Aspen parkland

Aspen parkland
Aspen parkland within Canada
Ecology
Realm	Nearctic
Biome	Temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands
Borders	List Alberta-British Columbia foothills forests Central British Columbia Mountain forests Mid-Continental Canadian forests Montana Valley and Foothill grasslands Muskwa-Slave Lake forests North Central Rockies forests Northern Cordillera forests Northern mixed grasslands Northern tall grasslands Western Great Lakes forests
Bird species	206[1]
Mammal species	72[1]
Geography
Area	397,304 km2 (153,400 sq mi)
Countries	Canada United States
States/Provinces	British Columbia Alberta Saskatchewan Manitoba North Dakota Minnesota
Climate type	Humid continental (Dfb)
Conservation
Conservation status	Critical/Endangered[2]
Habitat loss	63.76%[1]
Protected	2.95%[1]

Aspen parkland refers to a very large area of transitional biome between prairie and boreal forest in two sections, namely the Peace River Country of northwestern Alberta crossing the border into British Columbia, and a much larger area stretching from central Alberta, all across central Saskatchewan to south central Manitoba and continuing into small parts of the US states of Minnesota and North Dakota. ^[3] Aspen parkland consists of groves of aspen, poplar and spruce, interspersed with areas of prairie grasslands, also intersected by large stream and river valleys lined with aspen-spruce forests and dense shrubbery. This is the largest boreal-grassland transition zone in the world and is a zone of constant competition and tension as prairie and woodlands struggle to overtake each other within the parkland.^[4]

This article focuses on this biome in North America. Similar biomes also exist in Russia north of the steppes (forest steppe) and in northern Canada.