ST. LAWRENCE ISLANDSNATIONAL PARKAND SURROUNDING AREAS

INTEGRATED RESOURCESURVEY

byR. Hirvonen and R . Woods

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The FOREST MANAGEMENT INSTITUTE(FMI) is one of four national forestry institutes inthe Canadian Forestry Service which togetherwith the Canadian Wildlife Service, the LandsDirectorate and the Inland Waters Directorateconstitute the Environmental Management Serviceof the Department of Fisheries and the Environ-ment.

The FOREST MANAGEMENT INSTITUTEhas two broad and interrelated functions whichsupport and complement the programs of otherEMS establishments .

1 .

To carry out research in such fields as forestappraisal and measurement, remote sensing, urbanforestry, mechanization of silviculture and otherforest management technologies, stand dynamics,biomass and energy relationships, growth andyield . The objective is to develop fundamentalconcepts for forest management, resource plan-ning and environmental impact assessments.

2 .

To provide forest management consultant,coordinating and advisory services . Specificallyinvolved are mapping, inventory and managementservices for forests and wildlands under thejurisdiction of federal departments, leadership ofthe metric conversion program in forestry, liaisonwith timber harvesting programs, management ofthe Central Research Forest, and advice toCanadian agencies involved in internationalforestry programs. Recently FMI was givenresponsibility for the production of nationalforestry statistics .

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L'INSTITUT D'AMÉNAGEMENT FORESTIER(IAF) est un des quatre instituts forestiers natio-naux du Service canadien des Forêts qui, avec leService canadien de la Faune, la Direction géné-rale des Terres et la Direction générale des Eauxintérieures, constituent le Service de la Gestionde l'Environnement, du Ministère des Pêches et del'Environment .

L'INSTITUT D'AMÉNAGEMENT FORESTIERremplit deux grandes fonctions étroitement liéesentre elles, qui servent d'étai et de complémentaux programmes des autres établissements duSGE.

1 .

Effectuer des recherches dans les domainestels que évaluation et mesurage des forêts, télé-détection, foresterie urbaine, mécanisation de lasylviculture et d'autres technologies d'aménage-ment forestier, dynamique des peuplements, rela-tions entre biomasse et énergie, accroissement etrendement . Le but visé consiste à élaborer lesconcepts fondamentaux pour l'aménagement desforêts, planifier les ressources et évaluer leseffets produits sur l'environnement .

2 . Assurer les services de consultation, decoordination et de conseil en aménagement fores-tier . Cela comprend précisément les services decartographie, d'inventaire et d'aménagement des-tinés aux forêts et terres incultes relevantd'autres ministères, la conduite du programme deconversion au système métrique en foresterie, laliaison avec les programmes de récolte du bois,l'aménagement de la Forêt expérimentale centraleet les conseils aux organismes canadiens impliquésdans des programmes forestiers internationaux .L'IAF est récemment devenu responsable de lacompilation des statistiques forestières nation-ales .

INTEGRATED RESOURCE SURVEY OF

ST. LAWRENCE ISLANDS NATIONAL PARK

AND SURROUNDING AREAS

by

R. Iiirvonen and R.A. Woods

Prepared for

Parks Canada

Ontario Region

Forest Management InstituteOttawa, Ontario

Information Report FMR-X-114

Canadian Forestry ServiceEnvironment Canada

August 1978

ABSTRACT

The land, vegetation and surface drainagepatterns of St . Lawrence Islands National Parkand surrounding areas are described and mappedat the scale of 1:10 000, except Cedar, Milton andStovin islands which are at 1 :5000. The landresource is mapped at the land type level wheresegments of the landscape are separated on thebasis of their topography, drainage, soil texture,origin of parent material and depth to bedrock.The vegetation is mapped by basic non-forestedcategories or by forest cover types as defined bystand height, species composition, crown closureand stand condition . Major soil types, forestcover type groups, lower vegetation communities,drainage and rivers are described in the text.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Field sampling and logistics were the re-sponsibility of Mr . D. Wilson . Messrs . F. Bouillonand E. Leskie participated in various phases of thefield work .

Photo interpretation of forest cover wasdone by Mr. D. Wilson .

Compilation of all maps and overlays wasunder the supervision of Mr. M.W. Robinson,assisted by Messrs . Wilson, Bouillon and Leskie .Scribing was done by Mr. J . Leblanc and Mr. R.Beauchamp.

Computer programming for data compilationwas provided by Mr. H. Mucha of the ForestManagement Institute Computing Unit .

Thanks are due to the personnel of St .Lawrence Islands National Park for their cooper-ation in various phases of the project.

RÉSUMÉ

Le terrain, la végétation et le drainage desurface du parc national des Iles du St-Laurent,ainsi que les régions environnantes, sont décrits etcartographiés à l'échelle de 1 :10 000, sauf les IlesCedar, Milton et Stovin traçées à l'échelle de1:5 000. Les composantes physiques sont carto-graphiées au niveau du type de terrain et lesportions du paysage sont présentées séparémentselon la topographie, le drainage, la texture du sol,le matériau d'origine et la profondeur de la rochemère . La végétation est cartographiée par caté-gories non-forestières ou par types de couvertsforestiers, déterminés par la hauteur et lacondition du peuplement, la composition desessences et la densité du couvert de la cime . Sontaussi décrits les principaux types de sols et decouverts forestiers, les communautés à végétationréduite, le drainage et les cours d'eau.

CONTENTS

Page

Abstract . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iiiRésumé . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iiiAcknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

DESCRIPTION OF STUDY AREALocation and Access . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1Physiographic Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Geology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3Climate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

RESOURCE INVENTORYMethodology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Base Maps and Aerial Photographs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7Photo Interpretation . . . . . . . . , . . . . . . , . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7Field Sampling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9Data Processing . . . , , , . , . , . . . . . , . , . . , , . , , , . . . . . , , , , 13

Land Base . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13Classification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . , . , . . . , . , , , , 13Soil Units . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

1 . Bare Rock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . , . . . . , , 132. Very Shallow Soils Over Bedrock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153. Shallow Soils . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . , , . . . . . . . . . . . 164. Glaciolacustrine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . , , , . . . , . . . . . . . . . 175. Glaciofluvial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . , , . . . . , . . . . . . . . . 186. Alluvium . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217. Organic Soils . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Vegetation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22Forest Description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . , , , , , , , , , . , , , , , . , . , 23

Forest Species Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . , , , 261. White pine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 272. White pine-Hemlock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . , , 273. Maple-Oak-White pine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . , . . . . . . , , , , 284. White pine-Hemlock-Oak-Maple . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 285. Oak . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 296. Maple-Oak . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 297. Maple-Oak-Hickory-Ash . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . , 308. Poplar-Birch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 319. Ash-Red maple . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Forest Succession . . . , . . , . . . , . . . . , . , , . . , . . . . . , . . . , 32Plant Community Classification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

Introduction . . . . . , . . . . . , . . . . , . , . . . . , . . , , . . , . . , 34The Association Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35Plant Community Descriptions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

Al . Vicia-Poa pratensis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . , , , 36A2. Typha-Sagittaria . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38A3 . Rhus typhina-Calamagrostis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39B1 . Impatiens-Urtica . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41B2. Impatiens-Parthenocissus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43B3. Ribes-Circaea . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45Cl. Aralia-Carpinus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46C2. Quercus alba-Ostrya . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . , . . . , 48C3. Tsuga . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

Lower Vegetation Successional Trends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . , . . . . , 51Rivers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53Interpretation and Application of Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . , 55Selected Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

Vi

Contents (cont'd)

