Value-added wood products in Ontario
The province’s forest industry is supported mainly by the Northern Ontario boreal forest. These are the expansive and renewable resources that are drawn upon for the creation of value-added products. The geographical area covers 690,000 square kilometers which is roughly 17% of all Canadian forests as well as 2% of the world’s forests. It is estimated that the Ontario landscape is covered by roughly 85 billion trees. The forest industry in Ontario brings in about $10.8 billion in revenue per year. Sixty percent of Ontario’s forest industry is recognized as value-added wood products. In 2005, Ontario’s manufacturing of cabinets and furniture represented $2.2 billion.
Ecology of the Oak Ridges Moraine
The moraine provides habitat for a wide variety of plant and animal species, over seventy of which are threatened or endangered in Canada, including the West Virginia white butterfly, Jefferson salamander, red-shouldered hawk, and American ginseng. The moraine's rare wetlands support plants and insects more typical of northern Ontario. The remnants of tallgrass prairie and oak-pine savanna in the eastern portion are globally threatened ecosystems.