18. Biodiversity of Canadian Forests
361
to the silvicultural and habitat monitoring functions for which they were
originally designed (D. Demarchi , British Columbia Environment,
personal communication) .
Conservation of Biodiversity
For the whole of Canada, an estimated 4% of productive forest land is
categorized as having a highly protected status : land in National Parks,
ecological reserves, and other areas in which forest management operations are prohibited (Lowe , 1991). This percentage corresponds with the
estimate of protected areas by the World Commission on the Environment
and Development (WCED) ; their call for a tripling of protected areas
(World Commission on the Environment and Development, 1987) led to
the federal government's target of protecting 12% of Canada 's forest land.
The figures for much of British Columbia are generally somewhat higher
than for the national average , although the degree of protection varies
widely by forest region. For example, 18.4% of the subalpine forests is
estimated to be protected, compared with only 1.2% for the Columbia
forest region that includes coastal rainforests (State of the Environment
reporting/Canadian Forest Service, unpublished data). The figure for
the coastal forest region is 7.7% . The degree of protection afforded by
different categories of reserve and park is highly variable. The World
Conservation Union (IUCN) utilizes five categories of protection in classifying conservation areas (World Conservation Union , 1990), and these
categories are now recorded in the National Conservation Area Data
Base created by Environment Canada and the Canadian Council on
Ecological Areas. Under the federal government's Green Plan, the
Canadian Forest Service is promoting the extension of the forested
ecological reserve network to ensure adequate representation of all
forest ecosystems in protected areas, and this coincides with .a goal of
the provincial government of British Columbia (see below for further
discussion).
A considerable body of literature has been devoted to the topic of the
design and management of ecological reserves (for reviews, see Harris,
1984; Hunter, 1990). The effectiveness of ecological reserves will be
affected by their size, shape, and distribution , and by the management of
surrounding lands. Small reserves will conserve fewer species than larger
ones,approximately circular reserves will minimize edge effects, and
isolated, scattered reserves will not be as effective as closely spaced or
linked reserves . Sensitive management of the area surrounding the reserve
can also increase its value. At present these considerations and others
have received little attention in the establishment of forest ecological
reserves in Canada. For this reason, the target figure of 12% may be less
361
to the silvicultural and habitat monitoring functions for which they were
originally designed (D. Demarchi , British Columbia Environment,
personal communication) .
Conservation of Biodiversity
For the whole of Canada, an estimated 4% of productive forest land is
categorized as having a highly protected status : land in National Parks,
ecological reserves, and other areas in which forest management operations are prohibited (Lowe , 1991). This percentage corresponds with the
estimate of protected areas by the World Commission on the Environment
and Development (WCED) ; their call for a tripling of protected areas
(World Commission on the Environment and Development, 1987) led to
the federal government's target of protecting 12% of Canada 's forest land.
The figures for much of British Columbia are generally somewhat higher
than for the national average , although the degree of protection varies
widely by forest region. For example, 18.4% of the subalpine forests is
estimated to be protected, compared with only 1.2% for the Columbia
forest region that includes coastal rainforests (State of the Environment
reporting/Canadian Forest Service, unpublished data). The figure for
the coastal forest region is 7.7% . The degree of protection afforded by
different categories of reserve and park is highly variable. The World
Conservation Union (IUCN) utilizes five categories of protection in classifying conservation areas (World Conservation Union , 1990), and these
categories are now recorded in the National Conservation Area Data
Base created by Environment Canada and the Canadian Council on
Ecological Areas. Under the federal government's Green Plan, the
Canadian Forest Service is promoting the extension of the forested
ecological reserve network to ensure adequate representation of all
forest ecosystems in protected areas, and this coincides with .a goal of
the provincial government of British Columbia (see below for further
discussion).
A considerable body of literature has been devoted to the topic of the
design and management of ecological reserves (for reviews, see Harris,
1984; Hunter, 1990). The effectiveness of ecological reserves will be
affected by their size, shape, and distribution , and by the management of
surrounding lands. Small reserves will conserve fewer species than larger
ones,approximately circular reserves will minimize edge effects, and
isolated, scattered reserves will not be as effective as closely spaced or
linked reserves . Sensitive management of the area surrounding the reserve
can also increase its value. At present these considerations and others
have received little attention in the establishment of forest ecological
reserves in Canada. For this reason, the target figure of 12% may be less