ONTARIO Pinerypinerypark.on.ca › wp_site › wp-content › uploads › 2017 › 08 › Nipissi… · this guide, prepare yourself for an adventure that will take you beneath the

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Nipissing Trail

The Nipissing Trail, named for glacial Lake Nipissing'sbeach ridge, is a 2 km loop trail that winds through

mature Oak Savanna covered dune ridges and returnsafter visiting an impressive viewpoint. You will need toallow yourself approximately 1 Vi hours to complete thistrail with the guide. Note that there are hills and stairsto climb during this hike; pace yourself accordingly.Numerous benches and railings are placed along the trailto assist you.

Pinery Provincial Park is made up of many uniqueecosystems, all of which have been shaped by LakeHuron in some way. The Nipissing Trail will introduceyou to some of these ecosystems. This guide will assist

you in understanding what anecosystem is, how it may be shapedby both natural and human forces,what Pinery's role in protectingecosystems is, and why you arestanding on what was once the floorof Lake Huron.

prepare yourselffor an adventure

that will takeyou beneath

the rotting logsof today...

As you hike the Nipissing Trail withthis guide, prepare yourself for an adventure that willtake you beneath the rotting logs of today and over theglaciers of the past. In addition, as with all of Pinery'strails, the Nipissing Trail offers superb wildlife viewingopportunities and excellent views of the park. If youtake your time and walk quietly, you may be rewardedwith some peaceand quiet as well asthe chance ofseeing some of theparks' interestingwildlife species.

As always, pleaserespect not onlythe naturalelements ofPinery, but alsoyour fellowvisitors.

Enjoy. Canada Wood Betony flowers adorn the NipissingTrail with yellow or purple blooms in May and June.

Nipissing Trail

Post 1: Ecosystems andHabitats

The Old Ausable River Channel teems with life during summer. A strollalongside the river, or a paddle in a canoe offers unique experiences.

"V\7"7hat do Oak Savanna, the Old Ausable RiverW Channel and Carolinian Forests have in

common? They are all ecosystems found here atPinery! Apart from that, they are each quitedifferent. An ecosystem is a system where living andnon-living things interact. This means that livingplants and animals work with the non-livingenvironment to exchange energy and nutrients.Energy is passed through an ecosystem in the formof food, while nutrients are recycled from deadorganisms back into living ones.

While some plants and animals exchange thesematerials on land, others do so in the water. Some

2 Pinery Provincial Park

species are tied strongly to specific ecosystems andare known as indicator species. These organismshelp to provide us with key characteristics forrecognizing different ecosystems. Great Blue Herons,for example, are characteristically found near aquaticecosystems because they eat fish and amphibians.

Different life forms found within an ecosystemrequire varying amounts of food, shelter, space, andwater. When looked at all together, these fourrequirements make up a habitat, or what each speciesneeds in order to survive. Take for example, whatyou need to survive. How much water and food doyou need a day to feel energized? How much roomdo you need to sleep well and feel protected?

Compare yourself to a Monarch Butterfly caterpillar.The main purpose of the larvae, or caterpillar, is toeat. Food is the mostimportant component of acaterpillar's habitat, with shelterbeing second. For this reason,Monarch caterpillars are oftenfound protected on theunderside of their main foodsource, milkweed leaves! Beingsmall, they need only one plantto survive. The habitat for thiscaterpillar is much smaller than ~

r Monarch Butterfly caterpillars devourOUrS. Though they certainly green leafy vegetation before meta-

, . , morphosing into adult butterflies.out-eat us, increasing their bodymass by more than 2000 percent in just two weeks.

Nipissing Trail

Eastern Red-backed Salamanders breathe through their skin and requirea damp environment such as that found in decaying logs to survive.

A s you hike the trail you may notice there areJlVmany dead trees, both fallen and standing,around you. Each of these trees is a smallecosystem, where conditions for living and non-livingparts are slightly different from that of the largerforest ecosystem. For example, around a fallen log,moisture and nutrient levels are often higher than inthe rest of the forest. Insects, earthworms, fungus,snails and salamanders that need these specializedconditions make the logs their home. Similar to thelarger ecosystems, these smaller ones, known asmicrohabitats, provide habitat to many species.Spend some time looking for microhabitats as youhike.


Resembling a shelf, rather than the more typicalumbrella shape of fungus, the fruit of bracket fungi istough and fleshy. This type of fungus is foundattached to the outside of logs and stumps where ittakes advantage of microhabitats. Unlike plants,fungi do not get their energy from the sun, butinstead from the nutrients in decaying trees. To dothis, thread-like fungal roots, called hyphae, spreadthrough the wood. They then secrete a digestiveenzyme that assists in breaking down the decayingwood into something the fungus can absorb.Valuable nutrients and minerals are then recycled intothe living fungus and later back into the rest of thefood chain.

