Assessment of Trail Characteristics and Invasive Species Prevalence of an Alternative Border Crossing Route for the A2A Trail By Zili Xie A report submitted to the Graduate Program in Environmental Studies In conformity with the requirement for the Degree of Master of Environmental Studies Queen’s University Kingston, Ontario, Canada May 2018 Copyright © Zili Xie, 2018 Table of Contents Chapter 1: Introduction ............................................................................................................... 1 1.1 The A2A Collaborative ......................................................................................................... 1 1.2 The A2A Trail ....................................................................................................................... 2 1.3 Needs of the A2A Trail Committee ...................................................................................... 5 1.4 Objective of the Research Report.......................................................................................... 7 Chapter 2 Literature Review ....................................................................................................... 8 2.1 Trail Impacts on Soils ........................................................................................................... 8 2.2 Trail Impacts on Vegetation .................................................................................................. 9 2.3 Trail Impacts on Wildlife .................................................................................................... 10 2.4 Social Impacts of Trails....................................................................................................... 11 2.5 Economic Impacts of Trails ................................................................................................ 12 2.6 Environmental/Ecological Sustainability of Trails ............................................................. 13 2.7 Other Studies on Sustainability of Trails ............................................................................ 15 Chapter 3: Trail Background Information and Methods ....................................................... 17 3.1 History of the K&P Trail ..................................................................................................... 17 3.2 History of the Cataraqui Trail ............................................................................................. 20 3.3 Study Site Description ......................................................................................................... 22 3.3.1 Sections of Interest ....................................................................................................... 22 3.3.2 Trail Grade and Trail Surface ....................................................................................... 22 3.3.3 Uses of the Trails .......................................................................................................... 23 3.4 Study Design and Data Collection ...................................................................................... 24 3.4.1 Point Selection .............................................................................................................. 24 3.4.2 Field Procedure ............................................................................................................. 24 3.4.2.1 Trail Characteristics ............................................................................................... 25 3.4.2.2 Invasive Plant Species (Photos and Quadrats) ....................................................... 26 3.4.2.3 Other Field Work Procedures ................................................................................ 27 3.5 Data Analysis ...................................................................................................................... 27 3.5.1 Trail Characteristics ...................................................................................................... 27 3.5.2 Invasive Plant Species Prevalence ................................................................................ 28 Chapter 4 Results ........................................................................................................................ 30 4.1 Points Surveyed ................................................................................................................... 30 4.2 Trail surface along the K&P Kingston Urban ..................................................................... 31 4.3 Trail Grade, Trail Slope Alignment and Landform Grade .................................................. 31 4.4 Trail Degradations ............................................................................................................... 33 4.4.1 Soil Erosion .................................................................................................................. 33 4.4.2 Muddiness, Rocks and Vegetation Encroachment ....................................................... 34 4.5 Invasive Species .................................................................................................................. 35 4.5.1 Quadrats Used and Composition of Invasive Plant Species ......................................... 35 4.5.2 Percent Cover of Invasive Species ............................................................................... 36 4.5.3 Probability of Occurrence of Invasive Plant Species ................................................... 36 Chapter 5 Discussion .................................................................................................................. 38 5.1 Trail Degradation ................................................................................................................ 38 5.1.1 Trail sections too flat? .................................................................................................. 38 5.1.2 Wrong Surface Material Used in the Wrong Place? ..................................................... 39 5.1.3 Lack of Appropriate Trail Maintenance? ..................................................................... 41 5.1.4 Trail Maintenance Overdue? ........................................................................................ 43 5.2 Invasive Plant Species ......................................................................................................... 44 Chapter 6 Conclusion and Recommendations ......................................................................... 45 6.1 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................... 45 6.2 Recommendations ............................................................................................................... 46 6.2.1 Ensuring Economic Sustainability and Proper Resurfacing of the Trails .................... 46 6.2.2 Trail Maintenance ......................................................................................................... 48 6.2.3 Invasive Plant Species .................................................................................................. 49 6.2.4 Other Recommendation ................................................................................................ 50 Bibliography ................................................................................................................................ 52 Appendix A .................................................................................................................................. 59 Appendix B .................................................................................................................................. 67 Chapter 1: Introduction 1.1 The A2A Collaborative The Algonquin to Adirondacks region (A2A region) is a total of 104,000 squares km (60,000 square km in Canada and 44,000 square km in the U.S.A.) extending from Algonquin Provincial Park in the north to Adirondack State Park in south (Figure 1a). The central portion of the region in Canada includes the Frontenac Arch Biosphere Reserve (Figure 1b). The region is rich in biodiversity and rare species including for example the Blanding’s Turtle and Paragrine Falcon (A2A Collaborative (a), 2016; A2A Collaborative (b), 2016). Figure 1a: Geological Map of the A2A Region Figure 1b: The Frontenac Arch Biosphere Reserve The idea of the region was first initiated with the recognition that the ecological corridor connecting the two parks required additional stewardship in late 1990s. The ecological corridor provides wildlife habitat connectivity along the corridor and between the two parks. Following this recognition, various initiatives were formed to envision, plan and build a regional conservation area. The results were the founding of the A2A Collaborative in 2002 and mapping for the first time the boundary of the A2A region (A2A Collaborative (a), 2016; Quinby et al., 1999; Stephenson, 2001). 1 As a non-governmental organization, the A2A collaborative aims to connect people and the landscape across the entire A2A region. The organization envisions a resilient A2A region with increased landscape connectivity which sustains all types of native wildlife populations and at the same time, improves people’s lives from generation to generation. As this vision is implemented, the region will become more resilient to climate change and human disturbances. It will have increased native species biodiversity and become a critical area in conserving biodiversity in eastern