Appendix A Maps and OverlaysAppendix B

Units of Measurement and Conversion FactorsAppendix C Land and Forest Classification SystemsAppendix D

Area Compilation Sheets for Park PropertiesAppendix E

Area Summaries for Soil UnitsAppendix F

Area Summaries for Forest Cover TypesAppendix G Plant Community Dendrogram and Association TableAppendix H Plant Checklist

Illustrations

Frontispiece . Satellite view of the Thousand Islands region

Page

Figure 1 . Ivy Lea Bridge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 . Key map . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83 . Stereogram of interpreted photograph . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94 . Sample portion of forest/land type map . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105 . Field tally card . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116 . Lower vegetation tally card . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127 . Sparse tree cover on bare rock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148 . Ground juniper on bedrock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159 . Contrasting shorelines along the St . Lawrence River . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

10 . Bouldery terrain near the base of a steep slope . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1711 . Portion of a glaciolacustrine soil unit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1912 . Gravel pit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2013 . Coastal marsh vegetation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2214 . Red spruce . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2415 . Pitch pine stand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2516 . Eastern red cedar on old fields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2617 . White pine on a rocky point . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2718 . Ash-red maple stand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3219 . Forest succession . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3320 : Abandoned farm field vegetation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3721 . Cattail marsh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3822 . Pioneer vegetation of grasses and shrubs on a dry site . . . . . . 4023 . Forested sumac-reed grass community . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4024 . Ground flora in anlmpatiens-Urtica community . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4225 . Stereogram of a grey birch stand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4326 . Lower vegetation heavily dominated by jewel-weed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4427 . Blue beech understory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4628 . Araiia-Carpinus sub-association . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4729. Ground flora of Quercus alba-Ostrya sub-association . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4930. Sparse lower vegetation under a dense hemlock canopy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5031 . Plant community succession . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5232. End of Landons Bay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

Tables

Table t . Temperature and precipitation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 . Modified Braun-Blanquet scale of abundance-dominance values . . . . . . . . . . . . 133 . Vegetation/land use class areas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 234 . Forest cover type areas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235 . Forest area by species groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Contents (cont'd)

Map 1.

Topography2.

Bedrock geology3.

Soil units4.

Soil moisture5.

Vegetation and land use6.

Depth contours7. Watersheds

h

FRONTISPIECE . Satellite view of the Thousand Islands region. The solid black and white lineapproximately outlines the study area .

INTEGRATED RESOURCE SURVEY OF THE ST. LAWRENCEISLANDS NATIONAL PARK, ONTARIO AND SURROUNDING AREAS

INTRODUCTION

The total study area encompasses the St .Lawrence Islands National Park, its surroundingislands and parts of the mainland (Frontispiece) .

The aim of the survey is to provide parkplanners with basic data on land, vegetation andwater-related attributes of the area . The information is presented in the form of maps, overlaysand the accompanying text .

In the survey one attempts to differentiateand classify ecologically significant segments ofthe landscape in order to provide a firm ecologicalbase for resource and park planning . This requiresthat vegetation be treated as an integral part ofthe landscape; the physical attributes of the landand the natural vegetation on that land are notseparate entities but interrelated and parts of asingle association . In this survey the land andvegetation resources are integrated by first estab-lishing the macro- and microdrainage patterns

LOCATION AND ACCESS

The total study area includes the St . Law-rence Islands National Park, the remainder of theThousand Islands east of Howe Island to approximately Longitude 75°50'W and, on the mainland,the area south of the Macdonald-Cartier Freeway(Hwy. 401) between Landons Bay and the Mallory-town Road.

Park property occupies an area of onlyapproximately 5 km2 while the rest of the mapped

*Forestry Officers, Integrated Resource SurveyProgram, Forest Management Institute,Canadian Forestry Service, EnvironmentCanada, KIG 3Z6.

by

R. Hirvonen and R.A. Woods*

DESCRIPTION OF STUDY AREA

upon which individual land types are then inter-preted . These land units provide a relatively stablephysical base against successional change and,along with the drainage patterns, are reflected inthe vegetation communities. Accordingly, the finalphase, the evaluation and stratification of thevegetation component of the biophysical complex,is evolved within the physical land units .

The St . Lawrence Islands study area ismapped at the land type level where landforms ortheir components are shown as individual units eachdepicting fairly homogeneous topography, moistureconditions, soil texture and parent material .Forested areas are mapped by cover types asdefined by stand height, species composition, crownclosure and stand condition, and non-forested landsare classified in the categories shown in AppendixC . The maps are produced at the scale of 1:10 000,except for Cedar, Milton and Stovin islands, whichare mapped at the scale of 1 :5 000; descriptions ofvarious aspects of the land, vegetation and waterare included in the text .

area covers nearly 150 km2 of which about 85 km2are water . The western half of the area is part ofFront of Leeds and Lansdowne Township and theeastern half is part of Front of Escott Township,Ontario . The only islands not within these twotownships are Cedar Island, Milton Island (Pitts-burgh Township) and Stovin Island (ElizabethtownTownship) .

The area is very accessible as it is locatedalongside the main transportation corridor betweenCanada's two largest cities, Toronto and Montreal,and approximately halfway between them . Tra-versing the centre of the area is also one of themajor bridges crossing the St . Lawrence River andproviding access between Canada and the UnitedStates (Fig . 1) . In addition to the three mainhighways, Macdonald-Cartier Freeway and Ontarioprovincial highways 2S and 137, the area is tra-versed by numerous, excellent quality, secondaryroads . However, of the park property only Mallory-

FIGURE 1 . Stereotriplet of Ivy Lea Bridge . In the centre of the illustration are Georgina and Constanceislands, part of the St . Lawrence Islands National Park.

VIV,

town Landing and Hill Island can be reached byland; the rest of the park islands do not havebridge connections to the mainland .

PHYSIOGRAPHIC FEATURES

The study area is, for the most part, in theLaurentian Highlands Physiographic Region(Sanford and Grant 1975) where a narrow wedge ofthis region crosses the St . Lawrence River andseparates the West St . Lawrence Lowland Physio-graphic Region from the Central St . LawrenceLowland .

Elevations above sea level vary betweenabout 75 m (St . Lawrence River) and 150 m(Fitzsimmons Mountain) (Map 1), but only about10% of the area is above 105 m . In some locationsalong the shore are extensive areas only a metreor less above the mean river level ; in total, theseoccupy nearly 15% of the study area .

Generally the entire area is a combinationof flat or gently undulating valleys and abrupt,pronounced outcrops of mainly Precambriangranitic bedrock . These rocky outcrops areroughly rolling and heavily dissected with theshallow, predominantly till soils frequently inter-spaced by bare bedrock . The valleys are rela-tively flat or gently undulating and often consistof deep, glaciolacustrine deposits . Chapman andPutnam, 1966, place this area in their "Leedsknobs and flats" physiographic region of southernOntario where the "knobs" represent granite out-crops and the "flats", deep clay-silt deposits .They consider the clay-silt flats as marine (Cham-plain Sea) in origin whereas Geological Survey ofCanada (GSC) (Maps 13-1965 and 6-1970, Hen-derson 1970) class them as glaciolacustrine : forconsistency, the GSC nomenclature for surficialgeology is used throughout this report .

In the lower lying regions along the river,particularly toward the eastern half of the studyarea, instead of glaciolacustrine deposits the soilsare frequently alluvium of more recent origin, butabrupt, rugged Precambrian bedrock outcrops arecharacteristic throughout these deposits as well .

