Accounting for ecosystem change in Canada
4.0 Supply and use of ecosystem services

People benefit from ecosystem contributions such as food, clean air and water, as well as the physical space for recreational activities and enjoyment of nature. These ecosystem services can be classified as provisioning services, regulating services and cultural services.^Note

Some ecosystem services provide benefits locally, while others contribute to services enjoyed globally. For example, trees and vegetation in urban areas can help regulate local temperature and reduce local heat island effects, while carbon sequestration and storage provide global climate regulation benefits that are enjoyed by people around the world.

The development of preliminary ecosystem service accounts, which compile information on the services provided by ecosystems and their use by people, is largely experimental and methods are still being developed. A better understanding of the various services provided and how they are used may lead to decision making that reflects a more comprehensive assessment of tradeoffs and impacts on human well-being.

4.1 Provisioning services

Provisioning services include flows of biomass including food, fuel, fibre and timber, as well as environmental flows, such as water, from ecosystems to people. Many of these goods are the product of ecosystems and economic activities. For example, crop production relies on water, energy from the sun, nutrients from soil, genetic material from seeds and pollination from wind and insects, but is also the result of labour, fuel use, fertilizer and pesticide inputs. Data are available for many of these products because they are valued by markets. However, it is difficult to disentangle the contribution that ecosystems make towards the service from the economic contribution.^Note

Over 141 million tonnes of timber were harvested from forest ecosystems in 2019, down from 196 million tonnes in 2002 (Table 4.1). In 2019, the largest proportion of the timber harvest occurred in British Columbia (39%), followed by Quebec (20%) and Alberta (17%).^Note The most commonly harvested species included spruce, pine and fir, while other harvested species used for lumber production included Douglas-fir, western larch, hemlock and western red cedar.^Note The forest sector, including pulp and paper and wood product manufacturing, contributed $29.2 billion (1.4%) towards Canada’s GDP and provided 210,600 jobs in 2018.^Note The number and population of communities that are heavily based on the forest sector for employment income has decreased in recent decades.^Note

In 2020, Canada’s agricultural ecosystems produced an estimated 137 million tonnes of crops, honey and maple products used for food, animal feed and industrial use, as well as an estimated 12 million tonnes of forage for grazing livestock.^Note Field crops, such as wheat, tame hay, corn, canola, barley and soybean, accounted for the majority of this total estimated production (87%) (Table 4.2). Most (71%) of this production occurred in the Prairie provinces, followed by Ontario (17%) and Quebec (8%). Crop production—particularly of field crops—has increased since 2002 while estimates of forage production for grazing livestock on pasture have decreased since 2001 (Chart 4.1). In 2018, the primary agriculture sector, excluding aquaculture, contributed $28.1 billion (1.4%) towards Canada’s GDP and 314,700 jobs.^Note

Freshwater, coastal and marine ecosystems produced the 808 thousand tonnes of shellfish, wild fish and marine plants harvested in 2019 by commercial fisheries or produced through aquaculture activities, down 30% from 1.1 million tonnes in 2002 (Table 4.1).^Note In 2019, 68% of this biomass was landed or farmed in the Atlantic provinces, followed by 24% in British Columbia and 6% in Quebec.^Note

In addition to commercial harvests of timber, crops and fish, Canada’s terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems support other harvests of flora and fauna, including firewood, mushrooms, berries, foliage, fish and game for commercial, recreational, cultural and subsistence use. Comprehensive harvest statistics are not available for all foraging, trapping and recreational fishing and hunting activities. In 2018, hunters harvested an estimated 1.9 million migratory game birds including ducks, geese, woodcocks and other hunted species.^Note Canadian commercial harp seal landings in Atlantic Canada and Quebec totalled 32,223, while grey seal landings totalled 1,234 in 2019.^Note Recreational anglers caught over 194 million fish in 2015, of which 30% were kept and the remainder released.^Note The most commonly caught species include walleye, trout, pike, perch and bass. Many provinces track statistics on hunting and trapping activities, including harvests of caribou, deer, moose, elk, pronghorn antelope, big horn sheep, bear, turkey, grouse, pheasant, partridge, hare, beaver, muskrat, wolf and other species.^Note In 2009, the latest year for which provincial data were compiled, a total of 730,915 wildlife pelts were produced by fur trappers including muskrat (36%), beaver (19%), marten (13%), coyote (6%) and squirrel (5%), among others.^Note

