Heritage Community Foundation Presents
Alberta Online Encyclopedia
Top Left of Navigation Bar The Grassland Region Title
Species at Risk in AlbertaView our site layout to navigate to specific areasSearch our site for informationObtain help for navigating our sitePlease emails us your questions and comments!View our partners that helped us in this project

Back to Natural Regions map
The Boreal Forest Region
The Canadian Shield Region
The Foothills Region
The Grassland Region
The Parkland Region
The Rocky Mountain Region

Visit Alberta Source!
Visit the Heritage Community Foundation
Visit Canada's Digital Collections

The Mixedgrass Vegetation

The vegetation of the Mixedgrass Subregion is similar to the Dry Mixedgrass Subregion. However, it is characterized by greater biomass production and a greater abundance of species that tend to favour cooler and moister sites. Species such as Western Porcupine Grass and Northern Wheat Grass are more predominant than in the Dry Mixedgrass Subregion.

The majority of Mixedgrass vegetation is dominated by Spear grass, Western Porcupine Grass, Western Wheat Grass as well as Northern Wheat Grass.   Mesic sites are generally home to Western Wheat Grass -Northern Wheat Grass communities while fine-textured soils, like those in glacial lake basins, are characterized by the Northern Wheat Grass - June Grass community. On the other hand, species such as Blue Grama, thrive on the drier, more exposed sites.

The Prickly RoseTypical vegetation of sandy areas includes Spear Grass, Sand Grass, June Grass and a variety of low shrubs including Silverberry, Western Snowberry and Prickly Rose.  Extensive Narrow-leaved Cottonwood woodlands occur on fluvial terraces of the Oldman, Belly, Waterton, and St. Mary's rivers and nowhere else in Canada.

Unfortunately a great deal of the natural vegetation of the Mixedgrass Subregion has been replaced by agricultural crops. The moister, cooler conditions of this Subregion are reflected in the greater productivity of rangelands which typically produce 25% more biomass.

Information provided by and printed with the permission of Alberta Community Development, Parks and Protected Areas.

Albertasource.ca | Contact Us | Partnerships
            For more on the natural history of Alberta, visit Peel’s Prairie Provinces.
Copyright © Heritage Community Foundation All Rights Reserved