Very low lying wetlands occur at frequentintervals along the shore . These consist oforganic and silty muck but are often underlain,within a depth of 1 m or less, by sandy alluvium orglaciofluvial material . The most extensive ofthese wetlands occur in the vicinity of Cook Pointand in the eastern half of Grenadier Island .

Sandy and gravelly deposits of glaciofluvialorigin are present throughout and many of theseare of mineable quality as evidenced by numerous

gravel pits . Much of Grenadier, Tar and southernHill islands are covered by this material ; anothersizeable concentration occurs westerly from thevillage of Ivy Lea.

Geology

The study area is within the Frontenac Axis,a narrow section of Precambrian rocks which joinsthe Precambrian rocks of the Canadian Shield tothose of the Adirondack Mountains . At theThousand Islands it extends over a width (south-west-northeast) of only about 40-50 km and separ-ates the relatively flat Paleozoic strata to thenortheast from similar rocks to the southwest .

Within the study area there are only very fewminor occurrences of Paleozoic strata overlayingunconformably the older Precambrian rocks . Theseare Gordon Island, Corn Island, most of Hay Island,Huckleberry Island, and some of their interveningand adjacent islets ; four or five small areas on HillIsland are also underlain by similar strata . Thebedrock of these islands is part of the PotsdamFormation (Liberty 1971) consisting mainly of fine-grained quartz sandstone and siltstone with someconglomerate .

Elsewhere in the study area the bedrock is acomplex of Precambrian age (Map 2). The mostcommon rock type is a medium-grained reddishgranite which covers wide areas of the mainlandbetween Landons Bay and Grassy Point . Most ofHill Island and the islands to the west as far asCamelot Island consist of this rock . The coastalareas east of Grassy Point as well as in the vicinityof Rockport are characterized by migmatite, anintermixed unit of the preceding granite and ofmetamorphic gneisses . Other large occurrences ofmigmatite on the mainland are in the area north ofIvy Lea Bridge and near Landons Bay in theextreme west end of the study area . Much of ClubIsland, most of southeastern Hill Island and almostall of Grenadier Island also consist of this rocktype . A white, almost pure quartzite is probablythe third most common major rock formationwithin the area . It is particularly prevalent in thenortheastern parts but frequently forms prominentridges throughout the red granite dominated areas .White pegmatite, usually associated with marbleand silicate rocks is also frequent, especially in theeastern end of the study area and on Tar Island .Except for Hay and Huckleberry islands, theAdmiralty Islands group is predominated by coarse-grained syenite and related rocks . Despite thecommonness of this rock type here, it does notoccur elsewhere within the study area.

Generally north-northwest trending diabasedykes cut the Precambrian rocks at numerousplaces; within the study area they are particularly

prevalent in the Admiralty islands but infrequenteast of Landons Bay. In the Raft Narrows areaand locations to the east, younger fine-grainedandesite dykes with a consistent northeast align-ment are present .

Climate

A major influence on the climate and thelocal weather patterns in the upper St . Lawrenceareas is its proximity to Lake Ontario . This lake,being not only of large size but also deep (over230 m at its deepest), represents a huge heatstorage capacity, both negative and positive de-pending on the season . In a "normal" winter onlyabout 15% of the lake becomes ice covered andeven during what would be considered a severewinter, ice cover does not usually exceed 25% ; inthe last century the lake was frozen over onlytwice.

In the winter, the nearness of such a huge(19 500 km2) reservoir of above 0°C heat sourcenaturally has a substantial moderating effect onthe atmospheric temperatures in the vicinity .Similarly in the summer, when the water temper-atures are generally cooler than the air, the lake

Table 1 . Temperature and precipitation

Recorded extremes °C

Average no . of frost-free days per year

Source: Atmospheric Environment Service, 1975 .

has a notable cooling influence on its surroundings .This trend is visible, albeit not very pronounced, inthe temperature figures for Kingston and Brock-ville (Table 1), the two localities nearest the studyarea for which climatic records are available .Kingston on the lake appears slightly cooler in thespring and summer and somewhat warmer duringthe other two seasons than Brockville which isabout 75 km from the lake . The most significantdifference is in the temperature extremes whichare much more subdued at Kingston than atBrockville . Generally, in the spring and the fall thelake serves as an evening agent which provides arather gradual, sometimes prolonged, transitionbetween summers and winters ; the result being alengthened growing season and a reduction in thehazard of unexpectedly early frost . This influenceof the lake is discernable in the figures of theaverage number of frost-free days per year . ForKingston the figure is 219 days while Brockvilleaverages 212 frost-free days annually . The frost-free period (continuous) in the area averages 140-150 days annually with Kingston being closer to the150 day isogram while Brockville is near the 140day isogram . Similarly the study area has a meanannual growing season (based on mean daily tem-perature of 42°F or higher) between 200 and 210days and a mean annual number of degree days

39.4 -38 .3 36.1 -31 .7

212

219

*Snow is expressed as water equivalent, 10 mm of snow equals approximately 1 mm water .#Number of days with measurable precipitation .

Total* # Rain Snow Total* #

248.7 40 94.7 1306 225.3 39231 .0 36 183.4 308 214.1 32236.5 32 217.2 0 217.2 27252.2 36 228.1 143 243.4 32968.4 144 723.4 1757 900.0 130

Mean seasonal precipitation mm Rain Snow

Winter 86.8 1620Spring 193.0 366Summer 236.5 0Fall 233.4 190Yearly total 749.7 2176

Mean daily temperature °C

Brockville Kingston

Winter (Dec.-Feb.) -7.0 -6.2Spring (March-May) 6.3 5.4Summer (June-Aug .) 19.9 19.5Fall (Sept .-Nov.) 9.7 9.9Year 7.2 7.2

(above 42°F) between 3400 and 3600 (Brown 1968) .Brockville is about 35 km further north thanKingston but latitudinal effect over such a minutedistance is negligible compared to local climateinfluencing factors such as a lake the size of LakeOntario .

The lake's large surface area allows for theevaporation of a similarly large amount of watervapour which influences atmospheric humiditywhich is turn often becomes translated into cloudcover. The relative humidity increase is usuallyless in the summer than winter ; on the averagethe lake's contribution might amount to an in-crease of about 10% in the summer and as muchas 30% in the winter (Richards 1969) . Sincerelative humidity is also a function of temper-ature, this higher increase during the coolerseasons reflects the cold air's lack of moisture-holding capacity and not necessarily an increase inthe total amount of evaporation .

Seasonal effects on cloud cover can besimilarly generalized . In the winter, the moistureladen air over the relatively warm, unfrozen lakerises into the colder atmosphere causing theformation of clouds . During the warmer seasonsthe land areas are heated by the sun and daytimecumulus formation occurs over the land while thesky over the cooler lake remains clear .

The Thousand Islands area is subject to muchof the climatic effects Lake Ontario creates notonly because of its proximity to the lake but alsobecause the lake and the study area are inalignment with the prevailing wind patterns .These tend to parallel the St . Lawrence Riverwith a general predominance southwesterly butnortheasterlies are also common, particularly inwinter . The southwesterly direction of the pre-vailing winds is important because these windspass over Lake Ontario immediately beforeentering the Thousand Island region and many ofthe climatic effects created by the lake can becarried into the Thousand Islands area. Also, asthey pass over the lake, they pick up moisturewhich is then deposited in the form of rain orsnow. Usually November receives the mostprecipitation (over 90 mm) while early spring(March-April) tends to be the driest time of yearaveraging slightly over 70 mm precipitation atBrockville down to about 65 mm in the westernparts of the park area. Kingston receives anaverage of about 900 mm of precipitation (rainplus snow) and Brockville nearly 970 mm annually(Table 1); for comparison it is interesting to notethat areas at the windward end of Lake Ontarioaverage only about 800 mm.

