Natural Environments: Places of Rich Interactions Between Wildlife, Flora and Their Surroundings

What is a natural environment?

The natural environment is one of the two components of every ecosystem. Ecosystems are made up of the biotope and the biocenosis. The biotope, which is equated with the natural environment, is the lithosphere, hydrosphere and atmosphere portion of an ecosystem. The biocenosis is the biosphere portion (wildlife, vegetation and microorganisms) of an ecosystem.

Unlike artificial environments (such as golf courses, municipal parks and zoos), natural environments have retained their ecological functions of resilience, self-maintenance and operation, which support biodiversity in a dynamic equilibrium without, or sometimes despite, human intervention.

Types of natural environments are defined by the wildlife, flora and environmental conditions present, as well as by the dynamic interactions between these three components. This results in a wide diversity of ecosystems and related ecological functions.

Natural environments are usually either aquatic or terrestrial. Marshes and swamps, watercourses and their banks, forests and grasslands are all examples of natural environments.

What are natural environments for?

Natural environments provide us with important ecological services, generally grouped into four categories:

1. Provisioning services

Natural environments allow humans to obtain tangible products such as food, fuel and materials.

2. Regulating services

Natural environments also provide intangible benefits such as flood control, climate regulation and pollination.

3. Supporting services

Natural environments are necessary for the production of all other goods, if only through their contribution to the water and carbon cycles and to soil formation.

4. Socio-cultural services

Natural environments are a source of inspiration for human beings. They meet certain spiritual, educational, recreational and aesthetic needs.

Types of natural environments

In Quebec, the most commonly found natural environments are:

• Forests
• Grasslands
• Old fields
• Wetlands
• Aquatic environments

Forest

Forests are fairly dense wooded areas. They are ecosystems that contain many species of mosses, herbaceous, shrub and tree vegetation, climbing plants, microorganisms, insects and a variety of wildlife.

Primary forests (or natural forests) represent less than 10% of Quebec’s forests. A forest is said to be secondary when it has been planted.

The boreal forest dominates Quebec’s landscape.

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Grassland

Grasslands (or meadows) are generally flat areas covered with herbaceous vegetation, mainly grasses and legumes. Grasslands serve as pasture for herbivores.

Grasslands located near watercourses that are flooded during exceptional high water are called floodplains.

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Old field

Old fields are parcels of land that have been left unused for several years. They are often covered with shrub and herbaceous vegetation. Old fields can act as buffer zones or transition areas near natural environments. An environmental characterization may be needed to establish the ecological value of an old field in an urban or rural setting.

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Wetland

Wetlands are ecosystems with high biodiversity, because they offer a wide variety of environmental conditions and various combinations of nutrients.

Marshes, swamps, peatlands and ponds are considered wetlands.

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Aquatic environment

Aquatic environments include bodies of water, watercourses and their riparian buffers. They may be natural or man-made. Although they can dry up, aquatic environments are covered with water most of the time.

Streams, rivers, large rivers and lakes are examples of aquatic environments.

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Conservation of natural environments

Habitat loss is the greatest threat to biodiversity. To continue benefiting from the services that natural environments provide, and to maintain a broad diversity of wildlife and flora, it is important to preserve natural environments or to find ways to compensate for their degradation or destruction when they must be used, and to do so responsibly and sustainably.

The federal and provincial governments have developed inventories of animal and plant species facing varying levels of extinction risk.

Given the close links between natural environments and animal and plant species, work in natural environments that are home to species listed in these inventories is strictly regulated.

The Act respecting threatened or vulnerable species

Through the Act respecting threatened or vulnerable species, the Government of Quebec seeks to preserve the biodiversity of all animal and plant species found in Quebec. An advisory committee of specialists is responsible for drawing up the list of threatened and vulnerable species for wildlife and for plants. These lists are taken into account during the characterization of natural environments for any development project in Quebec.

The Species at Risk Act

The Government of Canada’s Species at Risk Act also seeks to preserve biodiversity and prevent the disappearance of animal and plant species, particularly native species.

The Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) is responsible for drawing up the lists of extirpated, endangered, threatened and special concern species.

Fish and Fish Habitat Protection Program

The Fisheries Act and the Species at Risk Act both come into play for development projects near or in fish habitat.

In general, the provisions of the Fisheries Act concerning the protection of fish and fish habitat aim to minimize fish mortality and the deterioration, disruption or destruction of fish habitat during development projects.

Characterizing natural environments

Before starting a construction project on undisturbed land or near a wetland or aquatic environment, consult Avizo‘s specialists for a complete ecological assessment of your property. They will be pleased to produce a characterization of natural environments, which is required in any case to obtain the authorizations and permits needed for your development work.