Turkey Tail is a common bracket fungus found throughout Pinery. It ijust one of thousands of species of fungus that are important fordecomposition in a healthy ecosystem.

Nipissing Trail

Post 3: Running Around in theOak Savanna

i

UBrv-1When you look up in the Oak Savanna, you should see more than 60%open sky. This openness allows sun-loving species of plants to grow.

Look around you. What do you see? Grass,shrubs, trees, wildflowers, and sky. Together, this

makes up the Oak Savanna! Covering 60 % of thepark, Oak Savanna is Pinery's largest ecosystem.Characteristically, Oak Savanna is a mix betweenwestern prairie species and eastern forest species.

The plants you see are specially adapted to live in theOak Savanna. Sun, low rainfall, nutrient-poor sandysoils, and fire all play a part in controlling whatsurvives. Oaks are able to survive in these conditionswith the help of taproots that stretch deep into thesoil to retrieve nutrients and water. Oaks also havewaxy leaves to prevent water loss as the tree breathes.


Prairie grasses, like Big Bluestem and Indian Grass,thrive in these same conditions because of their deeproots that stretch 1.5 to 2.5 meters into the groundand their narrow, rolled leaves, which help to reducewater loss.

Being a large ecosystem, Pinery's Oak Savannasupports many animals that need plenty of space tomove around. Coyotes live in forests and grasslandsand require between 5 and 25 square kilometres tolive in. As Pinery is approximately 21 squarekilometres, the park provides coyotes with enoughshelter, water, food and space to survive. Coyotes arevery secretive however, and at present it is unknownhow many coyotes have made Pinery their home.Coyotes are just one of Pinery's larger animals, sokeep your eyes open for some of the less secretiveones as you walk the trail.

Coyotes can often be heard communicating with each other, throughbarks and howls, across vast areas of Pinery.

Nipissing Trail

Post 4: Pine Plantations anda Tug of War

Completed Pine Cuts can be seen along the Nipissing Trail. You will alsovisit a remnant Pine stand from before thinning was conducted.

Look to your right. What you see is Oak Savanna.Look to your left - what do you see? Note the

change in the forest - on your left is a White Pineplantation. When Pinery was first created, parkmanagers thought the forest was suffering from theeffects of both forest fires and tree harvesting. To"recover" the woodland, they planted over 3.5 millionWhite and Red Pine trees between 1957 and 1971.

Within the plantation you can see there is barely anyground cover, and none of the prairie grasses thatyou see in the Oak Savanna. The pines were plantedclose together and cast a lot of shade, preventingoaks and other sun-loving plants from growing. The


result was a loss of Oak Savanna.Since all elements of an Oak Savannaecosystem are connected, the loss ofplants impacted some of the wildlife inthe park, such as the Karner Bluebutterfly, who's larvae only feed on asavanna plant called Wild Lupine.

To correct their error, park managersbegan to remove pine plantations, aprocess which still continues today.You may have already seen some ofthese cuts in other areas of the park.

Fire, a natural process, is also used toeliminate the pines. Intentionally setground fires are lit in the spring toensure that the open spaces in the OakSavanna are maintained. Fire alsobenefits the Oak Savanna by releasingnutrients that are locked up in fallen oakleaves. Many shrubs and plants, likePoison Ivy, New Jersey Tea, andFragrant Sumac, thrive after these firesin the ample sunlight and nutrient-richsoil.

The thick bark on oak treesis an adaptation to ensurethat they will survive naturalground fires.

Two years after a prescribedburn, the Oak Savanna isthriving with new life.

Management of Oak Savanna is essential because it isa globally rare ecosystem. Originally stretching fromsouthern Ontario to Texas, today one of the largestremaining tracts can be found here in Pinery.Managers and visitors to Pinery have an importanttask to protect what remains of the Oak Savanna andthe rare plants and animals that live here.

Nipissing Trail

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As you walk along the trail, look for Summer Grape. You will often see itthriving on top of another living tree or bush, stealing sunlight all day.

Nature is able to alter ecosystems, just as humansdo. Within Pinery there is a plant species that

climbs, wrapping itself around trees and shrubs,casting shade where there once was none - oftenkilling vegetation as it grows. This mysterious plant isSummer Grape.

Summer Grape is a plant that grows in vine form,entwining itself with curling stems around trees andshrubs. Using these woody plants as support, thevines grow quickly to reach heights where they canreceive direct sunlight. The supporting plants oftendie from broken limbs and loss of sunlight. Changesin the Oak Savanna ecosystem also result, as some


areas will be cast under shade and eventually thesupporting tree will fall and create a sunny opening.