Fog along the St . Lawrence River may beencountered at any time but tends to be morecommon during the late fall and winter . The

HISTORY

major cause is the slow advection of warmer,moisture-laden air from above the unfrozen lakeand river onto the colder land areas causing themoisture to condense into fog . Steam fog close tothe surface of the river is frequent in the late falland early winter before freeze up but this type offog does not extend onto land . Radiation fog mayoccur at anytime but is typical in the spring andfall particularly in low-lying areas during clear,still nights when the daytime's warm and moist airbecomes rapidly cooled . This type of fog is usuallylocal in extend and topography related ; it usuallydisappears during the day as the air becomeswarmed by the sun or disturbed by a breeze .

The Thousand Islands area receives approxi-mately 2000 hours of sunshine yearly . The sunniestmonths are May, June, July and August with asignificant drop in the number of sunshine hours inSeptember . December receives the least amountof bright sunshine . The increase is gradual fromJanuary through April with a substantial jump inMay after which the monthly differences aremoderate until September. For a more detailedstudy on the climate of the St . Lawrence IslandsNational Park, reference can be made to Lapczak,Wyllie and Lawford, 1977 .

The Thousand Islands region was probablyoccupied as far back as a couple of thousand yearsB.C. by various ancient cultures but very little isknown about them . Dating of artifact finds andother remains from various sites indicate thatIroquoian speaking Indians inhabited the area asearly as 1250 A.D . The Thousand Islands and theriver in general seem to have been a sort ofborderland between two major factions of thesepeoples, the Huron and the Iroquois . The Iroquoiswere to the south and the Huron to the north withthe river and the islands apparently largely withinHuron hunting territory . It also seems plausiblethat others, particularly some Algonkian speakingIndians from the northeast, were in the areasporadically .

First contact between the Indians of the areaand Europeans came in 1535 when Jacques Cartierascended the St . Lawrence River to the Indiansettlement called Hochelaga (on the island ofMontreal) where the up-river progress of his shipswas halted by rapids . The habitants of Hochelagawere apparently Hurons but this is not definite andthey may have been Iroquois or even Algonkian .When Samuel de Champlain reached the locationabout 70 years later (1603) the village was nolonger there thus giving testimony to the transitorynature of the native settlements in the St . Law-

rence Valley . The Huron villages traditionallychanged location every ten years or so butwhether the disappearance of Hochelaga wasmerely a normal move or whether it was forcedout by some invaders is not clear .

A decade or so after Champlain, missionarywork among the Hurons was begun by the RecolletFathers from France . Another decade and theJesuits began to replace the Recollets and con-tinue the work .

At this time, the trade of furs for Europeangoods had grown substantially and competitionbetween the Huron and the Iroquois for huntingterritory increased . In the late 1630's a series ofepidemics struck the Huron and their numberswere drastically reduced to something like onehalf of their previous strength - all this at a timewhen the Iroquois began planning the takeover ofHuronia and their fur trade . Iroquois pressureincreased and the Huron gradually withdrew west-ward from the St . Lawrence Valley prior to theireventual collapse and complete dispersal by 1650.

The French had made peace with the Iro-quois prior to the collapse of Huronia and suc-ceeded in carrying on the fur trade, explorationand other activities . Within the Thousand Islandsregion, bases were constructed at Fort Frontenac(Kingston) and La Présentation (Ogdensburg).These thrived until the fall of New France and thesubsequent transfer of all of Canada to the Britishon the signing of the Treaty of Paris, 1763 . TheBritish then established their major base onCarleton Island .

In the mid- and late 1770's, after the war ofindependence in the United States, large numbersof people loyal to England fled north into Canadaand the British government rewarded their loyaltywith generous land grants . This contributed in amajor way to the permanency of the settlement ofthe north shore of the St . Lawrence River andgave impetus to numerous small towns andvillages in the area .

The War of 1812 was the last militaryconflict to involve the Thousand Islands region .From this conflict eventually evolved the locationof the international boundary which winds its waythrough the myriad of islands in the river . As theneed for the accurate location of the boundarybecame evident the river was surveyed in 1818.Captain Owen, in charge of the survey, namedmany of the islands, often after heroes, ships, etc .of the War of 1812 . The actual allocation of theislands between Canada and the United States wasachieved by the Porter-Barclay Treaty of 1822.

The St . Lawrence River had been used as atravel and trade route long before the arrival ofthe first Europeans . Trade was an important part

of the early Huron economy and their familiaritywith the canoe as a means of transport made theriver a natural travel corridor . Similarly, when theEuropeans arrived they too were quick to realizethe river's potential as an access/transport routefor exploration, trade and military purposes . Mapswere produced and one of the early (1727) Frenchmaps makes first reference to the park region bynaming the islands "Les Mille lies", thus coining thename for this island-strewn section of the river .

The waterway was more than adequate forthe volume and type of craft required by earlytrade but it was soon evident that improvements,such as canals around the rapids, would greatlyfacilitate the movement of goods. The first under-taking toward this end was by Dollier de Cassonwho, about 1700, began the construction of a canalat the Lachine Rapids .

As settlement increased westward, so did thetraffic on the St . Lawrence; raw materials such aslumber were transported down and general merchandise and staples up . With the increase intraffic came an increase in the navigational im-provements along the river . In the 19th centuryanother factor, that of obtaining power from theriver, created added need for construction of riverimprovements . As North America industrialized,the demand for both transport and hydropowerincreased dramatically and the need for majorfacilities along the St . Lawrence emerged . Theriver could be opened to ocean-going traffic and itsgreat potential for hydro power harnessed . Yearsof planning and construction toward these objec-tives culminated in the opening of the Seaway onJuly 1, 1958 . Direct impact on the ThousandIslands landscape was minor; no large-scalechanges occurred, unlike farther down river wheremajor dredging and flooding of lands took place .The main impacts are commerce and transportationrelated, but these, by redirecting local priorities,create pressures and demands on the lands andthereby can substantially affect the area's bio-physical complex .

The frequent presence of sea-going vessels inthemselves creates an unusual aura in the region,for many ships are much bigger than a largeproportion of the islands they thread their waythrough . Whether this be disturbing or whether itenhances the uniqueness of the park's locationdepends purely on one's preferences . However,there is no question that the region is worthy ofbeing preserved as widely as possible because itoffers a rare combination of abundant naturalbeauty, a waterway of major importance economi-cally and socially, and a richness in the nation'shistory .

METHODOLOGY

This study is a concurrent survey of thevegetation and the physical land characteristics ofthe area. A major product of the survey is themapping of present forest cover, non-forestedareas, topography, soil texture, soil moisture,origin of surficial materials, open waters andmicrodrainage patterns .

Because of the largely private, or other non-federal, land ownership pattern in the area,authority of access was limited and this, in turn,precluded extensive groundwork. Accordingly thisstudy relies primarily on detailed analysis ofaerial photographs supplemented by limited fieldchecks . However, the descriptions of ground floraare derived entirely from data collected in thefield .

Base Maps and Aerial Photographs

Thirteen base maps (Fig . 2) at the scale of1:10 000 (1 :5 000 for Cedar, Milton and Stovinislands) were drafted from the National Topographic

Series

(1 :25 000

maps

31B/5d,

e,f;31B/12b; 31C/1f; 31C/8a, b,h . Recent aerialphotographs were used to update and add detail onroads, secondary streams and shorelines .

