Southern Ontario
Southern Ontario has a very different climate from the rest of the country. It is the only area of Canada that has Carolinian forest. Many trees, plants, and wildlife in Southern Ontario are not found anywhere else in Canada. Some rare trees to Canada in this region include the tulip tree, pawpaw fruit tree and the cucumber tree. The Carolinian forests of Southern Ontario have in large part been destroyed by development sprawl. Very few original growth areas remain.
Ecology of the Oak Ridges Moraine
The moraine provides habitat for a wide variety of plant and animal species, over seventy of which are threatened or endangered in Canada, including the West Virginia white butterfly, Jefferson salamander, red-shouldered hawk, and American ginseng. The moraine's rare wetlands support plants and insects more typical of northern Ontario. The remnants of tallgrass prairie and oak-pine savanna in the eastern portion are globally threatened ecosystems.