Sensitive Ecosystems | Metro Vancouver

Metro Vancouver compiled the region’s first Sensitive Ecosystem Inventory for the year 2009 in response to the need for standardized ecological information to support decision-making. Orthophoto imagery was used to identify the areas and ecosystem types, and the inventory was subsequently updated using imagery from 2014 and 2020. In alignment with provincial standards, the inventory includes ecologically significant and relatively unmodified sensitive ecosystems (such as wetlands, older forests, and woodlands) and modified ecosystems with high ecological value (such as old fields and young forests). The Sensitive Ecosystem Inventory only includes ecosystems that meet classification criteria (a minimum of 0.5 ha in size and condition).

Contextual performance measure

Metro 2050 establishes the performance measure as the change in hectares of land identified as a Sensitive or Modified Ecosystem.

Progress

This is a contextual measure. Between 2014 and 2020:

335 ha of Sensitive Ecosystems were lost

Mature forest

196 ha

Riparian

77 ha

Wetland

56 ha

Old forest

4 ha

566 ha of Modified Ecosystems were lost

Young forest

300 ha

Old field

216 ha

Mature forest*

49 ha

For coniferous or mixed stands, a polygon size of less than five ha is used for inclusion as a modified ecosystem, while polygons of a greater size would be classified as a sensitive ecosystem. Broadleaf-dominated polygons of any size are considered modified ecosystems.

The next update to the Sensitive Ecosystem Inventory is planned in 2027 – 2028.

Total sensitive and modified ecosystem loss in Metro Vancouver

Sensitive and modified ecosystem loss by municipality

Summary of Sensitive Ecosystem Inventory losses by ecosystem type

*only includes human caused SEI losses. Natural loss not considered. Gains are not included.

**Regional Core is the more urbanized southern part of the region and excludes the large parks and estuaries under Provincial management, watersheds and other higher elevation areas.l

Sensitive ecosystems definitions

Alpine (AP)	Alpine (AP)	<div class="ExternalClass44D0366D730F4B29BEED87909AD185A7"><p>Alpine ecosystems are above or near the tree-line. They are mostly non-forested but include treed islands and windblown, shrubby treed patches.<br></p></div>
Estuarine (ES)	Estuarine (ES)	<div class="ExternalClass5F2C73E230154EBE978F9AA9532357B7"><p>Estuarine ecosystems are found at the confluence of rivers with the sea, where they are influenced by occasional or diurnal tidal inundation and brackish water. Estuarine vegetation reflects brackish water conditions to varying degrees, depending on the position in the estuary and the magnitude of freshwater outflow.<br></p></div>
Freshwater (FW-SE)	Freshwater (FW-SE)	<div class="ExternalClass0AC26F55AB644FB3A062636857E7121F"><p>Freshwater ecosystems are bodies of water (such as lakes and ponds) that usually lack floating vegetation. </p></div>
Herbaceous (HB)	Herbaceous (HB)	<div class="ExternalClassF8BE96E4018B48C183724B581C48CC92"><p>Herbaceous ecosystems are non-forested ecosystems (i.e. less than 10% tree cover) generally associated with shallow soils, often with bedrock outcroppings, coarse-textured soils, or natural disturbances (wind or wave action). Herbaceous ecosystems include a variety of ecosystems such as large, bedrock-controlled openings within forested areas, coastal headlands, shorelines vegetated with grasses and herbs, sometimes low shrubs, and moss and lichen communities on rock outcrops.<br></p></div>
Intertidal (IT)	Intertidal (IT)	<div class="ExternalClass47DBCD6E45A64382B6826F8C7AC5FCED"><p>Intertidal ecosystems are mudflats, beaches and rocky shorelines influenced by diurnal tidal cycles with little to no freshwater input (primarily through rainfall runoff). Intertidal ecosystems link the marine and terrestrial environments.<br></p></div>
Mature Forest (MF-SE)	Mature Forest (MF-SE)	<div class="ExternalClass381892A89DBD42FC907EB41F2EDF564D"><p>Mature forests are generally older than 80 years and less than 250 years or age. Coniferous or mixed stands greater than five ha are considered sensitive ecosystems. Mature forests are not as valuable as old forests as far as representing at-risk ecosystems, but can be important habitat areas for many wildlife species and serve as primary connections between ecosystems in highly fragmented landscapes.<br></p></div>
Old Forest (OF)	Old Forest (OF)	<div class="ExternalClass5AE54C23D7384FE19374E5C4417816FF"><p>Old forests are generally 250 years or older, mostly conifer-dominated with complex vertical structure, but may include mixed coniferous stands.<br></p></div>
Riparian (RI)	Riparian (RI)	<div class="ExternalClassD90803D75A674659AE0FBE6122ECAA73"><p>Ecosystems associated with and influenced by freshwater. Riparian ecosystems generally occur along rivers, streams, and creeks, but for the Sensitive Ecosystem Inventory also includes fringes around lakes.<br></p></div>
Sparsely Vegetated (SV)	Sparsely Vegetated (SV)	<div class="ExternalClass46C7C74CCB9341299C2D7B8DEB6EB5B4"><p>Areas of low vascular vegetation cover, generally 5% – 10%, but may be greater in some patches. May have high cover of mosses, liverworts, and lichens.<br></p></div>
Wetland (WN)	Wetland (WN)	<div class="ExternalClass54C849C7A2A143E381CE7068F458C12C"><p>Wetland ecosystems are found where soils are saturated by freshwater for enough time that the excess water and resulting low oxygen levels influence the vegetation and soil. Water influence can be seasonal or year-round and occurs either at or above the soil surface or within the root zone of plants. Wetlands encompass a range of plant communities (e.g. western red cedar or skunk cabbage swamps, cattail marshes, and peat-moss dominated bogs).<br></p></div>
Woodland (WD)	Woodland (WD)	<div class="ExternalClass2E7BBEBFBBDB416B89C1393A6F25BF61"><p>Woodland ecosystems are open forests found on dry sites, mostly on south-facing slopes of rocky knolls and bedrock-dominated areas. Woodland stands can be conifer-dominated, mixed conifer, or broadleaf hardwood and because of the open canopy, will often include non-forested openings, generally on shallow soils and bedrock outcroppings.<br></p></div>

