Retrieved from DalSpace, the institutional repository of Dalhousie University https://dalspace.library.dal.ca/handle/10222/79576
Version: Post-print
Publisher’s versionPatriquin, David. 2010. Landscapes of the Five Bridge Lakes Wilderness Area: A Natural History. Keynote presentation to AGM of Woodens River Watershed Environmental Organization, Feb. 17, 2010. 2 3
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blufftrail.cajwrweo.ca fivebrldgestrust.ca 1 When we enter the Five Bridge Lakes Wilderness Area (FBLWA) , perhaps via the Bluff Trail or the Old St. Margarets's Bay Road, or paddling a lake, we encounter a varied landscape of lakes, streams, rivers, drumlins, erratics, mixed, deciduous and coniferous forest, bushland, rocky barrens, swamps, fens and bogs. The description of 3 this landscape and the interpretation of "how it came to be" is the business of "natural history". This set of web pages provides a brief •5 overview of the natural history of landscapes of the FBLWA. •7 The Five Bridge Lakes Wilderness Area lies about 20 kilometers west of downtown Halifax, Nova Scotia. It encompasses almost 10,000 ,• hectares of Crown land located in the centre of the Chebucto ,. Peninsula between highways 103 and 333. Efforts have been made 11 since the mid-1990's to protect parts or all of the crown lands in the 12 FBLWA. These efforts came to fruition in October of 2009, when the 13 Minister of Environment for Nova Scotia declared the Five Bridge ,. Lakes Wilderness Area to be a candidate Wilderness Area under the 15 Nova Scotia's Wilderness Protection Act. The final designation ,. occured in October of 2011. ,.17 The photographs and diagrams in these pages were assembled for a 19 presentation at the AGM of the Woodens River Watershed 2. Environmental Organization in February of 2010. 21 22 I thank Richmond Campbell, Ralph Weadon, Beth McGee, Nick Hill 23 and Dr. Ian Spooner at Acadia University for contributing in various 2. ways to my understanding and appreciation of the Five Bridge Lakes 2S Wilderness Area. Any errors are mine. 2. 27 - David Parriquin 2. 29 Use of the Materials: 3. 31 Please see Creative Commons License 32 blufftrail.ca/wrweo.CiI fivebrldlilestrust.CiI The Five Bridge Lake Wilderness Area is a horseshoe-shaped area in the centre of the Chebucto Peninsula. For orientation, here Five Bridge Lakes are some reference points: Wilderness Area
• Hubley Big lake in the northwest shoulder 1 • Frederick. Cranberry lakes and - - 2 the trail head for The Bluff Trait towards the northeast; - • Big Five Bridge lake in the armpit, if you will; • the Trout Ponds (Upper and lower) •5 in the southwest arm ; Roads and Trails • lakes of the Nine Mile River. - Artariol; HI4>waY 7• Prospect River systems in the -~R_ southeast arm. --~"- • R~orNIicn:.t.boodono
Five Bridge Wilderness Heritage Trust recently published a walking guide to the Old St. Margaret's Bay Road.
blufftrall,ca/wrweo.ca fivebrldgestrust.ca LA~S~'P'SDf tJ1e f'tve 'Bonvlge Ullus wtldeyv.,.ess Aye~ The Four Major Watersheds
1 2 3 The FBLWA encompasses portions of four major watersheds and includes 26 Lakes, I!l nine of them only partially. S Headwater lakes for the watersheds are , marked by red stars. Seven of those lie 7 entirely within the FBLWA, three partially; ten are outsIde of the FBLWA. • •10 The mouths of the four watersheds lie outside 11 of the FBLWA in coastal areils where there is 12 some settlement. Some of the headwater 13 lakes for the Woodens, Nine Mile River and ,. Propect watersheds lie within lS settled/Industrial areas. Hence critical areas 16 of the watersheds lie outside of the FBLWA 17 and will require other sorts of management to ,. protect water quality, aquatic habitat and ,. movement of migratory fish (eel, gaspereau, 20 some trout, salmon). 21 22 23 2. 2S 27 "2. 