Despite these changes, park managers have chosen toleave the Summer Grape alone. The vine providesfood, in the form of berries, for birds, raccoons,squirrels, and many other animals in the late summerand early fall. White-tailed Deer also depend on thevine, eating its young leaves in the spring and earlysummer. Many songbirds find shelter within thevines or strip the loose bark to use in their nests.Perhaps most importantly, Summer Grape is a naturalpart of the Oak Savanna.

Summer Grape provides berries for a variety of birds to eat, includingthe Ruffed Grouse. In spring, and sometimes in fall, you can hear malegrouse beating their wings in hopes of finding a mate. The sound issimilar to an accelerating drum roll.

Nipissing Trail 11

From Shoreline toOak Savanna

Using its roots to stabilize the sand, Marram Grass stretches lake-wardto live where few other species can.

Think about the immediate shoreline of LakeHuron. What lives there? What is the

environment like? The edge of Lake Huron is harsh,with nutrient-poor sand being both brought in andtaken away by the waves. Direct sunlight andunstable soil prevent plants from growing. Otherthan a few Ring-billed Gulls and Common Terns,animals do not live there. Now think about whereyou are standing and what is alive around you.Several thousand years ago the spot you are standingon looked the same as the present day shoreline alongLake Huron. The two ecosystems that you justcompared are the two extreme ends of successionalchange, from beach to Oak Savanna forest in a


matter of several thousand years.Succession is the change in anecosystem, as it progresses towards aclimax forest. In Pinery's case, theprimary ecosystem is the immediateshoreline of Lake Huron where sand,void of life, comes to shore and createsland. The climax forest in the park isOak Savanna. It is stable and no newSpecies are added tO further change the Cedar Savanna is dominated

by Red Cedar and is an openhabitat with ample sunlightand some bare sand.

ecosystem once it is attained. To getfrom a primary to a climax ecosystem,there are a series of transitions theforest and the sand dunes go through.

A pioneer species of grass, called Marram Grass,spreads along the shoreline where nothing has grownbefore. Over time, the Marram Grass stabilizes thesand with its vast network of roots, creating sanddunes as it grows. Once the sand is stabilized, lesshardy plants can start to grow, particularly on thesheltered slopes of the dunes. For example, as youmove back from the shoreline, you will come acrossEastern Red Cedar and Hoary Puccoon, both ofwhich characterize the Cedar Savanna found adjacentto the shore dunes. This transition ecosystem isvastly different from both the primary and climaxecosystems. The Oak Savanna you are standing in issupported by several hundred years of vegetativedecomposition, which provides nutrients to oaks,shrubs, and grasses. This is the major reason thatyou will find this ecosystem here, rather than alongthe shoreline.

Nipissing Trail 13

Post 7: Under a Glacier

t\ OFt The Nipissing Trail

Lookout Platform sitson the highest dune

in the park

(Dunes Campground!Underground SpringsSeep Water into theOld Ausable Channel

From Lake Huron to highway 21, Pinery undulates and climbs to itshighest point at the top of the Nipissing Trail lookout.

"\~Y7Tiere ls vour SCUBA tank? You have justW traveled back 5000 years and you are standing

on the bottom of Lake Nipissing! Where is yoursnowsuit? You have just traveled back 13 000 yearsand you are 1.6 kilometres up in the air standing on aglacier!

Lake Huron has seen many changes over the past15,000 years, starting with the retreat of theWisconsin Glacier. As this final glacier started tomove away, its melt water filled depressions in theland made by glacial scraping. These depressions,and the water within them, became giant lakes. LakeAlgonquin, which you would be standing in 11 000


years ago, covered an area larger than present dayLake Huron. Evidence has shown that the shorelineof Lake Algonquin was located approximately 10kilometres inland from here.

The last glacial lake in the present-day Lake Huronbasin was Lake Nipissing, occurring 5000 yearsbefore present. During the Nipissing Era, two sandbarriers were created, which rose above the water.One of these sand barriers has been located alongHighway 21, just outside of Pinery. As the LakeNipissing waters fell, large amounts of sand andgravel were deposited along the shoreline. Scientistshave discovered, through soil sampling, that some ofthese Nipissing bars and dunes are found where youare standing right now.

The changes to Lake Huron's shoreline did not occurovernight. Recognizing that the shoreline was atPinery's Main Gate 4700 years ago, one can see howlong it takes for succession to occur and that LakeHuron has long shaped Pinery's geological featuresand environments.