The fishing, hunting and trapping, aquaculture and fish processing industries—which exclude recreational services industries—contributed $4.5 billion (0.2%) to Canada’s GDP and 34,800 jobs in 2018.^Note Despite the smaller size of these industries on a national scale, they can be of significant importance to regional economies, particularly in smaller coastal or remote communities. For example, the fishing and seafood sector provides a significant source of income for many coastal communities on the Atlantic and Pacific coasts. In 2015, these industries were an important economic driver for 150 coastal communities, the majority of which were located on the East Coast in proximity to current and historically abundant fishing grounds.^Note These communities tend to be smaller, many with populations of 1,000 or less, with most experiencing a decline in population since 2001 (Map 4.1). Communities that experienced population increases tended to be in regions with aquaculture industry.

In 2017, Canadian households and industries used 36.8 billion m³ of water (Chart 4.2), excluding water used in hydro-electric generation.^Note The electric power generation industry uses water for cooling in thermal power plants and is responsible for close to two-thirds of water use. Other large users include agriculture (10% of total water use), households (8%), pulp and paper manufacturing (4%) and petroleum and coal product, chemical and primary metal manufacturing (5%).

4.2 Regulating services

Regulating services include filtration, sequestration, remediation, regulation and maintenance services provided by ecosystems. For example, they include services such as air filtration by urban trees, carbon retention in ecosystems, carbon sequestration by vegetation, and water flow regulation and flood control by vegetation, among many others.

The value of these types of services is often difficult to quantify even though they provide vital benefits to people. Models are often used to estimate the amount of pollutants filtered, waste material remediated, carbon sequestered, noise levels reduced, cooling provided, pest damage mitigated, or the frequency or magnitude of flood or fire events avoided. Estimates are subject to uncertainty and data and information from one area or time period cannot always be used elsewhere. Still, where estimates are available, they can provide useful information to support decision making.

Carbon retention or storage refers to the total stock of carbon held in living and dead biomass in ecosystems including forests, peatlands and agricultural and coastal areas. Carbon sequestration represents a flow of carbon and occurs when carbon is removed by plants through photosynthesis and stored in woody biomass or transferred to soils and sediment at a greater rate than it is released back to the atmosphere. Estimating carbon retention and sequestration services across the wide range of terrestrial, marine and coastal ecosystems relies on information from many different sources.

According to Natural Resources Canada’s National Forest Carbon Monitoring, Accounting and Reporting System (NFCMARS), in 2018, an estimated 46 gigatonnes (Gt) of carbon was stored in Canada’s managed forests^Note —which represent about two-thirds of Canada’s forest area.^Note Of this total stock, 40% of carbon was stored in soils, 27% in tree trunks, branches, leaves and roots (above ground and below ground biomass), 23% in litter and 10% in deadwood (Table 4.3). Managed forests stored on average 205 tonnes of carbon per hectare in 2018, though this varied widely from 424 tonnes per hectare in the Pacific Maritime ecozone to 133 tonnes per hectare for forests in the Boreal Shield West (Chart 4.3).

Trees in Canada’s managed forests take up large amounts of carbon. In 2018, modeled net primary productivity (NPP) from these forests was 710,000 kilotonnes (kt) of carbon and net ecosystem productivity was 41,000 kt of carbon (Table 4.4). However, taking into account the emissions associated with harvested wood^Note and natural disturbances, such as forest fires and insect damage, these forests were a net emitter of carbon in 2018. Net biome productivity was estimated at -68,000 kt of carbon in 2018, a net loss of carbon from managed forest ecosystems. Estimates are not available for unmanaged forest areas in Canada’s North.

