Vancouver Island Region Environmental Stewardship
|
Vancouver Island lies within British Columbia's Southern Hypermaritime climatic type
and includes ecosystems within the Mountain Hemlock, Coastal Western Hemlock and Coastal Douglas Fir
Biogeoclimatic Units (Green and Klinka, 1994).
Vegetation in the region can be generally described as
lush and diverse, while the long growing season typically features water deficits, especially along the
south eastern coastline.
Many people are attracted to the island because of its mild climate,
picturesque landscapes and charismatic wildlife. The pressure of urban and rural land development and
upland resource extraction however has resulted in many of the plant associations in the Coastal
Western Hemlock and Coastal Douglas Fir ecosystems becoming some of the rarest in Canada. Much of this
region's work involves outreach that is aimed at educating other agencies and landowners about the
potential impacts of their activities on the finite resources and delicate systems in this part of the
province.
|
|