2. '0 31 , 32 1 ,2 • Geologically, most of the Chebucto peninsula is part of the South Mountain Batholith. This mass of granitic rock formed 370 million , years ago through processes similar to those , involved in volcanic eruptions. Molten magma that formed 20-40 km in the earth's crust • "boiled up" into the overlying rocks of the •10 Meguma Terrane, but did not reach the 11 surface (as in a volcano); rather it cooied 12 13 slowly, forming granite. Glacial & Interglacials ,. Glacial action over the last 3 million years 15 (and perhaps durlng earlier glacial episodes since 3 mya 16 also) cut away the softer overlying, mostly 17 sedimentary rock, exposing the harder rock ,. of the South Mountain Batholith. ,. Ice-free since 11,000 ya 2D The last great ice advance peaked about 21 18,000 years ago when Nova Scotia as we 22 know it today was completely covered by Ice. We have been completely ice-free for about "2. 11,000 years. 25 26 27 2. 2. 30 31 32
Bedrock GeoIc9v
Source of the original r,gure: Envlronmentsl GeologV 0' Hsll'u snd SUr blufftrail.cajwrweo.ca flvebrldgestrust.ca Post-glacial colonization of Nova Scotia by Plants, Animals and Microbes A: Ice Sneet 1.S.000 t1eays "go Post-glacial colonization of Nova Scotia -- "B.: Post-glac~"l coloV\.o~zat~oV\.o 1 Following retreat of the ice, plants. animals 2 and microbes colonized Nova Scotia by three <12·C c: 'PolltV\.o ttfPes § ablA.V\.oG:t"lI\.Ce ~V\.o 3 major rOutes: a coye fyOVIA. 'PeV\.onoyV\.o LQIru •5 1. via the Chignecto Land Bridge; 2. from Continental Shelf Refugia* and from AGS The Last Billion Years along the coastal plain from the Atlantic states of present day USA; 7 3 via the air, for some seeds. birds. C~r'l! '~.J 1 , Insects. 12-15·C • Pollen deposited in lake sediment5 provides a •10 15·18"C 11 history book of our flora. The figure at right >18·C shows the relative abundance of pollen for 12 - 13 particular groups of spedes and some 15,000 YU111<10: lee shU! MglMing to retrul •I D-15"C below individual species (balsam fir, red oak) in T~nrIrl ,. prneru, toldlrlll dry' Sea levels 150 m below pt"tsenl leVels' "CO cores from Penhorn Lake in Dartmouth. 15 dia F e t 16 ! 17 A tundra type flora developed quickly. The • I I I I first occurrence of red oak, abOut 11.200 ya, i- I I I I ,. marks the beginning of sustained warming ,. (with some ups and downs). ! 20 21 22 Essentially all major components of our - 23 present day Acadian forest were present by ----- 9600 years ago, ,. 2. O~k 25 26 *"""'S~ reI bJufftrall.ca!wrweo.ca r1vebrldgestrust.ca Three environmental factors have had especially important influences on the landsCilpes, habitats, plants and animals that we see today in the Five Bridge Lakes Wilderness Area: • gladal activity 1 • the rock type 2 3 • re<:urrent fires •5 • •,. 11 12 ,.13 ,.15 ,.17 19 2. 21 22 23 2. 25 blufftrilll.ca/wrweo.c.iI 2. 27 f1vebridgestrust.ciI 2. 29 3. 31 32 The first factor is the glaciallandSCilpe In which the FBLWA is Situated. Prominent featIJres of this landscape are Landsca~ 1 • ridges and lakes carved out of the 1: Glacial 2 2 granite; they are often somewhat Of' highly elongated in the dlrectlon of ice • flow during a glacial Interval; • • drumlins; • large bouders deposited by retreating •7 glaciers; some may be called erratlcs Of' perched boullSers; • areas of veneer till which are the so' called bar~ns, occupied mostly by low bushy Vf!getation Of' rock faces with only •10 mosses imd lichens; 11 • areas of blanket till, which support 12 forests_ ,.12 GLOSSARY blanket till ,. "~n 17 A community of relatively sparsely distributed ,. plants that cover less than half of the ground area. Barrens often have few trees and are 20 dominated by a single species. The plants are "21 often small and stlJnted compared to 22 individuals of the same species from less veneer till 22 Infertile habltats.1 2. "The Barrens" 2. ---~ 2. drumlin ,".-'...~ """"-~ -< Q ... -. ~ 27 Elongated, smooth hills of till, gravel and , ' , " (, . sand created by continental glaciers. The 2. elongation is in the direction of ice flow. Many _ r-_ 2' drumlins are steepest at the ends that fac;e ~ 20 the direction from which the lee came and fall -- 21 ... 22 gradually to ground level at the other ends.2 e~ic l.