Ecological Integrity of National Parks

Parks Canada is working to monitor ecological integrity in 42 of Canada’s national parks.^[1] Ecological integrity is assessed by monitoring selected measures of major park ecosystems (e.g., forest, freshwater, wetlands). Thirty-five parks had reported on the ecological integrity of at least some of their ecosystems by 2011. Of the 102 ecosystems that Parks Canada has assessed, 92% (94) are reported to be in good or fair condition. Trends are more difficult to assess, but of the 81 ecosystems with reported trends, 46 (57%) are stable or improving.

Ecological integrity status and trends of national parks, Canada, 2011

Note: Park ecosystems include forests, freshwater, grasslands, tundra, marine and others, depending on what is present in each park.
Source: Parks Canada (2011) The State of Canada's Natural and Historic Places, 2011 Report.

Ecosystems have integrity when their components (including native species and physical elements) and processes (e.g., energy flow, nutrient and water cycles, predation) are intact.^[2],^[3] Although the parks are currently in generally good condition, they are affected, despite their protected status, by many of the same pressures we place on the environment in general. Parks Canada has invested in management and restoration to address a prioritized list of ecological issues.

Parks Canada identifies some of the major stressors of national parks^[4] as being the following:

• Habitat loss
• Habitat fragmentation (e.g., building of roads)
• Losses of large carnivores
• Pollutants, including pesticides and air pollution
• Invasive species
• Climate change^[5]

The conditions of ecosystems within a park are determined by a series of monitoring measures that are designed to track biodiversity and natural processes within those ecosystems. More information about individual parks can be found in Parks Canada’s State of Park Reports.

Ecological integrity status and trends of 42 national parks, Canada, 2011

Note:
¹ These parks combine “Lakes” and “Streams and Rivers” into a single “Freshwater/Aquatic” ecosystem.
² Though an ecological integrity status is reported, there were not enough years of data available to report an ecological integrity trend for these ecosystems.
³ Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve and Haida Heritage site.
⁴ Information for Mount Revelstoke and Glacier National Parks is collected together.
⁵ Ecosystem conditions for these parks were identified after March 31, 2009.
Source: Parks Canada (2011) The State of Canada's Natural and Historic Places, 2011 Report.

Related indicators

• Canada’s Protected Areas

Other information

• Parks Canada
• State of Park Reports for National Parks

---