Modified ecosystems definitions

Freshwater Reservoirs (FW-ME)	Freshwater Reservoirs (FW-ME)	<div class="ExternalClass7542BB52827643FEAD4E9BACD615C824"><p>Reservoirs of any size are included in the freshwater class as a modified ecosystem. Smaller, modified ponds are also included. Even though the natural hydrology of reservoirs is modified, they still provide important freshwater habitat.<br></p></div>
Mature Forest (MF-ME)	Mature Forest (MF-ME)	<div class="ExternalClass6F48692C61F34C938861AD5F076E27D0"><p>Mature forests are generally older than 80 years and less than 250 years of age. Coniferous and mixed stands less than five ha, and broadleaf-dominated stands of any size are considered modified ecosystems. Mature forests are not as valuable as old forests as far as representing at-risk ecosystems, but can be important habitat areas for many wildlife species and serve as primary connections between ecosystems in highly fragmented landscapes.<br></p></div>
Old Field (OD)	Old Field (OD)	<div class="ExternalClassC036BA00BAB64164BCE5E68D30679BE5"><p>Old field ecosystems are formerly cultivated or grazed areas that were later abandoned. They can provide important habitat for wildlife species in human-influenced landscapes. As an intermediate stage in succession, without management they will eventually become forest — some may have been wetlands where the drainage has been altered in order to farm. A minimum size of 2.5 ha was used. <br></p></div>
Young Forest (YF)	Young Forest (YF)	<div class="ExternalClass38A05F13FB5145BE87664BD9752DF3ED"><p>Young forest ecosystems are generally older than 30 – 40 years and less than 80 years of age. Young forests smaller than five ha are not included in the Sensitive Ecosystem Inventory. Young forests can be important habitat areas for many wildlife species and serve as primary connections between ecosystems in highly fragmented landscapes.<br></p></div>

Source
This information is from the Metro Vancouver, Regional Planning and Housing Services internal database.

Data

Explore the GIS data through the Sensitive Ecosystem Inventory Mapping Tool.
Download the GIS data through the Metro Vancouver Open Data Portal.

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