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Soil Landscape Illustrations of the Northwest Territories

Almost all soil landscapes in the Northwest Territories are underlain by permafrost with resulting effects on soil development and the landscape. The development of soils is affected by cryogenic processes, organisms, parent material, time, weathering and the translocation of materials. The landscape is dominated by various permafrost landforms and patterned ground types (e.g. pingos, palsas, peat plateaus, circles, nets, earth hummocks and polygons), and is often underlain by thick ground ice. The landscape is thus very sensitive to natural and man-made disturbances. North of the arctic tree line these landscapes are part of the Arctic ecoclimatic zone. Although the northern part of this zone is sparsely vegetated, the southern part is covered by shrubby tundra vegetation. South of the arctic tree line the landscapes are covered by open lichen - coniferous forest (Subarctic zone) and closed canopy forest (Boreal zone).