The amount of carbon stored in soil varies considerably by region and soil type. Organic soils, which are composed of large amounts of organic matter in the form of peat or leaf litter, store large amounts of soil organic carbon.^Note Peatlands in boreal and subarctic regions contain an estimated 147 Gt of soil organic carbon, over half of the organic carbon stored in all Canadian soils.^Note Carbon dynamics are likely changing as a result of rising temperatures and changing water regimes.^Note For example, carbon sequestration will be affected by an increase in growing season length impacting vegetation productivity. Much of the carbon stock in these soils is frozen and will be affected by permafrost thaw, through increased emissions from respiration. Peatlands can also be vulnerable to fire, releasing large amounts of stored carbon into the atmosphere when burned. Past studies have estimated long-term rates of organic carbon accumulation of 9,800 kt per year for boreal peatlands and 30,000 kt per year for all Canadian peatlands; however, a more recent study indicates that Canadian peatlands may now be a source of carbon emissions to the atmosphere with estimated emissions of 151.8 Mt CO₂ equivalent (10,400 kt of C) per year for peatlands in Canada including carbon dioxide and methane.^Note

An estimated 5.5 Gt of carbon are stored in soils used for agriculture.^Note Most of this carbon storage occurs in the Prairies, since soils that developed under prairie grassland—for example, the black chernozemic soils in the Aspen Parkland ecoregion—contain a relatively high percentage of soil organic matter.^Note The amount of carbon stored in agricultural soils depends on many factors including climate, soil texture, vegetation type and land management practices such as tillage, cover cropping, crop rotation and inputs from fertilizers, manure and crop residues.^Note Most agricultural crops are annual plants that do not provide long-term carbon storage in above ground biomass, though orchards, for example, which represent a small fraction of Canada’s agricultural land, have above ground biomass in the range of 36 to 40 kilotonnes per hectare.^Note Environment and Climate Change Canada reports annual estimates of carbon emissions and removals to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in the National Inventory Report, Canada’s official greenhouse gas inventory. In 2018, an estimated 2,400 kt of carbon was removed by cropland.^Note

While urban areas occupy a small percentage of Canada’s terrestrial extent, an estimated 27,000 kt of carbon are stored in trees in large urban and medium population centres.^Note On average, urban forests stored 62 tonnes per hectare of canopy cover, but this varies by ecozone from a low of 23 tonnes per hectare in the Montane Cordillera ecozone to 97 tonnes per hectare in the Pacific Maritime ecozone. In 2018, an estimated 1,100 kt of carbon was removed by trees in urban areas.

Ocean and coastal ecosystems also provide important carbon sequestration and carbon retention services. In fact, marine plants are responsible for about half of global NPP^Note and the world’s oceans store more carbon overall than either soils or the atmosphere. Phytoplankton, which absorb CO₂ through photosynthesis, are the primary contributor to NPP in oceans (94%). Macroalgae, such as kelp or seaweed, as well as seagrasses, salt marsh plants, mangroves and other macrophytes are responsible for the remainder of marine NPP.^Note Much of the carbon absorbed by phytoplankton is recycled through the food web by zooplankton, fish and other marine species. However, a small proportion of this carbon sinks into the deep ocean for long-term storage. Another source of carbon in the deep sea includes deadfall carbon from the carcasses of whales and other large vertebrates as they sink to the ocean floor.^Note

Kelp forests, seagrass meadows and salt marshes in coastal areas have an important role in carbon cycling.^Note Carbon from this biomass can be stored in plant roots and in coastal and marine sediment once the seaweeds and plants decompose. Carbon from plankton, as well as carbon from wetlands, rivers and streams that discharge into the ocean also contribute to the carbon buried in these coastal ecosystems.^Note Studies in British Columbia and across the Pacific Northwest have found significant variability in organic carbon stocks in coastal sediment within eelgrass (a type of seagrass) meadows.^Note One synthesis of studies on the Pacific Coast found average carbon accumulation rates of 25 g of organic carbon per m² of sediment per year. Carbon stocks in the top 1 m of sediment averaged 7,168 g of organic carbon per m².^Note On a per hectare basis, these estimates suggest that seagrass meadows in British Columbia could store an estimated 72 tonnes of carbon.

