Climate and the Rangelands of Canada

Climate is only one of several forces that promote rangelands but it is often predominant. Climatic factors that favor the development of grass include the occurrence of extremes, recurring drought, prolonged periods of heat and cold, high winds, and perhumid conditions. Most of the grasslands of Canada fall within Köppen's climatic type "middle latitude dry" and summer drought plays a major role in their existence. There are other grasslands which evolve under quite different climatic regimes. These are much less extensive and with some climate is not the dominant cause. With one grassland form, however, climate does play a more direct role and the factors involved are almost the antithesis of those which have produced the vast rangelands of the semiarid Canadian west.