Aerial photographs used for this study wereblack and white summer photography takenAugust 9, 1975 at the scale of 1:10 000 (NationalAir Photo Library roll numbers A 40030 andA 40031) . This was supplemented by black andwhite leaf-free photos taken May 1, 1974 at thescales

of

1:8 400

and

1 :20 000 (roll numberA 23672) . A variety of other photo coverage wasalso used for reference on numerous occasions .

Photo Interpretation

Prior to field work, preliminary photo-interpretation was done for the entire study area .This served to give an estimate of the complexityof types to be expected and, therefore, of theintensity of sampling required to adequately covervarious conditions . After field sampling theinterpretation was revised wherever sample dataindicated it necessary.

For land use planning, whether park orotherwise, it is desirable to have a relatively fixedbase upon which to expand. To accommodate thisrequirement, the physical land features were

RESOURCE INVENTORY

determined and delineated first ; though changesare created by nature as well as caused by man,these features provide a framework which is fairlystable against successional or artificial changes .The more changeable attributes of vegetation wereinterpreted within this land base and subsequentlysuperimposed upon it .

The land features were interpreted andmapped at the land type level (Lacate 1969) whereeach unit consists of fairly uniform topography, soiltexture, similar moisture range and geomorphicorigin of parent material . On a map, each suchland type is described by a combination of standardsymbols, numerals and alphabetic abbreviations aslisted in Appendix C.

Superimposed within this land base are theforest cover and non-forest categories . Foreststands are separated according to uniformity ofspecies composition, stand height, canopy closureand general stand condition . A sample symbol andforest cover legend are presented in Appendix C.Thirteen different non-forested categories wererecognized in this survey and these are alsodescribed by appropriate symbols (Appendix C).

An illustration of land and forest typing as itappears on an interpreted photograph is shown inFigure 3 . As an example, the land type at the leftcentre of the photograph is described by the symbolJ' 2 vc F/R . This represents a topographic unitwhich is a gentle slope in the general directionindicated by the arrow. The area is well drained (2)predominantly sandy soil (vc) ; the underlining ofthe symbol vc indicates thepresence of boulders inthe area. The soils are of glaciofluvial origin (F)and fairly shallow, often less than 1 m, overbedrock (/R) .

Within this land type are four vegetationcover types, two of which are forested . The typedesignated as U2 represents upland shrub vegetation which in this case is probably sumac dom-inated . The U1 indicates an open area within thetaller shrub and forest types and consists largely ofa variety of upland grasses and herbaceous species .One of the forest types is designated as 7rOwO4,5.This depicts a forest consisting of a mature (5),predominantly a red and white oak stand (rOwO)averaging within the 18-24 m height class (7) andforming a closed canopy (4) . Similarly the symboli-zation of the other forest stand within the landtype describes its species composition and standstructure .

The entire study area was delineated andsymbolically described on aerial photographs in thepreceding manner . This information was then

FIGURE 2. Index to map sheets of St. LawrenceIslands National Park and surrounding areas.

Area mapped at 1 :10 000

ISLAND

BROCKVI

FIGURE 3 .

transferred onto the planimetric base maps. Asample portion of such a map as it appears in finalform is shown in Figure 4 .

Field Sampling

The ground sampling was done in late Julyand early August of 1976, with occasional addedfield checks on areas of specific interest .

To obtain the most comprehensive appraisalof the area's resources, field samples were takenin as many different land and vegetation types astime permitted . At the sample location, soilcharacteristics such as soil texture, drainage andmoisture conditions, probable geomorphic originand depth over bedrock were appraised byaugering up to a depth of 1 m . Other site factorsrecorded were local topography, slope features,aspect and the presence/absence of boulders nearthe surface . In forest stands, species compositionwas estimated with the aid of a relascope, standheight was measured and an estimate of the crownclosure made. Figure 5 illustrates a typical fieldtally card . Information on lower vegetation wasalso acquired at each site by establishing a 4 by4 m quadrat on which each species was listed withtheir cover (abundance-dominance) values asmodified from a Braun-Blanquet scale (Mueller-Dombois and Ellenberg 1974) (Table 2) . Anyspecies which could not be identified in the field,was denoted numerically, pressed and broughtback for identification . At each lower vegetationsample location, the prevailing tree canopy com-position and percent closure, amount of regener-ation and shrub species with their height andpercent cover were also recorded (Fig . 6) . At

Stereogram of a typical interpreted photograph. Thick lines denoteland types, thin lines vegetation types . Scale : approximately 1:10 000 .

least one colour photograph was usually taken ateach plot for possible future reference .

A plant collection was made; this includedthose plants and shrubs not identified in the field,as well as some of the less common species . Fieldidentified plants common to the area were notcollected nor were, in most cases, rare specimensunless they were growing in relative local abun-dance. In any case, to protect plant species, thecollections were kept to a minimum and repli-cations were avoided .

Identified specimens were checked by W.J .Cody, Director of the Herbarium, AgricultureCanada, Ottawa, where the collections were deposited . Mosses were identified by Dr. R. Ireland,and lichens by P.Y . Wong, both of the NationalMuseum . Requested mosses and lichens weredeposited in the National Herbarium of Canada .

Because of restricted access to non-parklands, sampling was concentrated within the parkand reduced to superficial observations elsewhere .Permission to enter non-park lands did not becomeavailable until the summer of 1977, after mappingwas already in its final stages . Checks on certainkey areas were made at this time but the groundchecking on non-park lands remained extremelymeager .

Forest cover and land/soil information werecollected in 63 sample locations and lower vegeta-tion were studied on 109 quadrats . In addition, onnumerous occasions appraisals were obtained alongroad cuts, shorelines and in other accessible areaswhere a specific data requirement could be easilyfulfilled .

10

5NW(M)l3gB1

4A/3A

N.VKM w/34~1

W,3BW3A

FIGURE 4. Portion of a land and forest type map.

NATIONALMOAMMQBCAH14A/2A

Date

v 1(, Map No 31e-4a

-y- Air Photo No Q

UTM 10-~ -10 11 Line No M 0 1. C-

Plot No

k

Stop No

I

Plot Size

ralo,sc e niForest Type

Land Type

Tree Species

VA I'Sc `W

r 0 ~-(sBasal Area l~

c( hl~ d-

~'3 =`TAR

Height

afir "~

Age

Physiography and Edatope

Elevation :

Slope %

X10..}

Aspect

Topographic Location :

~s1~ h

Microtopography

Plot No

So~r.f mctrc d"vc.~ pv}c.CD 71 2l3

4

Parent Material :

`Soil : 1 - Genera

"L" (Litter) "F-H" (Humus)

Plot NoDepth Text . Depth Text .

_..~_y

IE~ve S

234

2 - Organic Soils (Depth)Fibric Mesic Humic

C

tJ0 .k~e~roci~

Water Table : Absent

L.I

Present

Drainage

k - 3

1

23

4

Hydric Features :

Plot NoVf4 . 1I14 .

i

~

~

C_tM T' . itSi. d

1b .a~.k-

,' .) u .>A'c . ~~

2

Vegetation Relevé

General Physiognomy :

Vegetation Code

Stratum Coverage

Height Range

Total

A :Tree

Al

2fC, %

3o m )~

495

%

A2 /5 % (

- 5m)

B :Shrub

Bl < ~Z %

( S m -2 m )

bB2

-

%

(

< 2 m

C :Herbs Ch t,S % (Herbaceous )r,' %~*-I-V-, -C v

S %

(Dwarf Shrubs):::]

D :Moss Db + % (Mosses

Dl % (Lichens )

Degree of Opening over C (herb) Layer

to %

Ground covered by : Basal Area

%

Rocks and Stones

ko

% Water

%

Decayed Wood

-r,

% Humus

Mineral Soil

k

% Others

Regeneration : Strong

Moder. i,-' Weak

by :

h Nl a

Nearby Water Body > 5 acres :

Distance to :

Noticeable disturbances :%\ "-"L- C-

A-w-n. ... .~

Disturbance occurred :

3Species affected :

6

{- law

'S(NC .ti ~C4

FIGURE 5 . Sample of a field tally card .

