Figure 77
Forested Regions of Canada

Source: Environment Canada, 2000.

 

Canada has a vast forest area encompassing 1.03 billion acres (compared to 749 million acres in the U.S. and 120 million acres in Mexico) of which 580 million acres is classed as commercial forest. Some 294 million acres are managed primarily for wood production. The annual allowable cut for all of Canada is about 233 million cubic meters, and the volume harvested annually approximates 200 million cubic meters; this compares to a U.S. annual harvest of about 447 million cubic meters. Ownership of forestland in Canada is far different than in the U.S. Almost all Canadian forests are publicly owned (Figure 78). The six percent of forestland owned privately is concentrated in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, British Columbia, and Alberta, and is divided between approximately 425,000 landowners.

 

Figure 78
Ownership of Canadian Forests

Source: Environment Canada 2003

Canada's forests are dominated by softwoods, both with respect to area and wood volume (Figures 79, 80). Softwoods account for about two thirds of the forest area of Canada nationally and account for a little less than one-half of the volume of stands classified as mixedwood.

Figure 79        Figure 80

Stand Type Composition of Canadian        Growing Stock Volume of Canadian

Forests        Forests by Stand Type

Source: Environment Canada, 2003.        Source: Environment Canada, 2003.

 

Canada's forests are heavily skewed toward older age classes, and this is particularly true of the broadleaved species. The vast majority of forest volume within the broadleaved species are classed as overmature or older (Figure 81).

 

Figure 81

Canadian Growing Stock Volume
by Species and Maturity Class

Source: Environment Canada, 2003.

As shown in Figure 82, the growing stock volume is greatest in British Columbia, Quebec, Ontario, and Alberta, and far smaller in the remaining provinces. Canada's forests are predominately softwood. The most significant hardwood volumes are found in Quebec and Ontario and Alberta. Hardwood species found in Canada include alder, aspen, birch, walnut, beech, hickory, red and white oak, willow, and ten species of maple. Maple, birch, and aspen are the principal species (Figures 83, 84). Significant hardwood volumes are found in all but the extreme northeast provinces. Overall, 15 percent of Canada's forests are classified as hardwood, with another 18 percent characterized as mixed hardwood/softwood forests.

Figure 82

Canadian Growing Stock Inventory by Province

and Territory

 

NF NS PE NB QB ON MB SK AB BC YT NT

Source: Canadian National Forestry Database and Statistics Canada

 

Figure 83
Canadian Growing Stock Inventory by Selected
Species Groups

Source: Canadian National Forestry Database and Statistics Canada

Figure 84
Canadian Hardwood Growing Stock
Inventory by Species

Source: Canadian National Forestry Database and Statistics Canada

The greatest volumes of hardwoods are harvested in Saskatchewan, Quebec, Manitoba, Alberta, and Ontario (Figure 85), but even in these provinces the softwood harvest is significantly greater than the hardwood harvest. The annual hardwood roundwood harvest in Canada in 2002 was about 1.3 billion cubic feet, compared to a U.S. hardwood roundwood harvest of approximately 5.9 billion cubic feet. Hardwood harvests are roughly equal to 20 percent of the total Canadian harvest (Figure 86).