Quebec

===Flora and fauna===
[[File:Ecoregions_quebec_map.svg|thumb|Different forest areas of Quebec. {{legend|#93ACA7|1. Middle Arctic Tundra}}
{{legend|#536C67|2. Low Arctic Tundra}}
{{legend|#00D4AA|3. Torngat Mountain Tundra}}
{{legend|#004455|4. Eastern Canadian Shield Taiga}}
{{legend|#89A02C|5. Southern Hudson Bay Taiga}}
{{legend|#2D5016|6. Central Canadian Shield Forests}}
{{legend|#504416|7. Eastern Canadian Forests}}
{{legend|#55FF99|8. Eastern Forest/Boreal Transition}}
{{legend|#C8AB37|9. Eastern Great Lakes Lowland Forests}}
{{legend|#7137C8|10. New England/Acadian Forests}}
{{legend|#99FF55|11. Gulf of St. Lawrence Lowland Forests}}]]
Given the geology of the province and its different climates, there are a number of large areas of vegetation in Quebec. These areas, listed in order from the northernmost to the southernmost are: the [[tundra]], the [[taiga]], the [[Boreal forest of Canada|Canadian boreal forest]] (coniferous), [[Temperate broadleaf and mixed forest|mixed forest]] and [[deciduous]] forest.<ref name="naturalhistory2" /> On the edge of Ungava Bay and Hudson Strait is the tundra, whose flora is limited to [[lichen]] with less than 50 growing days per year. Further south, the climate is conducive to the growth of the [[Boreal forest of Canada|Canadian boreal forest]], bounded on the north by the taiga. Not as arid as the tundra, the taiga is associated with the subarctic regions of the Canadian Shield<ref name="types veg2">{{cite web|title=Types de végétations du Québec|url=http://www.mrnf.gouv.qc.ca/forets/connaissances/connaissances-inventaire-zones.jsp|url-status=live|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110827041242/http://www.mrnf.gouv.qc.ca/forets/connaissances/connaissances-inventaire-zones.jsp|archivedate=August 27, 2011|accessdate=June 22, 2011|publisher=Government of Quebec|language=fr}}</ref> and is characterized by a greater number of both plant (600) and animal (206) species. The taiga covers about 20% of the total area of Quebec.<ref name="naturalhistory2" /> The Canadian boreal forest is the northernmost and most abundant of the three forest areas in Quebec that straddle the Canadian Shield and the upper lowlands of the province. Given a warmer climate, the diversity of organisms is also higher: there are about 850 plant species and 280 vertebrate species. The [[mixed forest]] is a transition zone between the Canadian boreal forest and [[deciduous forest]]. This area contains a diversity of plant (1000) and [[vertebrate]]s (350) species, despite relatively cool temperatures. The ecozone mixed forest is characteristic of the [[Laurentides|Laurentians]], the [[Chaudière-Appalaches|Appalachians]] and the eastern lowland forests.<ref name="types veg2" /> The third most northern forest area is characterized by [[deciduous forest]]s. Because of its climate, this area has the greatest diversity of species, including more than 1600 [[vascular plants]] and 440 vertebrates.

The total forest area of Quebec is estimated at {{convert|750300|sqkm|abbr=on}}.<ref name="domaine_forestier2">{{cite web|publisher=Ministère des Ressources naturelles et de la Faune|title=Domaine forestier|url=http://www.mrnf.gouv.qc.ca/forets/quebec/quebec-milieu.jsp|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120406114232/http://www.mrnf.gouv.qc.ca/forets/quebec/quebec-milieu.jsp|archivedate=April 6, 2012|accessdate=August 19, 2007|language=fr}}</ref> From the [[Abitibi-Témiscamingue]] to the [[Côte-Nord|North Shore]], the forest is composed primarily of conifers such as the ''[[Abies balsamea]]'', the [[jack pine]], the [[Picea glauca|white spruce]], the [[Picea mariana|black spruce]] and the [[Larix laricina|tamarack]]. The deciduous forest of the Great Lakes–St. Lawrence Lowlands is mostly composed of deciduous species such as the [[Acer saccharum|sugar maple]], the [[Acer rubrum|red maple]], the [[Fraxinus americana|white ash]], the [[Fagus grandifolia|American beech]], the [[Juglans cinerea|butternut (white walnut)]], the [[Ulmus americana|American elm]], the [[Tilia americana|basswood]], the [[Carya cordiformis|bitternut hickory]] and the [[Quercus rubra|northern red oak]] as well as some conifers such as the [[eastern white pine]] and the [[Thuja occidentalis|northern whitecedar]]. The distribution areas of the [[Betula papyrifera|paper birch]], the [[Populus tremuloides|trembling aspen]] and the [[Sorbus|mountain ash]] cover more than half of Quebec's territory.<ref>{{cite web|title=L'Arboretum du Québec|url=http://www.arboquebecium.com/index.html|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110707155005/http://www.arboquebecium.com/index.html|archivedate=July 7, 2011|accessdate=June 25, 2011|website=Arboquebecium.com|language=fr}}</ref>