~,J.ZOO6.CoillInI~ot~.G' ..., till A piece Df rock that has been eroded and -~ The Ice of a glader contains day, dust. and 2.1tobMs, D.C. 1996. A fift1 {IIIkJe «> ~,. E.Hten transported by a glacier to a different area; it rod: and mInerai fragments from silt to _ AnwnI:a. ~field ~s.-. 8o 1 This map shows the broad distribution of 2 veneer till (referred to as "rockland" on the regional soils map), blanket till and , drumlins in and around the FBLWA. •5 The FBLWA is shaded green (borders are •7 approximate). • Note the tendency of drumlns to be oriented with the long axis pointing towards the south- east, the direction or advance the last great ice sheet in this area. ,. 11 12 ,.13 ,.15 17 ,. 2. 21 22 2J 2. 2S 2. 27 2. ,.2. J1 J2 DIstribution ofVeneer Till, Blanketl1l1 and Drumlins In and around the FBLWA The map was constructed rrnm NOlla SCotIa o.-partment or Natural Resources maps available online. 2:Granitic Rock extreme droughtiness The second environmental factor Is the nature elevated areas of the rock. Granites predominate throughout & till (mostly) 1 the FBLWA. This has two major effects on the &slopes are 2 plant communities: droughty & veg'n 3 1. Granitic rock Is very hard and •5 impermeable to .....ater and roots, and • bedrock impermeable fire-susectible/ there are few fissures. This results in 7• extreme droughtiness In e1eyated areas to water& roots;few fire/adapted and on slopes, and in elltreme .....etness • in depressions and low-tying areas. fissures • 2. Granitic rock Is mineral poor and breaks do n very slo.....ly, resulting In acidic, 11 10 till,soil moderate calcium soils and .....ater. 12 In the upper lying, well drained areas, slow· moisture stress 13 gro.....ing vegetation tolerant of elrtreme drying ,. and reaJrrent fires develops - the so called l~w 15 barrens vegetation. It Includes 10..... bushy acic;fic, • rocks till are calclumsolls~ ..17 species species such as bluekberTy, nutrient-poor extreme huddebeny, and broom crowberry. ,. wetness ,. In the Io -tylng areas, v~tlon tolerant of 2. 21 elCtreme etness and waterlogging and humic • nutrient poor-condiitons develops Including ; .. • ac,crs1ow -Iy',"g areas are wet, 23 bog species sudl as sphagnum moss and " Labrador tea. Humic acids from wetlands and aCldlc,brown water, waterlogged or water 2. 10..... lying forests leach Into water bodies, 25 forming "brown wate". oligo-mesotrophic filled "27 Forest develops only where there Is some lakes 2. accumulation of till. In low-lying areas, 29 forests or quasi-forest stands are dominated 3. by red maple, tamarack, or black SPf\Jce 31 (othen with fir) according to local conditions. 32 In higher lying areas there may be milled deciduous-conifer forests or pure hardwoods. Species requiring higher caldum levels, e.g., sugar maple, are not found In these areas. blufftrilll.ca/wrweo.ca flvebridgestrust.ca Brown water & brook trout in Lower Trout Lake Humic acids from wetlands and low lying forests color the water of the FBLWA brown. This material buffers or lessens, to some 1 extent, the effects of add rain. Thus it helps 2 to protect brook trout from aluminum toxicity 3 at low pH: brook trout can tolerate a lower pH In brown water than they can tolerate In •5 clear water. •7 Maintenance of these brown waters is very much dependent on the continued integrity of • the land-water systems, •10 It is likely as well that the brook trout in the FBLWA are genetically adapted to these waters. Thus they can be described as 12 heritage brook trout populations. ,.13 ,.15 17 ,. 2D 21 22 23 2. 25 2. 27 2. 2. 