Defining the boreal

Two boreal terms are often confused: the “boreal zone” and the “boreal forest.”

The boreal zone is the broad circumpolar vegetation zone of the high northern latitudes. Although mainly covered with trees, the boreal zone is more than just forest. It contains lakes, rivers and wetlands, as well as naturally treeless terrain such as alpine areas, heathlands in regions where the climate is influenced by the ocean, and grasslands in drier areas.

The boreal forest (singular) is a colloquial term. It is often used to refer to the overall forested area within the boreal zone, and sometimes to refer to the boreal zone itself because forests dominate this landscape. This term is used inconsistently and can lead to confusion.

Boreal forests (plural) is the preferred term for the forested areas within the boreal zone. Boreal forests are made up of cold-hardy trees, many of them coniferous (such as pine, spruce, larch and fir) and some deciduous (such as poplar and birch).

North America’s boreal zone

In North America the boreal zone covers roughly 627 million hectares, over half of which (362 million hectares) is forest and other wooded land. Canada contains most of the boreal zone, 552 million hectares, including 307 million hectares of forests and other wooded land.

Boreal zone on the North American continent (thousands of hectares). Boreal zone by country, measured in thousands of hectares, including total area and area by land type.

	Total area	Forest land	Other wooded land	Non-forest land	Alpine land	Water
Canada	551 979	223 468	83 667	151 677	24 229	54 100
United States	73 701	47 324	7 456	9 753	8 218	1 282
Greenland	1 595	0	8	1 570	0	15
Saint Pierre & Miquelon (France)	23	3	0	20	0	1

Source: The extent of the North American boreal zone (May 2009)