Vegetation Structure

8 _ t ;Horiz . Depth Texture ColourAlA2 g "B t ~ l Doxnn . %'A.AÇ-

12

FIGURE 6 . Lower vegetation tally sheet .

LESSER VEGETATION TALLY SHEETPlot No.

Mul CaSitr,

Stand Structure

LayerAvg . Ht . Percent(feet) Coverage

Stand Composition

Shrub Species Cov .

Total Shrub 3 w+ } So15 Wf.~L,...

Tall shrub

Short shrub-

Total Herb N(cLrLA n�râ .-.- ... l.0

rel ndTall herb

_

Short herb

Ground Cover

Stand Composition (Cont'd)

Herb Species Cov.

Comments :

1 V ~r v, ~~ r~ 1 l_.¢vvC Gn1., a-.ti r e~v

~Î...r o~ 1-a.~

Table 2 . Plant species cover-abundance valuesmodified from Braun-Blanquet (Mueller-Dombois and Ellenberg 1974) .

1 -

few, with small cover2 -

numerous, but less than 5% cover3 -

any number, with 6-25% cover4 -

any number, with 26-50% cover5 -

any number, with 51-75% cover6 -

any number, with greater than 75% cover

Data Processing

Each land type unit which was mapped wasnumbered and its UTM coordination recorded.Forest stands were similarly located by UTM witheach portion of the stand falling within separateland types receiving its own UTM . Each unit wasthen measured for area (in hectares) by dot grid ;these records are presented as Appendix D forpark property . Computed areas of major landunits and forest types are presented as appendicesand selected summations of these are introducedwithin the text to illustrate relevant descriptivematerial .

For lower vegetation, the synthesis of theraw data follows Orloci's (1967) method of clusteranalysis with computer programming, slightlymodified, as presented by Jesberger and Sheard(1973) . As almost all the sampling was confinedto properties owned by National Parks, the plantcommunity descriptions are representative ofthese and other similar areas . Conditions in partsof the mainland which are farther removed fromthe proximity of a major body of water and not asheavily subjected to constant disturbance wouldproduce plant associations somewhat differentfrom those described herein . The differences arenot expected to totally prohibit the extrapolation,to these areas, of the information on plantassociations as presented in this report .

The lower vegetation plant associationswere not mapped and, therefore, no figures ontheir areal extent are presented . They aredescribed in terms of their floristic compositionand their relation to the mapped attributes offorest cover and physiography ; this provides a tiebetween the plant associations and their possibleareal extent and likelihood of occurrence withinthe landscape features which are mapped .

Based on topography, soil and moisturecharacteristics, the St . Lawrence study area isclassified into ecologically and environmentallysignificant landscape units . Because these unitsare based on relatively major physical land fea-tures, they form a fairly stable reference basewhich is little affected by natural, successional orman-induced changes ; indeed they form, particu-larly with the inclusion of their present vegetation,an ecological framework upon which these changescan be estimated or planned .

The landscape units are mapped at the scaleof 1:10 000 . This, in terms of biophysical mapping,represents classification at the land type level(Lacate 1969) where areas with homogeneity of soiltexture, topography, moisture and chronosequenceof vegetation are separated . Land units mapped atthis level of intensity provide a base which iscompatible with the mapping of individual bio-logical components such as forest stands andvarious non-forested vegetation types .

Seven major soil units are described ; five ofthese, plus a combination of the first two, areshown in Map 3. These units are : 1 . Bare rock,2 . Very shallow soils over bedrock, 3 . Moderatelyshallow soils, 4 . Glaciolacustrine, 5 . Glacio-fluvial, 6 . Alluvium, 7 . Organic . The differenti-ation of these units is based on factors such asdepth over bedrock, texture, drainage charac-teristics, moisture and origin of parent material .The distribution of the area's soils according totheir moisture regime are summarized in Map 4.Maps 3 and 4 are presented immediately followingsoil unit descriptions .

1 .

Bare Rock

LAND BASE

Classification

Soil Units

1 3

Rock outcrops which have no or only minimalsoil cover characterize the entire study area . Theymay occur at any elevation from the top ofFitzsimmons Mountain to the water's edge alongthe St . Lawrence River . They are frequent onhilltops and along steep slopes ; they may occur asknolls protruding through the deep soils of a valleyor as small islets which surface a few metres abovethe river . For the most part the outcrops consistof granitic igneous type or, various metamorphicrocks which have been smoothed and rounded byglaciations and all other erosional agents during thehundreds of millions of years of their existence .

14

The accumulative areal extent of bare rockis approximately 324 ha which is over 5% of theland area . On the 1 :10 000 maps bare rock areasare indicated by the vegetation symbol R; themost extensive of these are also shown on Map 5 .Extensive bare rock occurs along the western sideof Landons Bay and in the Fitzsimmons Mountainarea; elsewhere, though numerous, they aregenerally small and localized, often too tiny tomap individually at the scale of 1 :10 000 and eventhose mapped average less than 1/4 ha . Inmapping, these latter have become incorporatedwithin the surrounding, larger units which them-selves have usually a very shallow covering of soil .

Soil is generally absent ; what soil there isoccurs in crevasses and minor depressions withinthe unit (Fig . 7) . The soils are usually a mixtureof coarse-textured mineral soil, which has formedfrom the weathering of the rock, and of organicmaterial resulting from the decomposition ofmosses and other plant life able to survive onthese sites . Because of the shallowness of thesoil, decomposed organic matter accounts for ahigh percentage of the composition and gives thesoil a typical dark colour . Soil profile develop-ment is lacking .

Drainage in the form of runoff is very rapid ;internal drainage is non-existent and rain waterfrequently collects in shallow depressions where itremains until it evaporates or is taken up by themosses and grasses which frequent such locations .

Plant life, where present, consists of crustoselichens on the most desiccated locations . Mosses,lichens and grasses (see sub-association Rhustyphina-Calamagrostis) predominate small depres-sions and cracks ; shrubby species such as vac-ciniums and ground juniper may also occur andsometimes form dense colonies (Fig. 8) . Treespecies are generally absent save for the oddindividual, often scrubby, red cedar, oak, red mapleor any one of the pines indigenous to the area(Fig . 7) .

The lack of soil, locations which often arevery exposed, steep slope gradients and very rapidexternal runoff conditions create a very specializedenvironment for the survival of plant communities .The vegetation, because it is growing in suchmarginal conditions, usually requires a long time toestablish and once destroyed may be very difficultto regain . However, sites, where the preservationof a thin layer of soil is not a factor, canaccommodate an almost unlimited amount of tran-sitory use (e.g . hiking trails) . Permanent or semi-permanent facilities such as buildings and camp-grounds will not only increase haphazard traffic inthe vicinity of such facilities and affect andperhaps destroy much of the vegetation but alsothese sites are incompatible with such things aswaste and sewage disposal . Fill would have to beimported to provide for them and even so the lackof internal drainage and rapid runoff could createconstant erosion problems which in turn may causespillage to the surrounding area. Similarly the

FIGURE 7. Sparse cover of red cedar, pine, hemlock, oak and maple typifymuch of the bare rock units of the region .