30 31 32 The trout Insert wa. ""rived from artworl< b1 Ro~rt w. HinM availabl~ In the public domain. The third environmental factor is fire. Fire is a type of "ecological disturbance": a~ """nIIMt 'esullS in a sustal~"d disruptIon of a~ """.y Recurrent, stand-replacing fires started by lightening, occur Wind •S naturally in some landscapes. In Canada's boreal forest, for DIsease 3: example, such fires occur at intervals of about 250 years •7 on average. For the Acadian forest, which covers much of Pests F· 8 NS, natural fire Intervals are much longer, perhaps 1000 ~ Forests: earlier years or more. They occur at shorter intervals on more Ire •,. drought prone landscapes such as barrens, e.g., perhaps at 11 150-250 year Intervals on average. successional stages After the Europeans arrived, fires started deliberately or accidentally, occurred at much Shorter intervals over much 13 of the Nova Scotian landscape, e.g., 100 years or less, up Humans ?Increased area ,. until recently. Logging of barrens ,.15 A very large fire occurred on the Chebucto Peninsula in ~ -_...... 17 1957. The last extensive fire on the Chebucto PeninSUla ., '-..- 18 ., .•'/<", occurred in the 19805, after which malicious setting of fires Roads ~ ,:I I, Source: NASA-CASA ProjlOCt blufftrill1,ca/wrweo.ca fivebrldgestrust.ca " ' .•, Hilbitilt Frilgmentiltlon: the miljor CilUse 1 of species loss 2 3 Conservation biologists generally agree that the major cause of species extinctions •S ClJrrently and into the near future is habitat W, areas •7 fragmentation. outside This refers to the breaking up of large, • contiguous areas of natural habitat into of •10 smaller "islands" of natural habitat within a peninsula 11 matrix of human dominated landscape. Such 12 fragmentation reduces the number of wild species the remaining natural areas can support over the long term. ,. Creating wildlife corridors between these lS islands of natural habitat preserves some of - 16 the features of a la!"ger contiguous habitat 17 and reduces species losses. The corridors ,. allow movement of species between the ,. "islands" that otherwise may be inhibited by - 20 human-dominated landscape. This movement - 21 is essential for gene flow (outbreeding), and 22 to allow re-establishment of a subpopulatlon 23 that has died off because of some local event 2. such as a fire. 2S 26 With formal protection of the FBlWA, there 27 will be a lot of wild land protected on the 2. Chebucto Peninsula. However, to maximize 2. the effectiveness of these areas to conserve 30 native biodiversity, we need to establish and 31 protect wildlife corridors between the 32 "islands" of wild land on the Peninusla, and between these wild lands and wildlands on .f.~b~':t ,..., the greater mainland. '":\::.:__ - t ...... _...... -r -, • blufftrall.ca/wrweo.ca nvebrldgestrust.ca Zooming In: Google Earth VIeW ofthe 01ebuct0 PenlrlSUla 1 Now we want to move from general principles 2 to look at specific landscapes and habitats, 3 beginning wIth a Google Earth image of the Chebucto Peninsula. •5 For orientation, It's heipful to remember that •7 Big Five Bridge Lake, and Moore's Lake to the southeast of it (BFBL & ML on the Google • Map) are located in the 'armpit' of the •10 FBLWA. 11 12 This Image is a composite, made up (by 13 Google) from satellite images obtained on several different years, months and days. In the central strip, recorded on Oct. 31/Nov.l, we can see contrasting reddish and dark 15 green areas, not discemable in other strips. ,. When we zoomed in a bit on this area, it 17 proved to be very Informative... ,. 20 21 22 23 2. 25 2. 27 2. 2. 30 31 32 LDloo'.ods.cGt-pes. of tJ.1e f'~ve lS-tidge Wdus. w~Lde~s.s.Ayea Colour cooed Landscapes The Oct31/Novl (2005) strip is essentially color-coded, the following landscape features standing out: • The reddish coloured areas are 1 barrens, the colour coming from leaves 2 of common huckleberry which are fire- 3 engine red In the mld-to-Iate fall before 4 they drop. 5 • White spots and slivers within the reddish coloured areas are of bare rock, •7 perhaps with some cover by lichens and mosses, but without a lot of • huckleberry. •,. • The dark green areas are forest 11 standS with a lot conifer5 (principally red 12 spruce, black spruce, pine), 13 • Yellowish coloured areas are stands 14 with a lot of red oak. Red oak retains its leaves late into the fall after leaves of other deciduous trees have dropped. One of these stands outlines very nicely ,. an oblong drumlin oiented towards the 17 southeast. ,. 