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Home | Location: | CanSIS > National Soil DataBase (NSDB) > CLIMATE data > Plant Hardiness Zones |
Interpreting the new map
The new hardiness map is divided into nine major zones: the harshest is 0 and the mildest is 8. Relatively few plants are suited to zone 0. Subzones (e.g., 4a or 4b, 5a or 5b) are also noted in the map legend. These subzones are most familiar to Canadian gardeners.
Some significant local factors, such as micro-topography, amount of shelter and subtle local variations in snow cover, are too small to be captured on the map. Year-to-year variations in weather and gardening techniques can also have a significant impact on plant survival in any particular location.
Natural Resources Canada, Canadian Forest Service is now "going beyond the
zone" and trying to develop potential range maps for individual species of
trees, shrubs and perennial flowers by collecting species specific
information. Check out more about this project at
http://g4.glfc.cfs.nrcan.gc.ca/ph_main.pl
and see how you can get involved.
To request a hard copy of the recently published article or a copy of the map, email Kathy Campbell (kcampbel@nrcan.gc.ca) at the Canadian Forest Service. Online access to the journal is available through the Canadian Journal of Plant Science.
D.W. McKenney, Kesteven, J.L., Hutchinson, M.F. Venier, L.A. 2001 Canada's Plant
Hardiness zones revisited using modern climate interpolation techniques. Can. J. Plant Sci.
Vol. 81, Number 1, 117-129.
Ouellet, C. E. and Sherk, L. 1967 Woody ornamental plant zonation. I. Indices of
winter hardiness. Can. J. Plant Sci. 47, 231-238.
Ouellet, C. E. and Sherk, L. 1967 Woody ornamental plant zonation. II. Suitability
indices of localities. Can. J. Plant Sci. 47, 339-349.
Ouellet, C. E. and Sherk, L. 1967 Woody ornamental plant zonation. III. Suitability
map for the probable winter survival of ornamental trees and shrubs. Can. J.
Plant Sci. 47, 351-357.
The production of the new Plant Hardiness Zones map was made possible through a collaborative effort by scientists at
Natural Resources Canada's Canadian Forest Service, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and Natural Resources Canada's National Atlas of Canada:
D.W. McKenney, L.A. Venier, K.L Campbell, K. Lawrence, Y.Q. Yang, J-Ch. Vlasiu, K. Farr, of the Canadian Forest Service;
M.F. Hutchinson and J.L. Kesteven of the Australian National University;
P. Schut, D. Pagurek, and A. Bootsma, of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada;
K. Lightfoot, A. Murray and R. Brooks of the National Atlas of Canada.
For further information on the departments that have collaborated on this map, visit the following sites:
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