2.

Very Shallow Soils Over Bedrock

expense of constructing access roads to serviceany such facilities could be prohibitive becauseblasting and importation of large quantities of fillwould be required.

This soil unit is very common throughout theregion and accounts for about 1850 ha or 30% ofthe land area but the average size of each unit isless than 2 ha. Like the previous one, this unit isalso prevalent on slopes, hilltops and knolls withmany of the islands in the river consisting entirelyof this soil unit (Fig . 9) . On land type maps at thescale of 1 :10 000 these areas are shown by the soilsymbol R .

The depth of soil can vary but generallyaverages less than 30 cm . Often these areas arevery rocky and broken with the result that theyinvariably contain localized pockets, crevassesand cracks where soil has accumulated to muchgreater depths ; similarly areas of bare rock arenumerous in such terrain. These deep soils androck outcrops are generally too small to mapindividually at the scale of 1 :10 000 and thereforeeither become part of the predominantly veryshallow soiled surroundings, or combine to formsuch a unit .

Material which over the centuries hasaccumulated in hollows and crevasses and the thinremnants of glacial, predominantly till, depositsare the soil base of this unit . Decomposed organicmatter has become incorporated in the soils and

FIGURE 8. Often the only shrub present on the bedrock is ground juniper whichsometimes totally covers the ground .

15

often forms a substantial component . Boulders areusual; some are of glacial origin but many,particularly in the proximity of slopes, are rockswhich have broken off the adjacent or underlyingbedrock.

As this soil unit is usually associated withsubstantial slopes and frequent occurrence of barerock, the drainage conditions are generally rapid .Internal drainage is often accomplished along soil-filled cracks and fissures but localized bedrockdepressions without outlets do occur . Unless themoisture is taken up by the vegetation, thesedepressions may remain wet for considerableperiods; the soil is too shallow to absorb anythingbut the most trivial amounts of water.

Tree and/or shrub cover are usually present.Forest stands are frequently open or semi-open asthe trees seek out the spots of deeper soil . Specieswhich are able to exist in minimal soil depths andunder relatively desiccate conditions predominate.The most commonly encountered are red and whiteoak, red maple, white pine and eastern red cedar.Red and pitch pine are less common in the area butwhen present they usually occur on these sites.Numerous shrubs have adapted well to the situ-ation; some of the most noticeable ones arejuniper, sumac and vacciniums . Where soil is mostmeagre or practically absent, a variety of grasses,mosses and lichens characterize the lower vegeta-tion . The vegetation sub-associationRhus typhina-Calamagrostis is typical on these rocky, veryshallow soiled hills and knolls.

1 6

FIGURE 9. Two typical, but contrasting kinds of shorelines along the St . LawrenceRiver. In the foreground marshy terrain supporting dense colonies ofcattails totally differs from the dry, rocky islet in the background withits sparse tree cover of white pine, oak and maple .

The variety created by the intermingling oftree cover with areas of open rock and the usualoccurrence of this soil unit on hilltops and knollsgives it great potential for hiking trails and vistas .However, shallow soils and the associated easyand permanent destructability of the vegetationthereon are as much a problem here as in theprevious type . Hiking trails, picnic spots andlookouts can be placed in the least susceptiblelocations and clearly marked ; this will tend toconcentrate traffic in these areas and localize anydamage, as well as minimize it, provided trails,etc., are planned in areas of low sensitivity .General lack of soil and internal drainage detersthe establishment of permanent facilities re-quiring waste disposal systems for costs ofblasting service roads through bedrock, hauling inlarge quantities of fill and constant maintenanceagainst its eroding away could become prohibitive .

3 .

Shallow Soils

The second largest of the seven soil units,this one is prevalent on about 1516 ha (25%)distributed throughout the study area with mapunits averaging over 4 ha in area.

It is usuallyassociated with hilly or rolling topography but alsooccurs on flat terrain, particularly in the fewareas underlain by flat-bedded Paleozoic bedrock(e.g. Gordon Island, parts of Hill Island) .

Soil depths are generally less than 1 m butunevenness of the bedrock creates localized areasmuch deeper as well as shallower . Bare rockoutcrops occur but are less common than within thepreceding soil unit .

For the most part the soils derive from a thinveneer of moderately coarse, sandy glacial till butfiner-textured glaciolacustrine as well as coarsersands and gravels of glaciofluvial origin are presentoccasionally . On slopes, particularly lower ones,and narrow valley bottoms, coarse sometimes verybouldery, colluvium may also occur (Fig . 10) . Inmost instances the soils contain boulders of glacialand/or colluvial origin or those formed in situ bythe action of weathering agents on the localbedrock . Development of soil profile is not verypronounced; the surface soil is often darkest witha general brownish tinge but may vary from grey toalmost black, the subsoil is generally a mediumbrown and the parent material tends to be thelightest in colour, again predominantly brown oryellow brown.

Drainage is generally good but as usualcannot be expected to remain uniform all acrossthe type; depressions with imperfect, even poor,drainage occur as do rapidly drained steep sectionsand rocky areas.

Unless cleared artificially these areas areusually forested . There is enough micro-variationin the soil depth and moisture that almost all treespecies native to the area may be found in thissoil unit . The most relevant hardwoods are sugarand red maple, red and white oak, shagbarkhickory and white ash ; also frequent are bass-wood, ironwood and beech . Softwoods are some-what less prominent than the hardwoods but whitepine is frequent as is, especially on northerly andeasterly aspects, hemlock . Lower vegetation ischaracterized by sub-associations Aralia-Carpinus,Quercus alba - Ostrya and Tsuga with the lattersub-association most often occurring on thecooler, north and east slopes .

In general the soil unit indicates areas whichare sturdy enough to allow most park-related uses .Good drainage with adequate soil over bedrockprovide for good campgrounds, picnic areas, etc .and, at the same time, a suitable, solid foundationfor the construction of associated utility andadministrative buildings . In many spots soil coveris deep enough, or can be easily increased bymoving adjacent material, to allow small-scaleseptic systems which might be required for ser-viced campgrounds or other centres of activity .Tree cover which is almost always present provideshelter as well as attractive surroundings forpicnicking, camping and nature trails . Except inthe steeper slope locations the soil conditions arenot easily deteriorated or eroded by standard parkuses ; similarly, if the use is abandoned the

1 7

indigenous vegetation will likely reclaim the arearelatively quickly . On the negative side, this soilunit usually occurs on slopes or hilly terrain, acondition which does make much of its areasusceptible to erosion if removal of the vegetationis undertaken . Campgrounds and play areasdemand reasonably level ground, a commoditywhich is present but not overly abundant within thissoil unit ; similarly the frequent presence ofboulders may deter the establishment of certainfacilities .

This soil unit supports many stands of valu-able tree species, notably oak, maple and whitepine . The capability for forest is moderately good

FIGURE 10 . Boulder strewn landscapes are frequent in narrow valleysbetween steep, rock slopes .

4. Glaciolacustrine

and the unit contains the bulk of the forestedacreage within the study area . However, stoniness,frequent excessive slopes and often insufficient soildepth make this unit unsuitable for farming ; it haspractically no capability for crops or even forpermanent pasture .

This soil unit forms most of the flat andgently undulating valleys which occur among thehilly Precambrian topography. The total arealextent is about 1350 ha and represents about 22°6of the land area making it the third largest of theseven soil units ; average map unit is approximately4.5 ha .

