Vegetation types in the Northwest Territories and Nunavut

Closed canopy broadleaf forest (boreal)

A closed‑canopy boreal broadleaf forest features dense, overlapping foliage that limits light to the forest floor.

Closed canopy coniferous forest (boreal)

A closed‑canopy boreal coniferous forest is characterized by dense evergreen tree cover that heavily shades the ground.

Cotton grass tundra (low arctic)

A low‑arctic cotton grass tundra is an open, wind‑exposed landscape dominated by cotton grass tussocks.

Open lichen - black spruce forest (subarctic)

An open lichen–black spruce forest in the subarctic is characterized by widely spaced, slow‑growing spruce trees over a ground layer dominated by lichens.

Patchy vegetation (mid arctic)

Patchy vegetation (mid Arctic) – Arctic poppy and whitlowgrass.

Sparsely vegetated (high arctic)

Sparsely vegetated (high Arctic) – saxifrage and Arctic willows.