Canada's Forest Inventory 2001 - Publications du gouvernement du ...

3.7 Forest type
Canada’s forests are described in CanFI2001 by percentage canopy cover of coniferous and broadleaved
species within a forest stand. A stand is considered softwood when 76% to 100% of the canopy consists
of coniferous species, mixedwood when 26% to 75% of the canopy consists of coniferous species, and
hardwood when 0% to 25% of the canopy consists of coniferous species. The proportions are similar
when area and volume are considered: 65% of the stocked forest land area is classed as softwood, 22% as
mixedwood, and 12% as hardwood; 69% of the total volume and 68% of the total biomass are contained
within the softwood forest type, 18% of the volume and 19% of the biomass are within mixedwood , and
13% of both volume and biomass are within hardwood (see Table 13 for total areas, total and average
volumes, and total and average biomasses). Appendix I: tables I-20 to I-24 list area, volume and biomass
on stocked forest land by forest type and province and territory.
Figure 29 maps predominant forest types for all of Canada. Hardwoods are common in the southern
extent of the forest lands of Quebec through to Alberta and into northeastern British Columbia; softwoods
dominate the east and west coasts. From the hardwood forest zone, there is a northward progression
through predominantly mixedwoods to almost entirely softwoods. In the forested zone’s northern reaches,
mixedwood forest becomes dominant again, particularly in northern Saskatchewan and the Northwest
Territories.
Figure 29. Forest Type
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