone extends along the Quebec City-Windsor corridor, including the densely-populated region of southern Ontario. Toronto is the most populated place in the mixedwood plains ecozone with a population of 5, 203, 600.. Montreal, Quebec, Ottawa, Hamilton, Windsor, London are also some major urban areas in this ecozone. It is also covers the least amount of ground compared to any other ecozone.

It is also important to point out that, unlike the US movement, Canada’s environmental justice

The mixed wood plain is the best Eco zone to live in. This eco zone, is spreading across the south western Ontario , parts of central and north eastern Ontario, is touching the St.Lawrence river across sourthen part of Qubec.

Prairies provinces have common factors; Landscape, agriculture, climate, that represent in similarities compared to the rest of Canada. Landscape defines the Prairie Provinces as a formal region. With the enormous size of flatland, the immense quantities and high qualities of grains can be produced. This result in majority of land being used for agricultural purposes. In addition, the Prairie Provinces have significant harsh cold winters and mild dry summers compared to other provinces. The key differences are the ecosystem and the natural resources the region provide. Each province unique ecosystem allows different kinds of harvest and animal breed. Moreover, these key differences created different industry and job opportunities.

When analyzing the West region of Canada two groups emerge one being the Prairies of

Manitoba is divided by three of Canada’s seven physiographic regions; Canadian Shield, interior plains, and Hudson Bay Lowland. The Division No. 18 located in the Interior plains. The physical features of the Interior plains are vast areas of low-lying lands with permafrost, vast size treeless tundra and spruce forests. The interior Plains are mainly flat, but the landscape composed of some rolling hills, and deep, wide river valleys. The land slopes in Manitoba gently downward from west to east. In addition, the Plains consist of large sand deposits, freshwater rivers that support tremendously in the biological environment; animals and plants. The surface of the Plains’ landscape is covered with meandering channels of rivers and shallow lakes.

Sea lampreys are a large problem in the Great Lakes. They entered the Great Lakes from the northern and western Atlantic in the 1800s through locks and canals. Sea lampreys are a problem because they prey on large fish, and are one of the major contributors to the decline of species of lake trout and whitefish. They are aggressive predators, and are very parasitic. Only one out of seven fish attacked by sea lampreys will survive.(glcf.org)

What does the zebra do that it became an invasive species? Zoologist Peter Simon Pallas in the Ural, Volga, and Dnieper rivers. However, the zebra mussel has been accidentally introduced to numerous other areas, and has become an invasive species in many countries worldwide. Since the 1980s, they have invaded the Great Lakes and the Hudson River. They are commonly found on the bottom of ships and eat the algae that is food for fish. Inspectors check ships for the mussels before they leave port. Zebra mussels are native to Eastern Europe and Western Russia and were brought over to the Great Lakes in the ballast water of ships. Populations of zebra mussels were first discovered in the Great Lakes in 1988. Impacts: Zebra mussels can be a

Not only are there impacts from the ecological perspective, but also from the economical perspective (Christianson, 2015). Invasive animals for example, such as the Golden apple snail, pose a striking economic impact on the valuable fisheries that they invade (Strayer, 2010). The freshwater mollusk is another good example of an invasive species that has a profound impact on the ecology of the environment which it invades (Strayer, 2010). The freshwater mollusk disrupts the food web from its base, causing imbalance in the freshwater ecosystem it invaded (Strayer,

Zebra mussels pose serious threats because of their potential to foul industrial facilities and plug public water supply intakes that draw from infested waters. Invasive species also can interfere with the operation of locks and dams on rivers or damage boat hulls and engines.

due to pesticides, fertilizers human waste, mining, and manufacturing, the water is getting polluted. Pesticides cause water pollution by flowing into the runoff water that travels to the lake and gets polluted. Fertilizers cause water pollution because now farmers are using chemcal based fertilizers that cause the ground water to become contaminated or polluted over a long period of time. Human waste causes water pollution because it has many chemical that would be very harmful if it was ingested. Mining causes pollution because the machines that excavate the coal or ore use water to cool down. This run-off water, if released to a body of water, will cause algea growth and kill fish. Manufacturing Causes pollution as well because the machinary used to manufacture goods  uses water cool down and when released to water, it increases bacteia to grow and kill fish.

Zebra mussels have the potential to cause a decline in ecosystem goods, and the benefits that reservoirs provide. Irrigation reservoirs artificially change the environment. This would cause larger amounts of distress in the community if the reservoirs did not provide benefits such as recreation, including fishing, as well as provide wildlife habitat (Adams & Lee, 2010). Zebra mussels can render these reservoirs unusable for recreation because their sharp shells can cut the feet of users. Zebra mussels also clear the water due to their filter feeders, which can result in a decrease or change in fish populations, as well outcompete native mussel species. This clearing of the water can also result in algal blooms (Vanderploeg, et al., 2001). It would not be beneficial to irrigate land with water that has algal blooms because toxic bacteria may cause the algal blooms. This would be particularly detrimental when growing

And it is precisely because of nature’s unpredictability that we must be careful in how we approach such efforts. We’re already struggling with how mankind has polluted our rivers. And, if commercial fishing continues without careful monitoring, we could end up in a state of aquatic emergency. Also, the deliberate introduction of invasive species can be detrimental to marine life. Take for example, the introduction of predatory fish like the black bass. The species was brought to the Fynbos Rivers in South Africa with the purpose to improve their conditions. The result was that they spread like wildfire and ate their way through their fish population, leaving aquatic deserts in their wake. We must be careful in not to endanger what took nature centuries to