19 Somewhat less well defined, grayish 2. areas, some with a little bit of dark green or 21 yellow are deciduous or mixed forest that is 22 dominated by species other than oak or 23 conifer5, e.g., they might be predominantly 24 red maple, birch or aspen or some 25 combination of those species; some may be 2. areas of wettish "bushland" dominated by 27 species such as mountain holly, modora, 2. witherod, but without a lot of huckleberry. 29 3. Note that in the lower part of the Oct 31 31/Novl strip, roughly below the Old Coach 32 Road (Old St. Margaret's Bay Road), dark green predominates while In the upper part, reddish hues predominate. These differences correspond to a predominance of barrens above the Old Coach Road and of coniferous and mixed forest below the old St. Margarets Llneamlnts: These are "significant lines of Bay Road. However, it Is clear that both areas landscape caused by joints and faults, are actually mosaics of different landscapes revealing the architecture of the rock and vegetation types, which relates to the basement." (Cited In Potlllraj Prat>u and Baskaran gladal landscape features discussed RIIJag<>palan (201 3). Mappi~ of LJ""aments for previously. Diversified landscapes and Groondwater TargetIng and SlJstalna~~ Water Resooru vegetation, with few roads or trails, make the Manilgement in H.n:l Rock Hydrogeological Envlronment U.ing RS- GIS hup://cdn.lnled1open,comjpdf.- FBLWA especially good habitat for the wm/44481,pdf} Mainland Moose. 1 2 Closer-up: Vegetation on terrain 3 between Pot Lake and Cranberry lake. Pot Lake and Cranberry Lake are shallow, •, glacially carved lakes, oriented roughly along • ~.~Km a NNW-SSE axis. They are separated by a •7 glacially sculpted hill with exposed rock I • barrens towards the south and are joined by , a stream flowing east to west through a low ,. 11 area extending from the northwest side of Pot 12 Lake to the southeast side of Cranberry Lake. 13 Loop 1 of The Bluff trail goes through this \ area. ,. ~~ 15 The distribution of several vegetation types Canoe ' that can be distinguished on the October 31, 2005 Google Earth image for the area Access illustrate some of the relationships between Point l 17 vegetation, topography and exposure to the Pot ,. elements. I 19 2. The open (rock) bar~n5 show up as Lake 21 whitish patches, with pink around them 22 where the bushy huckleberry has enough 23 soil to get a foothold, but is not deep enough 2. for trees. The barrens are areas where the 2' gladers scraped the rocks surface and any 2. loose materials were washed away. They are 27 typically raised (elevated) above the 2. Immediate surroundings. 29 3. The yellowish areas are red oak dominated 31 hardwoods, typical of quickly drained more 32 exposed, slopes. Closer-up: Vegetation on terrain between Pot Lake and Cranberry Lake. large white pines (WP) occur on drier land adjacent to barrens, rarely forming a dosed The photo at right and the next two canopy. slides are ground views of features distinguishable on Google Maps Mixed, older growth forest with large red spruce, fir, red maple and yellow birch At right:Older Growth Mixed occurs where the land slopes down towards Forest with moss and lichen the low area and towards each lake. covered forest floor on portage Apparently these rather mOist areas were spared during the last fires. route Pot Lake-Cranberry Lake Large trees at right are red spruce. Also To the south, black spruce standS occur on In photo: red maple, white pine, balsam low lying wettish ground. nc. Low-lying black spruce stand 1 2 3 Here, black spruce exhibits its signature profile with a narrow, ,• spire-like crown. 6 7 There is likely some balsam fir in the stand as well. •,. In the foreground red maple can 11 be viewed at left and witherod at 12 right, both typical of wettish 13 ground that at this site drains into ,. the lower-lying black spruce 15 stand. 16 ,. 19 2. 21 2Z 2J 2. 2' 26 27 2. 29 3. J1 J2 blufftralI.ciJ/wrweo.ca fivebrldgestrust.ca Uloo\.oascGt'P'S oftVie Ftve lS-nage Lalous. w~Lae~ss Ayea Upland barrens/Pine/oak woods ,1 3 4 5 •7 8 This photo, taken on October 24th , Illustrates several features that stand out in Google ,.