Another important regulating service provided by ecosystems is air filtration. Exposure to air pollution has an important impact on human health.^Note In 2006, mean national residential exposure to ambient air concentrations of fine particulate matter (PM_2.5)—made up of aerosols, smoke and dust—was 7.05 µg/m³.^Note However, exposure estimates were higher in parts of southern Ontario and in major cities, particularly within the urban cores. People living in rural areas had lower mean exposures to PM_2.5. Ambient nitrogen dioxide concentrations depend heavily on vehicular traffic and exposure to this pollutant has been shown to vary within cities, including by neighbourhood socio-economic status.^Note Exposure to ozone—a secondary air pollutant created by reactions between nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds —can differ geographically over larger regions.^Note

Some research has focused on the extent to which urban trees provide an ecosystem service by removing air pollutants and supplying associated benefits for human health.^Note Trees can remove air pollution by taking up gaseous pollutants and by intercepting particulate matter on leaf surfaces. The average air pollutant removal per square metre of tree cover in 86 Canadian cities in 2010 was estimated to be 3.72 g/m²/year. ^Note This removal resulted in small improvements in air quality. Total pollution removal for these cities was estimated at 16,500 tonnes of air pollutants (Table 4.5), with human health benefits valued at $227.2 million, equivalent to $511 per hectare of urban tree cover.

4.3 Cultural services

Cultural services can involve interaction with and appreciation of nature, including direct experiences in the outdoors through recreation, tourism and education. They can also involve the contribution of ecosystems and their biodiversity to social interaction and spiritual and mental well-being.

Natural areas such as forests, grasslands, lakes and other ‘green’ and ‘blue’ spaces, can play a positive role in human well-being.^Note One recent study of urban Canadians found increased amounts of residential greenness to be associated with reduced risk of dying from several common causes.^Note Exposure to greenness varies spatially within cities and also by socio-economic characteristics such as income, immigrant status, ethnocultural identity and housing tenure.^Note

Natural areas in both public and private areas can provide benefits, though public areas such as parks provide wider opportunities for recreation and enjoyment of nature. Urban areas are heavily modified, but can nevertheless include large and small areas of green and blue space such as parks, gardens, beaches and yards. They can also include green features like street trees, green walls or green roofs that provide aesthetic enjoyment for many people.

There are many different types of parks in Canada, ranging from pristine wilderness areas to heavily used urban parks. While comparable visitation statistics for urban, regional and provincial or territorial parks are not available across the country, Parks Canada reported 16.1 million person-visits at National Parks and 8.7 million person-visits at National Historic Sites in 2019 (Table 4.6). In 2019, 90% of households reported that they lived close to a park or public green space. Of these households, 85% indicated that they had visited a nearby park or green space. In addition, 73% of households indicated they had visited sites that were more distantly located. Reported proximity to public parks and green spaces was highest for households living in census metropolitan areas (CMAs) (93%) and lowest for households living in small towns and rural areas (78%).^Note

While public parks play a particularly important role in providing green space in cities, private green space, including lawns and gardens, also provide benefits. In 2019, 71% of households reported having a lawn and 62% reported having a garden.^Note Households living in CMAs were less likely to have a lawn (65%) or garden (58%) compared to those in small towns and rural areas.

In 2019, over three-quarters of Canadian households participated in activities near their home that brought them outside and into nature (Table 4.7). The most popular activities include walking, going to the park and bicycling, but others include picnicking, swimming, hiking and other sports activities. Household proximity to parks, access to private green space such as lawns and gardens and participation in outdoor activities increased with income. Participation in some activities, including hiking, wildlife viewing, camping, fishing, canoeing, snowshoeing and others are likely higher than indicated in Table 4.7 since these activities frequently occur further away from home.^Note

In 2016, an estimated 22% of Canadians 15 years or older spent time fishing, 16% reported foraging and 6% hunting or trapping for employment or recreational purposes.^Note These harvesting activities including fishing, hunting, trapping and gathering wild plants have been a foundational part of Indigenous peoples’ lives for millennia and they still play an important role in providing food security and fostering cultural identity. In 2017, 33% of First Nations peoples living off reserve, 35% of Métis, and 65% of Inuit living in the Inuit Homeland of Inuit Nunangat, participated in fishing, hunting or trapping.^Note Indigenous peoples also frequently participated in wild berry or plant gathering, with among 30% of First Nations living off reserve and 47% of Inuit engaging in this activity. The most common reasons for participating in these harvesting activities included subsistence use (own use / family’s use), pleasure or leisure, sharing with others in the community and cultural reasons.