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.