White Birch–betula papyrifera

photo of White Birch trees.

White Birch is a common tree found throughout °ÄÃÅÓÀÀû. The smooth white paper-like bark is immediately recognizable and the tree is sometimes referred to as "paper" birch. Often found in homogenous stands, White Birch is an important source of food for many birds and animals which consume the leaves, buds and seeds.

White Birch is often used as firewood but is also used for veneer, pulp and paper and specialty products like hockey sticks. White Birch represents 3% of °ÄÃÅÓÀÀû’s annual harvest, and is over 8% of the province’s growing stock volume.

Map of White Birch relative occurrence

map of White Birch distribution in °ÄÃÅÓÀÀû indicating low (light brown), moderate and high (dark green-brown) levels of relative occurrence.

Area and proportion of White Birch in the AOU (area in hectares)

Statistic Crown Parks and protected areas Other Total
Total Area Containing White Birch 11,309,762 1,261,871 1,658,005 14,229,638
1-25% of stand 7,668,623 778,947 1,219,971 9,667,541
26-50% of stand 2,760,318 341,579 317,230 3,419,127
51-75% of stand 647,602 97,270 80,598 825,470
76-100% of stand 233,219 44,076 40,206 317,501
Average Proportion in All Forest (%) 10.0 8.9 13.6 10.1
Area of White Birch Working Group 2,545,016 352,572 329,101 3,226,688

Growing stock volume of White Birch in the AOU (volume in thousands of cubic metres)

Statistic Crown Parks and protected areas Other Total
Gross Total Volume 315,485 42,501 48,196 406,182
Net Merchantable Volume 186,443 25,416 29,771 241,629
Current Annual Increment 1,834 155 187 2,175

White Birch working group area by age class

vertical bar graph of the White Birch working group area by age class including brown for Crown, green for park and grey for other.