• Earth Images taken In mid-fail: 11 12 • The bare bar~ns 13 •A fringe or red colured huckleberry 14 • Large white pInes 15 • Oak woods at the right - note yellow 16 leaves. 17 At this Site, on The Bluff Trail, carpets of broom crowberry occur sandwiched between the bare rock and huckleberry. At undisturbed sItes there Is usually a lot of lichen growth on 19 the exposed rock; It Is lost in areas that are ,. regular!y trampled, as above. 21 " "'4 "26 " "3. "31 blufftrail.ea/wrweo.ca flvebrldgestrust.ciI " Panorama taken at south end ofthe Pot Lake k>op on the BluffTrafl (Dec 2, 2009) illustrates the mosak:: landscape. 1 2 3 •,5 7 •9 10 11 11 13 1. 15 15 17 18 3D 21 Top: View towards the west, a b09lpond. 22 Note conifers, likely black spruce in low, wet 23 lands; deciduous trees on upland to the left . 2. 25 Middle: View towards the north. Rock outcrop 25 with broom crowberry in foreground, 27 Cranberry Lake to left, Pot Lake to right. 2. 29 Bottom: View towards south east. 3D 31 See Google image and map of The Bluff Trail 32 at the bottom of the page. " '~"-... " '='- ' • 0:=- Rhodora vistas 1 2 3 •5 Leaves of our natrve azalea, Rhodora •7 (Rhododendron canaaense) were In its paste! 8 pink stage. •,. II is seen in some years but not others. 11 12 It lasts for about a week. 13,. ,.15 17 ..18 21 22 23 2. 25 2. 27 28 29 3. 31 32 ThIs photo and those In the next tour pages were taken on the 4th loop of the Bluff Trall in late september, 2007. blufftral1.ca/wrweo.ca flvebridlilestrust.ca 1 2 3 •5 •7 At left: Cinnamon ferns (Osmundastrum cinnamomeum) have turned cinnamon! (The •9 common name however refe~ to cinnamon ,. colured fibres that occur near the base of the 11 fronds.) 12 13 Cinnamon fern is a wetland species, very ,. common on this landscape. The trees are red 15 maple. ,. 17 At right, leaves on a red maple have turned ,. red. It's usually the first deciduous tree to go 19 into its fall colours - so that gives you an idea 2. of when to look for Rhodoroa in its pastel pink stage. 22 23 2. 25 2. 27 2. 29 3. 31 32 On the 4th loop of the BlulfTrallln late September 27, 2009. contInued. blufftralJ.ca/wrweo.ca flvebridgestrust.ca 1 2 3 A splash of huckleberry red. •5, Huckleberry turns a fire engine red before its 7 leaves finally drop. • This plant was a bit ahead of most of the •10 huckleberry which turns after the leaves of 11 most of the trees have dropped, circa mid- 12 October. ,.13 15 15 17 ,. 20 21 23 2. 25 25 27 2. 2. 30 31 32 On the 4th loop of the Bluff Trail1n late september 27, 2009, continued. b1ufftrail.ca/wrweo.ca f1vebrldgestrust.ca 1 2 3 •5 Overlooking a wetland by Upper Five Bridges Lake. ,• 8 The pastel pink of Rhodora paints a large brush across the wetland. •,. 11 In the foreground the bushes are mainly 12 huckeberry, just beginning to tum towards 13 the fire engine red seen in the previous ,. photo. ,.15 17 18 2... 21 22 2. 2S 2. 27 28 29 3. J1 J2 On the 4th loop of the Bluff Trail In late September 27, 2009, contlnued. blufftJ'ilI1.ca/wrweo.ca fivebrldge5tru5t.Ci1 On the 4th loop ofttle B1uffTra1l1n late 5eptember 27, 2009, ronduded. Moasic landSl:ape by Upper Five Bridges Lake. 1 2 An oak dominated drumlin at the top right; 3 black spruce and red maple by the lake...and the Rhodora wetland. •,5 In the foreground at left, rock barrens with 7 broom crowberry, reindeer lichen; birch and some huckleberry (dark red). • •10 11 12 ,.13 15 15 17 ,. 20 21 22 23 25 25 27 2. 2. 