Pinery Provincial Park

NipissingBar

1 ^* Nipissing Trail

Old Ausable Channel

LakeHuron

This cross sectional view of Pinery shows how geologicalprocesses and Lake Huron have left their mark on the landscape.

Nipissing Trail 15

Great Lake Huroi

Pinery's Lake Huron shoreline is a dynamic space that changes hourly,seasonally and from year to year; visit often to watch it change.

Lake Huron is an ecosystem itself, containing manysmaller ecosystems within it. From the rockyshorelines of the north to the sandy beaches foundhere at Pinery, the lake provides habitat for manyplants and animals. Ranging from the fish that live inits waters to the animals that drink from it, LakeHuron fulfills varying needs for different species.In terms of humans, it provides a place to recreate,obtain drinking water, fish in, and a surface to shipgoods on.

As on land, the most abundant life form in the lake isplant life. Microscopic algae and larger plants, likerushes and pond lilies, provide food and shelter to


both large and small species in the lake. YellowPerch, Lake Whitefish, crayfish, gulls, and terns arejust some of the predators who rely on the minnowsand tiny water fleas that in turn eat the plants.

While Lake Huron as an ecosystem has not changedmuch over the past several thousand years, smallerecosystems within the lake have been affected. Theintroduction of an invasive species, a species notnaturally found in the Great Lakes, has brought abouta great change. Zebra Mussels first entered the GreatLakes in 1986 via a cargo ship from Eastern Europe.Zebra Mussels have created problems for many otherspecies by competing for food and altering theecosystem. As female mussels can produce up to30 000 young per year, they pose a real threat to theecosystems found in the lake. Biologists are nowtrying to control the Zebra Mussel population sincethere are no natural predators to slow its rapid rate ofgrowth.

Is the 2nd largest Great Lake by surface area, only LakeSuperior is larger.

Lake Huron:

Is the 5th largest freshwater lake in the world in size.

Has a maximum depth of 229 meters (750 feet), foundwest of the Bruce Peninsula.

Has a mean high water temperature of 20 degreesCelsius, usually in late July and August.

Has a mean low water temperature of 1 degree Celsius,usually between February and early April.

Maximum wave height is 3-4 meters (10 feet), usuallyoccurring at the south end of Lake Huron in theautumn when the wind is coming from the northwest.

Nipissing Trail 17

Post 9: Frequent Flyers andAir Traffic Control

Wood warblers, like this Palm Warbler, tend to migrate silently and alonein the spring, while in the fall they noisily join other birds headed south.

If you were a migratory bird air traffic controller,this would be a great place for you to stand.

During the spring and late summer, this dune ridgeprovides great birding opportunities. Being fairlylarge in size, Pinery offers a large tract of forestedhabitat that attracts migrating warblers, includingPalm and Cape May Warblers.

Many wood warblers rely on Pinery as a place to restand gather insects. While Cape May Warblers huntactively at high-levels in the trees for beetles, flies,and moths, Palm Warblers search the grasslandsbelow for other similar insects. The food they findhelps provide much needed energy to these two


...warblers relyon Pinery as aplace to restand gather

insects.

species of birds that are in mid-migration, either heading to orleaving their summer matinggrounds. Traveling slightlydifferent routes, the Cape MayWarbler is traveling betweennortheastern North America andnorthern South America, while thePalm Warbler is in transit betweenthe northern bogs of Canada and the south-centralportion of North America.

Wood warblers are just one example of an animalthat uses many ecosystems during their lifetime.Driven by a lack of food in the winter, as the insectsthey eat die, migrate, or enter hibernation, many birdsmust fly south. As they go, they use differentecosystems to their advantage. This affects otherspecies such as hawks, that live full-time in each ofthese ecosystems, which in turn may rely onmigrating birds as a food source. Ecosystems aredynamic and continually change over time.

Cape May Warblers often forage in flowering trees during their migrationto northern Spruce forests for breeding.

Nipissing Trail 19

Post 10: Patch WorkLandscape

Tundra Swans take twenty-four hours to fly from Chesapeake Bay,Maryland to Pinery, flying at an altitude of approximately 2000 metres.

For thousands of years, Tundra Swans havestopped just outside Pinery on their biannual

migration between Chesapeake Bay, Maryland and theArctic tundra. "Where do they stop?" you ask, as youglance at the fragmented agricultural landscape belowyou. The answer is at the site of the "Old ThedfordBog" which once lay in the fields below you.

As the water levels of Lake Nipissing dropped, smalllakes formed behind the sand barriers. These lakesprovided a rich staging ground for the thousands ofbirds that would rest there every spring. While thereare barely any remaining aquatic environments todayto protect them from land predators, the staging


ground still provides a valuable resting spot for thebirds. Corn and white beans left over from the fallharvest supply the swanswith a food source whilethey rest.