Biodiversity of the estuary and gulf of Saint Lawrence River<ref>{{cite web|publisher=Environnement Canada|title=La biodiversité du Saint-Laurent|url=http://www.qc.ec.gc.ca/faune/biodiv/fr/mammiferes/marins.html|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110807111032/http://www.qc.ec.gc.ca/faune/biodiv/fr/mammiferes/marins.html|archivedate=August 7, 2011|accessdate=July 12, 2011|language=fr}}</ref> includes aquatic mammal wildlife, such as the [[blue whale]], the [[Beluga (whale)|beluga]], the [[minke whale]] and the [[harp seal]] (earless seal). The Nordic marine animals include the [[walrus]] and the [[narwhal]].<ref>{{cite web|publisher=Ministère des Ressources naturelles et de la Faune|title=Espèces fauniques du Nunavik|url=http://www.mrnf.gouv.qc.ca/faune/especes/nunavik/index.jsp|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110706201853/http://www.mrnf.gouv.qc.ca/faune/especes/nunavik/index.jsp|archivedate=July 6, 2011|accessdate=July 12, 2011|language=fr}}</ref> Inland waters are populated by small to large freshwater fish, such as the [[largemouth bass]], the [[American pickerel]], the [[walleye]], the ''[[Acipenser oxyrinchus]]'', the [[muskellunge]], the [[Atlantic cod]], the [[Arctic char]], the [[brook trout]], the ''[[Microgadus tomcod]]'' (tomcod), the [[Atlantic salmon]], and the [[rainbow trout]].<ref>{{cite web|publisher=Ministère des Ressources naturelles et de la Faune|title=Poissons du Québec|url=http://www.mrnf.gouv.qc.ca/faune/peche/poissons/index.jsp|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110706201909/http://www.mrnf.gouv.qc.ca/faune/peche/poissons/index.jsp|archivedate=July 6, 2011|accessdate=July 12, 2011|language=fr}}</ref>

Among the birds commonly seen in the southern part of Quebec are the [[American robin]], the [[house sparrow]], the [[red-winged blackbird]], the [[mallard]], the [[common grackle]], the [[blue jay]], the [[American crow]], the [[black-capped chickadee]], some [[New World warbler|warblers]] and [[swallow]]s, the [[European starling|starling]] and the [[rock pigeon]].{{sfn |Brûlotte|2009}} Avian fauna includes birds of prey like the [[golden eagle]], the [[peregrine falcon]], the [[snowy owl]] and the [[bald eagle]]. Sea and semi-aquatic birds seen in Quebec are mostly the [[Canada goose]], the [[double-crested cormorant]], the [[northern gannet]], the [[European herring gull]], the [[great blue heron]], the [[sandhill crane]], the [[Atlantic puffin]] and the [[common loon]].<ref>{{cite web|author=Lepage, Denis|title=List of Quebec birds|url=http://www.oiseauxqc.org/listeannotee.jsp|url-status=live|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716032400/http://www.oiseauxqc.org/listeannotee.jsp|archivedate=July 16, 2011|accessdate=June 24, 2011|website=Les Oiseaux du Québec|language=fr}}</ref>

The large land wildlife includes the [[white-tailed deer]], the [[moose]], the [[muskox]], the [[Reindeer|caribou (reindeer)]], the [[American black bear]] and the [[polar bear]]. The medium-sized land wildlife includes the [[cougar]], the [[coyote]], the [[eastern wolf]], the [[bobcat]], the [[Arctic fox]], the fox, etc. The small animals seen most commonly include the [[eastern grey squirrel]], the [[snowshoe hare]], the [[groundhog]], the [[skunk]], the [[raccoon]], the [[chipmunk]] and the [[North American beaver|Canadian beaver]].