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Table 1
Lower Mainland ecoregion

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  Lower Mainland ecoregion Canada Percentage share of Canada total
Total area (km2) 5,067 9,976,182 0.05
Land cover circa 20001
Annual cropland and perennial cropland (km2) 670 ..
Forest (km2) 2244 ..
Developed land (km2) 1183 ..
Water (km2) 430 ..
Exposed land (km2) 191 ..
Grasses-herbaceous (km2) 235 ..
Other classes (km2) 3 ..
Shrubland (km2) 74 ..
Wetland (km2) 36 ..
Agricultural land
Area of dependable agricultural land2 (km2) 661 454,630 0.1
Proportion of area in dependable land (percent) 13.0 4.6
Population
Population in 1971 (number) 1,186,862 21,568,310 5.5
Population in 1981 (number) 1,423,311 24,343,181 5.8
Population in 1991 (number) 1,808,510 27,296,859 6.6
Population in 1996 (number) 2,077,228 28,846,761 7.2
Population in 2001 (number) 2,248,184 30,007,094 7.5
Population in 2006 (number) 2,398,926 31,612,895 7.6
Population density in 2006 (people/km2) 473 3
Population change 1971 to 2006 (percent) 102.1 46.6
Agriculture
Area of farmland in 1971 (hectares) 97,928 68,662,444 0.1
Area of farmland in 2006 (hectares) 95,088 67,586,739 0.1
Change (percent) -2.9 -1.6
Area of cropland in 1971 (hectares) 43,234 27,828,479 0.2
Area of cropland in 2006 (hectares) 56,889 35,912,247 0.2
Change (percent) 31.6 29.0
Cattle in 1971 (number) 132,670 13,276,308 1.0
Cattle in 2006 (number) 116,160 15,773,527 0.7
Change (percent) -12.4 18.8
Poultry in 1971 (number) 7,166,565 98,049,591 7.3
Poultry in 2006 (number) 16,412,001 125,314,793 13.1
Change (percent) 129.0 27.8
1. Land cover classes are aggregated. Forest area contains all types of forest. Developed land includes built-up areas, lawns, road surfaces, industrial sites and farmsteads. Water area contains some marine water area. Exposed land refers primarily to mudflats in this ecoregion. Other refers to unclassified land types due to shadow and clouds in the Satellite imagery. Land cover is based on LANDSAT satellite data from 1996 to 2003.
2. Dependable agricultural land is defined as land designated as Class 1, Class 2 and Class 3 by the Canada Land Inventory.
Source(s): Statistics Canada, CANSIM tables 153-0057 and 153-0058 (accessed October 8, 2009).
Statistics Canada, Census of Population and Census of Agriculture.
Statistics Canada, Environment Accounts and Statistics Division, Spatial Environmental Information System.
Natural Resources Canada, n.d., Canada Land Inventory—Land Capability for Agriculture (1968 to 1990), Earth Sciences Sector (accessed October 8, 2009).
Natural Resources Canada, 2009, Land Cover, Circa 2000-Vector (LCC2000-v), Earth Sciences Sector (accessed October 8, 2009).
Environment Canada, 2005, National Ecological Framework for Canada (accessed October 8, 2009).