Non-forested ecosystems are an important part of British Columbias landscape and biological diversity. Plant community composition and vegetation structure of these ecosystems stand in contrast to the forests that are typical of much of British Columbia. These non-forested habitats supply critical life history requirements for many plant and animal species.
Descriptions, maps, illustrations and tables of British Columbia's biogeoclimatic zones, as well as an overview of how the biogeoclimatic zone system was developed.
With sixty descriptive maps and accompanying text, The Biodiversity Atlas of British Columbia provides a broad overview of the province?s range of terrestrial and freshwater biological diversity. Bringing together data from numerous sources summarized in map form, the Atlas provides a window to B.C.?s diverse ecosystems, the species that live in them, and the elements of British Columbia?s biodiversity that make it globally significant. The Atlas also presents a visual perspective of a number of human-induced threats, including climate change, affecting biodiversity in B.C. today. The Atlas is designed to serve as a companion document to Taking Nature?s Pulse: The Status of Biodiversity in British Columbia ? a comprehensive scientific assessment of biodiversity in the province. Both the Atlas and Taking Nature?s Pulse are projects of Biodiversity BC, a partnership of conservation groups and government agencies.
Forests cover approximately 26% of the world's land surface area and represent a distinct biotic community. They interact with water and soil in a variety of ways, providing canopy surfaces which trap precipitation and allow evaporation back into the atmosphere, thus regulating how much water reaches the forest floor as through fall, as well as pull water from the soil for transpiration. The discipline "forest hydrology" has been developed throughout the 20th century. During that time human intervention in natural landscapes has increased, and land use and management practices have intensified. The book will be useful for graduate students, professionals, land managers, practitioners, and researchers with a good understanding of the basic principles of hydrology and hydrologic processes.
Provides managers, planners and field staff with a recommended process for meeting biodiversity objectives - both landscape and stand level - as required under the Forest Practices Code.
This guide presents site identification and interpretation information for forest ecosystems of the Vancouver Forest Region. Site identification is based on the biogeoclimatic ecosystem classification. The guide was prepared to assist users in describing and identifying forest sites and to provide management interpretations to assist users in preparing stand-level forest management prescriptions. The guide covers procedures for site assessment, a description of the biogeoclimatic units and the site units of the Vancouver Forest Region, management interpretations of tree species selection, slashburning, site productivity, competing vegetation potential, ground-based harvesting, pest risks of major conifer species, and wildlife diversity and habitat relationships. Appendices list indicator species; humus forms; keys to bedrock, hand-texturing soil, relative soil moisture regime, soil nutrient regime, and site sensitivity to slashburning; correlation of old and new biogeoclimatic and site units; and a site assessment form.
