Before human settlement, forests covered most of Ontario and two major forest communities became established in the Grand River watershed. These are the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Forest (Alleghenian) Region and the Deciduous Forest (Carolinian) Region of Canada. Each Region is characterized by plants and animals that thrive because of special conditions of climate, moisture, soil and the shape of the land.
In the Grand River watershed, the two Forest Regions are roughly divided by an imaginary line drawn between Cambridge and Glen Morris. Above this imaginary line of demarcation, the native forest is that of the lowland Great Lakes-St. Lawrence forest type, with Maples, Oaks, Eastern White Pine, Red Pine, Eastern Hemlock, and Yellow Birch.
Below the line, the Carolinian zone is the richest and most diverse life zone in Ontario. Because of the milder climate, it contains many species of plants and animals that are common to more southern forests. Nut bearing trees, such as Hickories and Butternuts, grow with southern trees such as Mulberries, Sassafras, and Tulip Trees.
In areas of sandy and thinly developed soil, such as the shores of former glacial lakes, specific plants and grasses adapted to the dry, 'prairie-like' conditions. Widespread communities of prairie plants existed in the early history of the Grand River watershed in areas like the Paris and Norfolk Sand Plains. Prairies and savannah plains occupied approximately 28,000 ha in southern Ontario before European settlement. Wild fires and wild animal grazing perpetuated the dry open conditions essential for the survival of prairie species. With fire prevention and other changes imposed by human settlement on the land, many of these prairies disappeared, leaving a few remnants near Brantford, and in the lower part of the Grand River watershed.
[[Home]][Natural History][Physiography][Climate Zones][Vegetation]