Sustainability of timber harvest

Note:  The total roundwood harvested column includes harvest of industrial roundwood, fuelwood and firewood.

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The data contained in the National Forestry Database are provided by provincial and territorial resource management organizations^{Footnote 4} and federal government departments. In December of every year, provinces, territories and federal agencies submit data that were collected the previous year. The data are compiled and published within 6 months of submission. For example, data for 2020 were provided by the provinces, territories and federal agencies in December 2021, and totals were published in June 2022.

Canada's total area is estimated using the Land and freshwater area, by province and territory from Natural Resources Canada Atlas of Canada. The Canadian Forest Service uses the National Forest Inventory to track forest area over time.

The indicator includes data from 1990 to 2020 from all provinces, Yukon and the Northwest Territories. Nunavut is excluded because it is not a National Forestry Database partner.

Wood supply is the volume of timber that can be harvested from an area over a specified period of time while meeting environmental, economic and social objectives.^{Footnote 5} In the indicator, wood supply refers to industrial roundwood supplies only and does not include other types of harvest. Under sustainable forest management, forest managers plan for harvest levels that will not affect the long-term sustainability of forest resources.

Industrial roundwood is defined as sections of tree stems (with or without bark), logs, bolts, pulpwood, posts and pilings that are usually intended to be delivered to mills. Fuelwood (for industrial purposes) and firewood (for household use) are not part of the industrial roundwood harvest, although they contribute to the total roundwood harvest. Other forest products, such as Christmas trees, are not included.

Forest land is defined as “Areas of land where tree canopies cover more than 10% of the total area and the trees, when mature, can grow to a height of more than 5 metres. This does not include land that is predominantly urban or used for agricultural purposes."

Other wooded land is defined as "Areas of land where 1) tree canopies cover 5 to 10% of the total area and the trees, when mature, can grow to a height above 5 metres; or 2) shrubs, bushes and trees together cover more than 10% of the area. These areas include treed wetlands (swamps) and land with slow-growing and scattered trees. They do not include land that is predominantly agricultural or urban."

Wood supply estimation

Wood supply, the volume of timber that can be harvested sustainably, is estimated for each province and territory. Wood supply levels are estimated for forests that are actively managed for timber, which are a subset of forests and other wooded land. Provincial and territorial wood supplies are summed to estimate Canada's wood supply.

Wood supply is the sum of 2 values:

1. The estimated  Allowable Annual Cut (known as Allowable Annual Cut in British Columbia and as Guarantee of Supply in Quebec) for provincial Crown lands, that is, publicly owned lands under provincial jurisdiction.

   The estimated Annual Allowable Cut is the volume of industrial roundwood that can be harvested sustainably each year from provincial Crown lands, as estimated by professional foresters. Provincial Crown lands make up 75%^{Footnote 6} of Canada's forest, but the percentage varies by province. Most provinces establish Annual Allowable Cuts for their Crown lands based on a policy of maintaining a non-declining future wood supply. They also consider a range of additional factors. For example, Annual Allowable Cuts may be decreased in order to maintain animal habitat, or they may be increased so that insect-damaged wood can be salvaged. The importance of individual factors to the Annual Allowable Cut varies among provinces and even among forest management areas within provinces, due to regional differences in forestry policies. Each province is responsible for the extensive rationale behind an Annual Allowable Cut determination for individual forest management areas. Additional information is available from provincial resource management organizations.^{Footnote 4} The volume of wood harvested may be above or below the Annual Allowable Cut in any one year, but it must balance out over the regulation period, which varies from 5 to 10 years depending on the jurisdiction. Annual Allowable Cuts are set based on an assessment of a wide range of ecological, social and economic factors.

2. Estimates of wood supply on federal, territorial and private lands.

   Federal, territorial and private lands account for 2%, 13% and 7%, respectively, of Canada's forest land.^{Footnote 6} The remainder is municipal (0.3%), Indigenous (2%) and other (0.7%).^{Footnote 6} Wood supply estimates on federal, territorial and private lands are based on sustainable management plans (when available) or on past harvest levels. Estimation methods are not standardized and may or may not be similar to those used for the Annual Allowable Cut on provincial lands.

   Because historical harvests are often used by the Canadian Forest Service to estimate wood supply, recent declines in harvest levels have led to a decreased estimate of wood supply in some jurisdictions. This does not necessarily imply a change in forest health or harvest sustainability.

Industrial roundwood harvest estimations

Canada's total industrial roundwood harvest is the sum of the following:

1. The reported industrial roundwood harvested from provincial Crown lands.

   Provincial law requires harvest from provincial Crown lands to be reported and compared to the Annual Allowable Cut value for individual forest management areas. The harvest must not exceed the Annual Allowable Cut over multi-year regulation periods. However, in a given year, the volume harvested may vary by as much as 50%, depending on a range of social, economic and environmental factors.

2. The estimated industrial roundwood harvested from federal, territorial and private lands.

   Because there is generally no legislated mechanism to report the volume harvested on these lands, it is estimated by either provincial or federal forest authorities located in that jurisdiction. Harvest from federal, territorial and private lands is not regulated, meaning that harvesters are not required to compare their harvest to a sustainable level.

National aggregation can mask Crown harvests above or below the Annual Allowable Cut in individual provinces. Similarly, the provincial aggregates can mask variability among management areas. If harvesting above the Annual Allowable Cut occurs in a portion of a regulation period, it may be balanced at another time or location in such a way that the overall Annual Allowable Cut of the regulation period is not exceeded.

Detailed caveats on the quality or completeness of annual data from individual provinces and territories, including explicit indications of which data are estimates, can be found in the National Forestry Database.

Annual Allowable Cuts are calculations of the sustainable wood supply on Crown lands established by professional foresters with the objective of maintaining sustainable wood supplies over long periods. Annual Allowable Cut calculations use sophisticated growth models and scientific data to help estimate future wood supply and take into consideration fluctuating social, economic or environmental factors.

A large percentage of forest land in Atlantic Canada is privately owned. In New Brunswick, 48%^{Footnote 7} of forest land is private, while 66%^{Footnote 8} is private in Nova Scotia, 88%^{Footnote 9} is private in Prince Edward Island and in Newfoundland and Labrador, only 4%^{Footnote 10} of the forest land is private. Because of the high percentage of private land in Atlantic Canada, provincial agencies that determine Annual Allowable Cuts must also assess the potential timber supply on private land. Because private woodlots are not regulated by legislation, there is uncertainty associated with this portion of the wood supply equation. However, as the Atlantic region accounts for only about 8% of Canada's total wood supply, the uncertainty on a national scale is small.

The Canadian Forest Service wood supply estimates for private lands are often based solely on the average of past harvests, which are generally unregulated. Although estimates are provided, it is difficult to be certain whether harvesting on those lands is sustainable.

The Sustainability of timber harvest indicator uses the total land area of Canada to calculate the proportion of the country covered by forest. Canada's National Forest Inventory also reports that an additional 8% of Canada's land is covered by other land with tree cover and other wooded land.^{Footnote 11}