The Census of Environment will deliver information on the extent, condition and the services provided by several types of ecosystems in Canada. On this page, find the latest information from the Census of Environment by topic. For a full list of all our products, click below on "All data products".
Agroecosystems
Agroecosystems are mosaics of different land covers and uses, including annual and perennial croplands and pastures and semi-natural habitat. These managed ecosystems deliver essential ecosystem services, contributing to the provision of food for humans and livestock while also providing habitat for various species, climate regulation services, space for recreation and support for cultural heritage.
Beneficiaries
Beneficiaries include the businesses, governments and households that benefit from ecosystem services. Ecosystem services refer to the benefits provided by nature and include things like carbon storage, protection from coastal storms and flooding, maintenance of water quality and quantity, food and habitat provision, as well as support for cultural and recreational activities.
- Table 38-10-0166-01: Selected population characteristics of people living in resource-based communities, by resource industry
- Table 38-10-0168-01: Resource-based community status and proportion of income and employment from a resource industry, by resource industry, 2021
- Table 38-10-0169-01: Selected population and resource income statistics, by resource industry
- Table 17-10-0117-01: Selected population characteristics, Canada, major drainage areas and sub-drainage areas
- Table 38-10-0047-01: Selected population characteristics, Canada, ecozones and ecoregions
- Table 38-10-0170-01: Coastal population and dwellings by elevation and distance from coastline
Freshwater ecosystems
The availability of water in the environment varies across different regions of the country and by season and year. Tracking water yield—an estimate of renewable water supply—provides information to help understand water demand for human use and ecosystem needs against the available water supply.
- Table 38-10-0283-01: Annual water yield for selected drainage regions and Southern Canada
- Table 38-10-0095-01: Median, minimum and maximum monthly water yield for selected ecoprovinces
- Table 38-10-0003-01: Median, maximum and minimum monthly water yield for selected drainage regions
- Table 38-10-0091-01: Annual water yield for selected ecoprovinces
Ocean and coastal ecosystems
Ocean and coastal ecosystems support a diversity of marine life and play a key role in protecting coastlines, storing carbon and providing nursery habitat for many fish species. Ocean and coastal ecosystems include ocean areas by depth class; coastal ecosystems such as salt marshes, seagrass meadows and kelp forests; and ocean floor ecosystems classified by coral and sponge area, substrate and topographic class.
Salt marsh ecosystems
Salt marshes are coastal wetlands that are an important link between land and marine environments. Healthy salt marshes provide benefits such as climate regulation, coastal protection against storms and flooding and a habitat for many species of plants and animals.
Urban ecosystems
Urban ecosystems are a type of intensively used area where people live and work. Settled areas are the places where natural ecosystems are the most modified and where the demand for ecosystem services is most concentrated. The expansion of urban areas onto adjacent landscapes greatly affects the surrounding environment.
- Table 38-10-0158-01: Urban greenness
- Table 38-10-0163-01: Extent and growth of contiguously settled areas
- Urban greenness, 2001, 2011 and 2019