The state of the forests

Amount of land that is "forest land"

Includes "commercial" and "non-commercial" forest land

63.7% of total B.C. land and fresh water area. 60,353,505 ha [14]

Amount of forest land classified "productive"

Definition: Land bearing or capable of bearing commercially viable forests (by standards at time of estimation.)

1993 estimate: 54.5% of total B.C. land and fresh water area. 51,636,830 ha [13]

1957 estimate: 58.2% of total B.C. land and fresh water area. 55,142,449 ha [11]

Area of inventoried, stocked, productive, nonreserved forest by age class, 1986 [1]

Age class refers to the average age of the dominant, or dominant and subdominant tree species on the forest stand.

Total (all ages):                             45,050,000 ha 
(or 47.5% of B.C. land and fresh water area)

Regeneration (less than 1m high):              1,690,000 ha
Immature:                                     15,000,000 ha
Mature (120 yrs+ or 80 yrs+ for pine):        28,280,000 ha
Overmature (past rotation age):                   80,000 ha

Percentage area of forest over 250 years old

Counting mean age of dominant or dominant and subdominant tree species on each stand:

         Coast       Interior       Reference
         55 %          6 %          [13]

Volume of growing softwood trees [9]

B.C. contains 7.1% of the world's volume.

B.C. has 7,597,000,000 m^3, the world has 107,000,000,000 m^3.

Volume of wood fibre on inventoried, stocked, productive, nonreserved forest by age class, 1986 [1]

Age class refers to the average age of the dominant, or dominant and subdominant tree species on the forest stand.

Total (all ages):                          8,867,000,000 m^3

Regeneration (less than 1m high):              9,000,000 m^3
Immature:                                  1,604,000,000 m^3
Mature (120 yrs+ or 80 yrs+ for pine):     7,226,000,000 m^3
Overmature (past rotation age):               28,000,000 m^3

Tree growth rate

Cubic metres per hectare per year (mean).

B.C.   Coast  Southern Interior Central Int. Northern Int. Interior  Ref
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
2.03   5.32   1.82              1.82         1.12                    [20]

Cubic metres per hectare per year (minimum).

B.C.   Coast  Southern Interior Central Int. Northern Int. Interior  Ref
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
       2.5                                                  1.2      [12]

Cubic metres per hectare per year (maximum).

B.C.   Coast  Southern Interior Central Int. Northern Int. Interior  Ref
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
       5.0                                                 2.5       [12]

Rainforest Watershed Status, 1993 [13]

Note. These statistics refer to British Columbia's coastal temperate rainforest, and not to the interior forests.

Definitions:

Pristine = less than 5 ha of removal of tree cover + no evidence of past human disturbance

Modified = less than 2% of area, and less than 2.5 square km, affected by development activity

Developed = more than 2% of area, or more than 2.5 square km, affected by development activity

Watershed Size   Pristine   Modified   Developed   |   Total
 (square km)                                       |
---------------------------------------------------|--------
50-200             61         37        143        |    241
200-1000           11          8         69        |     88
> 1000              0          1         24        |     25
---------------------------------------------------|--------
Total              72         46        236        |    354

Forest wilderness area not accessible by road [12]

Minimum inaccessible area size considered was 5000 ha (50 sq. km).

Year                  area (ha)      % of forest land
-----------------------------------------------------
1984                  33,959,705     56 % 
2004 (projected)      25,464,105     42 %