Nature and Wildlife

Wetlands are lands:

• Where the water table is close to the surface and/or
• Seasonally or permanently flooded by shallow water

The four main types of wetlands in the Credit River Watershed are swamp, marsh, bog and fen. Wetlands have many ecological, economic and social values.

The watershed contains many natural and artificial lakes and ponds.

• Vernal pools are typically very small temporary or intermittent pools.
• Lakes are enduring bodies of water. Some are natural ponds, while others may be kettle lakes.
• Artificial waterbodies were created through construction of dams or for agriculture or recreation.

There are approximately 2,018 kilometres of rivers and streams in the Credit River Watershed. They provide homes for many fish and stream insect species.

• The upper and middle parts of the watershed generally contain coldwater streams.
• The lower parts of the watershed contain warmwater streams.

Grasslands are open areas typically made up of grasses and meadow flowers. They may include a few trees and shrubs. Broadly termed open country habitat, these areas include:

• Native prairie and savannah
• Old fields and meadows
• Pasture lands
• Hayfields

The Iroquois Plain, not far from the Lake Ontario shoreline, was home to most native prairie and savannah in the watershed. Today only small remnants remain in the City of Mississauga.

Agricultural activity created most of existing grasslands in the watershed. Many former agricultural plots succeeded to meadow and thicket. This created important habitat for pollinators and grassland birds.

There are over 80 types of forests in the Credit River Watershed.

• There are deciduous (broadleaf) forests, coniferous (needle-leaf) forests, and mixed forests.
• There are young forest and mature forests
• There are moist valley bottom forests and dry upland forests.

Healthy forests are multi-layered, with the tallest canopy trees shading younger trees, and lower layers of shrub and ground vegetation. Healthy forests have a diversity of native species and are structurally diverse, providing many microhabitats for wildlife.