Today, the loss ofwetlands, forests, andgrasslands is a commonproblem for many species "in southern Ontario. This feis because fragmentedlandscapes create edgehabitats. While edgehabitats can occurnaturally betweenecosystems, they alsooccur where natural areasmeet development, such asa road or agriculturalfields. The transitionzone, or edge, between thedevelopment and theuntouched natural areaoften has mixed ecosystemcharacteristics. Next to anew road, for example,grasses and shrubs willreplace the forest thatgrew because of theincreased sunlight hitting, - ^p,. , Familiar Mallard drakes and hens also inter-

the ground. 1 hlS alters the mingle with Tundra Swans on the flooded Old

tvnes of snecies that will Thedford Bog. Many of the Mallards maychoose Pinery as a suitable nesting location.

The stunning plumage of a Northern Pintail iseasily recognizable amongst the thousands ofTundra Swans during the spring migration.

Nipissing Trail 21

live on the edge of the forest. With many of theremaining natural areas in southern Ontario beingsmall in size, due to development, species that requirenon-impacted habitat conditions are being forcedinto fewer islands of untouched habitat.

Here in Bosanquet Township there is intensive use ofthe land. The farming of potatoes, carrots, celery,and white beans occurs in the ancient lake basin,while over 5000 people reside within the township.Pinery, as a forested island, provides valuable habitatto both migrating and resident species of wildlife.

The "Old Thedford Bog" reverts back to a small lake each spring asmeltwaters flood in, this provides an ideal stop-over for Tundra Swans.


Eastern Hog-nosed snakes are listed as threatened with extinction inOntario due to habitat reduction and persecution by humans.

Pinery Provincial Park is classified as a NaturalEnvironment Park in recognition of its

provincially significant landforms and associatednatural, cultural, and recreational resources. Havingone of the largest remaining intact coastal freshwaterdune systems in the Great Lakes region, the visitorsand managers of Pinery play an important role inprotecting the life that lives within them, whichincludes over 50 species at risk of becoming extinct.

The land within Ontario Provincial Parks helps tofulfill Ontario's goal of protecting 12% of theprovince's landbase. This goal was set in 1999 underOntario's Living Legacy program. When completed,

Nipissing Trail 23

Ontario's park system will total 650 parks andprotected areas, covering an area larger than NovaScotia and Vancouver Island combined. Throughthis program, there will be long-term protection ofOntario's natural environment, offering new chancesat success for species at risk, improved habitat, andbenefits for humans.

As new parks are created people will apply new stylesof protected land management to them, includingmanagement by ecosystems. This means that whenboundaries are drawn for parks, vegetation patterns,watershed basins, and habitats will be used to helpdefine the park. Ecosystem management alsorecognizes that there is a strong relationship betweennatural features and life, including human life. Theparks designed in this way will start to blendprotected areas into the surrounding landscapes,including the urban human landscape.

Forested areas in southern Ontario, such as PineryProvincial Park, offer a safe haven for many species.Look around you, and remember that there is moreto the Oak Savanna in Pinery than meets the eye.Take the microhabitats within the larger ecosystemand recognize that the dunes and the Oak Savannaupon them have taken shape through numerouscenturies. Lake Huron has played a major role in whyeverything exists where it does in Pinery, includingthe Nipissing Trail you have just experienced.


We sincerely hopethat your walk

with this guide hasraised someun-answered questionsabout Pinery.

Please speak to anaturalist at the VisitorCentre or at aninterpretive program for |more information aboutaspects of the park that |interest you.

If you wish to keepthis guide, please payfor it at the trailhead.Your payment coversthe cost of productionand supports theprojects of The Friendsof Pinery. If you preferto recycle this guideso that others may useit, please place it in thebox at this post.

If you would like tolearn more about theFriends of Pinery Park,or to become amember, please inquireat the Visitor Centre orvisit

www.Dinervpark.on.ca.

ISBN 1-895212-14-6Printed in 2005 by Aylmer Express

Front Cover Photo: T. Crabe CopyrightRear Cover Photo: Pinery Provincial Park

.

The Friends of Pinery Park is a nonprofitcharitable organization dedicated to thedevelopment of interpretive, educational,

historical &. scientific projects andprograms to ensure that PineryProvincial Park's natural

legacy will remain forfuture generations.

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ONTARIO Pinerypinerypark.on.ca › wp_site › wp-content › uploads › 2017 › 08 › Nipissi… · this guide, prepare yourself for an adventure that will take you beneath the