Old forest area British Columbia 2020

Around 13.3 million hectares of old forest was standing in British Columbia, Canada, in 2020. Of this total, around 40,000 hectares was categorized within the >25 productivity class, where trees are expected to grow over 25 meters tall in 50 years.

What is an old-growth forest?

Also known as a primary forest, old-growth forests are forests which have mostly gone undisturbed from human impact over a large number of years. Due to their long development periods, old forests are structurally complex, contain a large variety of habitats, and are the basis for critical ecological systems.

Area of old forest in British Columbia, Canada in 2020, by productivity class (in million hectares)

Characteristic	Area in million hectares
5-10	5.3
10-15	5.26
15-20	2.3
20-25	0.38
>25	0.04

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Release date

May 2020

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Region

Canada

Survey time period

April 2020

Supplementary notes

Productivity class refers to the height of dominant or codominant trees at age 50; it is used as a measure of site productivity and to estimate tree growth over time. For example, a class of 5–10 means tree seedlings will grow between 5 and 10m tall in 50 years across the range of sites included in the class; similarly, a class of 20–25 means trees are expected to grow between 20 and 25m tall in 50 years.
Figures have been rounded.

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