30 31 32 Oak dominated Black spruce & red maple by lake "7 Perhaps no feature Is more characteristic of this landscape than the drumHns that are seemingly spattered across It. The last pages explore a few of these drumlins, The oak dominated drvmlln below was viewed from the 4th loop of The Bluff Trail, 1 2 3 •S •7 • •10 11 12 13 drumlin ,. Elongated, smooth hills of till, gravel and lS sand created by continental glaciers. The ,. elongation IS in the direction of ice flow. Many 17 drumlins are steepest at the ends that face ,. the direction from which the ice came and fail ,. gradually to ground level at the other ends. l 20 21 This drumlin is dominated by red oak. They 22 are likely about 50 years of age, dating back 23 to the end of the period of recurrent, human- 2. set fires2. I,Roberts, D,C. 1996. A r~1d 9uk1e to 9ec1ogy, fa blufftrail.ca/wrweo.ca flvebrldgestrust.ca Old Growth on two drumlins south of 1 the Old st. Margarets Bay Road 2 3 Beth McGee/Five Bridges •5 In the summer of 2009, Nick Hill and I Trust Chebucto Wilderness Coalition followed up on comments made by Ralph 7• Wheadon to Beth McGee that In his days as Steering Committee an employee and fire warden for NSONR he • had viewed ·ovennClture" oak forest on a hill •,. southeast of O ..17 ,. 2. 21 22 23 2. 2S 27 \ David Patriquin 28 Ralph Wheadon x 29 3. Index Map 56 31 32 blufftrall.ca/wrweQ.ca fivebridgf!5trust.ca ,1 3 • The fi~t site we explored WillS the drumlin •7 southeast of Oak Hill LilIke. It hJmed out to be • a very spedal place. •I. it is surrounded by wetlands. There is a fringe 11 of blade. spruce as you approach the d/llmlin 12 (top right), and then OilIk-domlOilited 13 hardwoods. " l1'Ie flow~ is an on:hld found In the 16 17" wet1ilInds. To the right of it is a lilIrve footprint, most likely that 01 the malnlillnd ,. ~. ,.,. Nick hugs a large OilIk· we found what had 21 hoped to find! 22 ,.23 ,.25 ,. 3. 31 32 blufftrall.ca/wrweo.ca flvebridgestrust.a This is a highly unusual stand of red oak, exhibiting old growth features. An abstract for a presentation on "Multiaged old growth red oak stand on the Chebudo Peninsula": 1 A RapId Appraisal study was conducted July 2 21-22,2009 to verify existence of and 3 characterize an OG red oak stand on Umlah Hill southeast of Oak Hill Lake. It had been •S known years ago by Ralph Wheadon as a NSONR employee and fire warden for the •7 area. The sIte was visited again on 5ep )-4, 2011 to look for charcoalln soli profiles. The • study was supported In part by Ave Bridges •,. Wilderness Heritage Trust. 11 12 The stand has features of a multlaged, old 13 growth oak forest with snags and fallen dead ,. in a range of diameters and distinct moose 15 maple and witch hazel 5lJbcanoples. The ,. overstory Is made up mostly of red oak, some 17 yellow bIrch, occasional white birch; red maple was common but tended to be in the ,. subcanopy/overgrown by oak. The stand Is 2... estimated as about 15 ha in extent. Cores 21 indicate the larger trees are over 100 years of 22 age. We observed scat from mainland moose 2J as well as evidence of the brown bear and 2. many cavities In snags. SOme adjacent areas 2S support younger oak stands with some but 2. not all of these features. 27 SOil profiles revealed charcoal layef"S In adjacent areas supporting younger oak stands, but not at Umlah Hili which appears 29 to have escaped area fires by being relatively 3. isolated and surrounded by wetland. Wind J1 Induced tree top damage continuously causes J2 decay in the I1Il1est oaks and these produce single tree light gaps and valuable habitat for a suite of snag-dependent wildlife. This mature forest is thus composed not of trees of several centuries old but of younger trees yet the forest has the same characteristics of typical OG. This type of old growth red oak forest Is apparently OI,1W rare within the whole blufftrllll.ca/wrweo.ca flvebrldgestrust.ca range of red oak In North America. 1 2 3 4 On the drumlin southeast of Lower Trout 5 Lake, we found the large (old) red s~ruce , Ral~h had described. They exist largely as 7 widely s~aced individual trees In mixed forest 8 or more densely in smallish groves over a total area of ~erha~s 50+ hectare. •,. 11 The trees tower above other spedes (fir, red 12 ma~le, white birch, yellow birch, black 13 s~ruce, pine). 14 15 The forest floor is bouldery and close to 16 100% moss and lichen covered with low 17 vegetation (e.g., sarsaparilla, snowberry) 18 where the canopy is mostly closed, and higher vegetation (typically 1 m, dominated 2... by huckleberry, bracken fern, cinnamon fern) 21 in more open areas. 