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Forest Change indicators

Trends and outlooks – Changes in Canada’s forests

Forest Change program

Natural Resources Canada–Canadian Forest Service’s Forest Change initiative provides information about the impacts of climate change on Canada’s forests and on how to adapt to changing climate conditions. The initiative reports on indicators that reflect past trends in, and future projections of, changes across Canada. It also provides adaptation tools and resources for forest managers.

Based on consultations with researchers and forest sector stakeholders and a scan of national and international climate change indicator initiatives, the Forest Change program team identified 141 potential climate change indicators relevant to forestry. The team selected a set of indicators, based on their potential value in raising awareness of ongoing changes, feasibility of tracking and reporting, and stakeholder demand for the information.

The indicators fall within three broad systems – climate, forest and human. For most of the selected indicators, both past and projected trends are available for Canada. However, some indicators lack historical records, while for others historical trends are available but projections have not yet been developed. It is not possible to isolate the effect of changes on any indicator. In most cases, observed changes in indicator values will be a result of a combination of factors.

Climate system

Forest system

Human system

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