Trends in Silviculture in B.C. (1987-2023)

Managing and conserving Crown forest resources provides environmental, social, and economic benefits to all British Columbians. Silviculture is a forest management tool used to control the establishment, growth, composition, and health of forests at different scales. Silviculture is used to enhance the social and economic benefits from forests to meet the diverse needs and values of B.C. citizens in a sustainable way. This indicator investigates the trends in four silviculture measures from 1987 to 2023.

What Silvicultural Systems Are Used?

• A silvicultural system is a planned program of treatments during the whole life of a stand designed to achieve specific stand structural objectives. The three general categories of silvicultural systems used in B.C. are clearcutting, partial cutting, and clearcutting with reserves. Selection of a silvicultural system depends on the forest stand and site characteristics (e.g., tree species, forest health, terrain), and resource management objectives (e.g., timber, visual landscapes, wildlife habitat, social).
• From 1987-1996, a clearcutting silvicultural system was applied on 88% of the area harvested. By 2012, clearcutting with reserves accounted for 85% of the area harvested on public forest land. While both systems remove the majority of the trees, clearcutting with reserves saves some trees within or outside the cutting boundary for the purpose of managing for other values such as wildlife habitat, water quality or visual landscapes.
• Since 1987, the area of Crown forest harvested annually has ranged from 79,000 hectares to 252,000 hectares, with an annual average of approximately 199,000 hectares.

How Much is Reforested After Disturbance?

• Forests disturbed by timber harvests and natural causes reforest naturally over time. Silviculture investments accelerate reforestation, increase timber supplies, and restore ecological services sooner.
• Forests disturbed by timber harvest can take 7 years or more to regenerate. The average is 1.9 years when planted and 5.5 years when left to reforest naturally. This is referred to as regeneration delay and accounts for a large amount of the gap between disturbance and reforestation area in the last 7 years.
• In 1987, requirements were introduced for rights holders to reforest public lands they harvest. This led to planting a greater proportion of harvested areas. In the early 1990's, increased investment in planning and research improved the rate and success of replanting efforts.
• Recent catastrophic wildfires and the mountain pine beetle epidemic have added large areas with below acceptable stocking. Since 2005, the province has funded reforestation and rehabilitation of mountain pine beetle and wildfire impacted land not currently under legal reforestation obligations.

What Incremental Silvicultural Treatments Have Been Done?

• Incremental silviculture is an investment in future timber production and environmental benefits from forests. Incremental silviculture only includes treatments that are not part of basic silviculture (detailed above), where natural unimproved seed sources are used. Incremental silviculture can increase timber quantity and quality, manage forest health and fire risks, and improve specific habitats, water quality and visual landscapes. Incremental silviculture also creates employment opportunities for communities.
• Since 1987, investments in incremental silviculture in B.C. included using select seed for planting (2,747,000 hectares), aerial fertilizing (508,000 hectares), spacing (427,000 hectares), and pruning (53,000 hectares). Over this period, incremental silvicultural treatments totaled approximately 4 million hectares.
• The use of select seed increases the rate of tree growth, increasing future timber volume, reducing constraints on harvesting adjacent areas and reducing the need for costly brushing treatments.
• In 2021, the province committed to a consolidated Forest Investment Program (FIP) that combines incremental government-led forest investments previously managed by the Forest Carbon Initiative and the Forests for Tomorrow program. Under FIP, the province and its partners currently invest around $95 million a year to keep B.C. forests healthy and resilient. Every year since its inception, more than 40 million trees have been planted and over 30,000 hectares of forest have received a forest nutrient application.

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Updated November 2025

Suggested Citation: Environmental Reporting BC. 2025. Trends in Silviculture in B.C. (1987-2023). Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development, British Columbia, Canada.