22 2J 24 25 26 27 28 3. J1 J2 blufftral1.ca/wrweo.ca f1vebrldgestrust.ca Ul<\.oGts.c~~s.of th~ -F~ve lS-yi..Gtge Ulus. w~LGteY\o'..Gs.s.AyeGl .~ Many of the red spruce trees are in the range 0.50 to 0.84 m (20 to 33 inches) diameter at breast height. Such trees are large for Nova Scotia; Ralph Johnson in Forests of Nova 1 Scotia (1986) commented: "Red spruce Is a 2 medium size tree at maturity, reaching 16 to 3 30 inches dbh and 70 to 90 feet In Nova 4 Scotia at from 150 to 280 years of age. The largest red spruce reported in Nova Scotia , was 31.8 inches dbh." Interestingly, our • ground observations indicate the tallest trees , can actually be identified on Google satellite •9 maps from the Shadows they cast on the ,. surrounding trees. (Before we went into the 11 area, we had wondered whether those 12 shadows were cast by pines but, by far, the 13 majority of the tallest trees are red spruce.) 14 15 The Lower Trout trees will need to be dated ,. but from the appearance of the forest noor 17 which has very few large downed rotting 18 trees, we are guessing that these massive 19 spruce trees were part of a regrowth of a 2. secondary forest that replaced the primary 21 forest after it was harvested 150 or more 22 years ago. Individual red spruce trees can live 23 for centuries and their progeny establish 24 under the shading canopy and replace the 2' large trees when they blow down. Today 2. there are ample small red spruce for 27 replacement of the large trees and over time, 28 we expect that a true old growth forest with 29 many snags, leaners and fallen dead trees in various stages of decomposition would develop, of course only in the absence of harvesting or fire. 31 A large blowdown was observed in an area 32 where there are also many stumps and cut logs, suggesting that recent thinning may have contributed to the blowdown. Occasional large red spruce also occur outside of the Crown land in dense, fir forest which was likely clear-cut in the not-too-distant past. blufftraII.ca/wrweo.ca fivebridgestrust.ciI 1 2 3 •5 •7 Nick climbed up one of the tall spruces, "ll1e Climbing Tree" to get a panoramic view. •,. Photo on Aug. 12, 2009. 11 12 That's Lower Trout Lake in the distance. ,.13 Trees that tower above the rest are red 15 spruce. ,. 17 And wilderness as far os one can see. ,. ..2. 21 22 2J 2. 2S 2. 27 2. 29 3. Photo by Nick Hill -_.. J2 Photo by Nick Hill 1 2 3 • •7 •,. 11 12 13 14 ,.,. 17 • ,,.. Col" - 2. 21 .. 22 23 - 2. 2S 26 27 •• 28 Trail Dedicalion 2. _ ....", "-o"b .. 3. Or;oo 31 + .._~ _------...... __ ..__.._-M __• .....___-----• __._ --_ __..... --_ _---~. .._---_--_..___-_._-...._-- -,-, blufftr.ll.c.e/wrweo.al f1vebrldgI!5trust.Ci1 LANDSCAPES Use of Pbotographs by David G. Patriquin (Halifax, NS.) & Nick Hill (South Berwick, NS.) I'boIognlphs thai: tha! an: contained in lhe document/website undef !be beading NtJlIUal History of the Fiw BrUlge UJka WiUkmD$ Arn:I. lvailable It wl'WCOA.or that Qlhl:rwise cite this page lIS !be lia:nsc ~[may be uxd under CJt:ati~ Commons lioenselAnribution-Noa<.:ommm:iaI- Shan:Alitc 2.5, ~pecifically: • AtbibulioD. Yoo mvM amibulC the work in lbc matllltl' specified by !be autboror licensor. In this case. identify lhe IOUICC IS: Dlvid G. PaUlquill, \\00deDs River WlIt£nIEd EnviroolIJmta.l Orpnizllioo (1IrI'WCO.a.) Of' !'o-d: HUl, Fun HililDstilutc for PIam ~(fcmbillns.a), dale copied. ~eepc "'1lete attributed speci1ially 10 l'o1ct Hill. photos an: Ihmc ofDavid Pauiquin • NllOalOlIMf'CiaI. You may DOt usc this wort for commercial purposes. • SJlan Alike.. Ifyou alta". tJaIl5form.or build upoll this work. you may diunllutc!be resuhing wort only wxIcr lliccnse MicnticalIO this one. o For any mIK or dimibulioo. you mll5l mate clear 10 odlets the license I£mlS ofthis wort. • Any of~moditiooscan be waived if you get pennissioD [rom the copyrighl bolda. Cootael Dayid G. l'Illiquin at: Cootael "'jet Hill at: 6165 MIlIJ1lY Place 424 8elltky Rd. Halifax,NS. 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