From the treetops: A closer look at Canada’s forests (part two)
Boreal Wildlands, ON (Photo by Adam Bialo)
From the treetops: A closer look at Canada’s forests (part two)
Click here to learn about four forest regions in part one.
Canada is home to some of the world's most intact forests across large swaths of connected habitat. Forests are places of recreation, and they provide health benefits and sustainable livelihoods for many.
These beautiful landscapes are under threat from devastating wildfires and invasive species, as well as facing development pressures. While nature works to protect us from the impacts of climate change, we can do our part to help protect nature.
Canada has eight forest regions, learn more about four of these forest regions below:
Nebo, SK (Photo by Mike Dembeck)
Boreal forest
Found in Newfoundland and Labrador, Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, British Columbia, Yukon, Northwest Territories & Nunavut
Spanning all provinces and territories except the Maritimes, the boreal forest covers nearly 60 per cent of Canada. Nearly three-quarters of Canada’s total forest area is boreal. Almost a third of the boreal forest region is covered in wetlands and lakes. Most of these wetlands are deep and ancient peatlands — the largest terrestrial carbon store in the world.
Birch River Wildland Provincial Park (AB)
Chignecto Isthmus, NS (Photo by Mike Dembeck)
Carolinian forest
Found in Ontario
At just one per cent of the country’s landmass, the Carolinian forest is the smallest forest region in Canada. Yet Ontario’s Carolinian forests support the largest number of native tree species of any region and an estimated 25 per cent of our country’s species at risk.
Wabanaki (Acadian) forest
Found in Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia
This forest region, a mix of hardwoods and softwoods, boasts a rich diversity of more than 30 tree species, including yellow birch, red spruce, American beech and sugar maple. It supports iconic species that require diverse forests, such as flying squirrel and barred owl. Less than one per cent of original old-growth Wabanaki (Acadian) forest remains today, making it one of the rarest forest types in North America.
Five Houses Woodland Nature Reserve (PEI)
Great Lakes – St. Lawrence forest
Kenauk, QC (Photo by Kenauk Nature)
Predominately found in Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba
This is the second-largest forest region in Canada, stretching from southern Manitoba, east across Ontario and all the way to the Gaspé Peninsula in Quebec. It serves as a transition zone between the Carolinian forests in the south and the boreal forest in the north.
Canada’s forests are being lost at a rate of nearly one hectare every minute.
But there is hope. Together, we have an incredible chance to safeguard both forests and the well-being of our planet. Join the effort to conserve an additional one million hectares of nature by 2030.
Together, we can conserve these vital ecosystems.
Find out how you can breathe life into Canada’s forests >
About the Author
NCC staff Since 1962, the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) has protected areas of natural diversity for their intrinsic value and for the benefit of our children and those after them. To this day, NCC continues to protect land and share stories of nature, wildlife, science and conservation.