18

Almost all the soil parent material is glacio-lacustrine in origin, but also included in this unitare deep, predominantly till deposits . Althoughcommon as shallow veneer throughout the rockyShield topography, deep tills are minor elsewhere,predominating on only about 100 ha . Through thecenturies, even most of these have been aug-mented by other deposits, glaciolacustrine, allu-vium and organic being the most usual . The tillstend to be coarser textured than soils of lacus-trine origin, but both have similar, frequentlymediocre drainage conditions . Tables in AppendixE separate tills and lacustrine soils, but becauseof its small area, Map 3 shows the former as partof this, glaciolacustrine, soil unit .

The mapped area is in the proximity of thewesternmost end of ancient, postglacial Cham-plain Sea and it is possible that some deposits ofthis soil unit originated in an environment in-fluenced by both fresh and salt water . The soilsare deep, often several metres over bedrock orglacial till . The texture is a mixture of clay, siltand sand with clay accounting for up to 60% ofthe material, silt about a third and sand usuallyless than a fifth . Generally the organic content islow but may have accumulated on the surface indepressions and other imperfectly drained loca-tions . It is grey in colour with the surface layersusually darkest becoming lighter, but often withbrownish mottling, towards the bottom . Except inareas predominated by tills, boulders and stonesare usually absent but may be present adjacent torock outcrops . Though the soils are deep, theseoutcrops are fairly common; they often surfaceabruptly and are surrounded by deep soil (Fig . 11) .They are also small and frequently not mappableat 1 :10 000.

Drainage is usually moderate to imperfectwith numerous poorly drained depressions (Fig .11) . The high clay content makes for restrictedinternal drainage and the flatness of the terrainslows surface runoff . Artificial drainage channelsand ditching can improve conditions significantlyand many of these areas presently under culti-vation have extensive man-made drainage systems(Fig . 11) .

Except for poorly drained and wet depres-sions, most land within this soil unit is or has atsome time been under cultivation or pasture .Many old fields are now grazed but also manyhave been abandoned and are slowly revertingback to forest . The transition between this andthe shallow-soiled, predominantly forested unit istypically abrupt and since fields are usuallycleared right to the edge of the deep clay soils,areas within this soil unit are usually not forested .Although 22% of the lands belong to this soilgroup, less than 9% of the forests occur on it . Onabandoned fields where trees are beginning to

reestablish, the most conspicuous species is easternred cedar (Fig . 11 and 16) . Frequently encroachingon the field edges are balsam poplar, trembling andlargetooth aspens, grey and white birches . Lowervegetation is much influenced by past cultivationbut is characterized by the Vetch-Kentucky blue-grass plant community .

Dairy farming is important in the area andthis soil unit is a central factor in its support . Notonly does it provide good grazing, but the land isalso suitable for related crops such as hay andsilage corn . However, there are drawbacks toagriculture ; mediocre internal drainage oftencauses excessive moisture conditions on flat andlow-lying areas ; the high clay content hampersworkability and the general sparsity of organic andcoarse-textured materials makes for reduced aera-tion, percolation and, in general, poor soil struc-ture . As a result the number of potential crops islimited .

Park-related uses are similarly hampered inmany locations . Campgrounds and picnic areas canbecome saturated and mucky during rainy periods .The soil can provide an adequate foundation forconstruction of service and administrative buildingsbut should water penetration occur it could reducethe clay's load-bearing capacity and shifting andsettling of the foundation may result . Because ofpoor percolation properties of the soil, servicessuch as washroom facilities for the buildings mightnot be able to use septic systems, necessitating theuse of alternate methods . However, this soil unitcontains large tracts of cleared relatively levelground and, where drainage is adequate or wheresuitable fill can be brought in, facilities andactivities requiring open spaces can be easilyaccommodated. Its value for hiking trails is poorbecause of a lack of scenic areas, but possibilitiesexist for interpretative trails which demonstratesuccessional change from a farm field, through thevarious pioneer . vegetation stages, to matureforest .

5 . Glaciofluvial

Sandy and gravelly ice-contact parentmaterial occur sporadically throughout the studyarea. Most of these appear in the form of kamedeposits but low-profile esker-like ridges occur onGrenadier and Tar islands . The total extent of thissoil unit is approximately 314 ha or 5% of the landarea with map units averaging slightly over 3 ha insize . The most extensive occurrences are onGrenadier, Tar and Hill islands and in the proximityof the village of Ivy Lea (Map 3); elsewhere withinthe map area it is present in a few isolatedlocations .

Soil texture is coarse to very coarse, con-sisting of stratified sands and gravels . Boulders

FIGURE 11. Enlargement, to an approximate scale of 1 :2000, of a typical portion of a glaciolacustrine soil unit .

Numerals 3 to 6 indicate soil moisture regime as per Appendix C. Heavy soils and flat terrain result in mediocre internaldrainage and slow surface runoff with the resultant pooling of waters in the slightest depressions . Some of the ditching doneto minimize this are visible in the photograph. Areas marked R represent shallow-soiled rock outcrops which typically andabruptly intersperse the otherwise deep soils . Most areas with drainages 3 and 4 are being cultivated ; the general area markedwith the letter U has been abandoned . Throughout this latter area numerous dark specks are visible against the light greybackground; these specks are eastern red cedar which frequently are the very first tree species to invade abandoned farm lands .

0

20

may not be present in some cases, but in othersare numerous and complete layers consistingmainly of boulders can occur (Fig. 12). Soilsformed on this parent material show podzoliccharacteristics with the occurrence of an ash greyleached layer in the surface soil . The subsoil (Bhorizon) is usually medium or dark brown be-coming lighter in the C horizon.

Internal drainage is good, often rapid. Thesands and gravels do not retain water long andrain water is percolated through quickly leavingthe ground dry within a short period after rainfall .The fast movement of the water also results inincreased leaching of the nutrients in the surfacelayers . The result is a lowered soil fertility andreduced productivity . Because of their low water-holding capacity these soils tend to be subject todrought even during normal precipitation con-ditions .

In the St . Lawrence area much of this soilunit has been cleared either for agricultural use oras sand and gravel pits . Where not cleared itsupports fairly good stands of forest which areusually dominated by oaks, maples, poplars andbirches; also frequently present, but in lesserquantities, are species such as white pine, shag-bark hickory, beech and white ash. The groundvegetation is likely to be represented by plantcommunities similar to the Quercus alba - Ostrya

or Aralia-Carpinus sub-associations .

The soils of this unit should be able toaccommodate all types of park-related uses . Rapidinternal drainage keeps even the flattest areasfrom becoming water saturated or soggy duringperiods of heavy precipitation . At the same timethe coarseness of the soil allows it to withstand

FIGURE 12 . Bouldery glaciofluvial sands and gravels on Hill Island .

heavy traffic with a minimum of maintenance.These, therefore, are desired locations for mobilecampers and trailers, parking areas, campgrounds,playgrounds and all sorts of intensive use areas.They provide sufficiently stable foundation forbuildings and generally have adequate percolationand filtration properties to allow septic fields .Where the terrain is not level enough for theintended use, the soil can be moved and levelledwith relative ease . Many of these sites are alreadycleared thus eliminating the task of disturbing ordestroying areas presently in their natural state.

Parts of this soil unit are an important sourceof sands and gravels; numerous gravel pits, bothabandoned and active, can be found within it .Other sections have been used for farming thoughthe soil fertility is mediocre and many locationstend toward drought; within the study area verylittle of this soil type is presently under activecultivation.

HOWEISLAND

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6. Alluvium

These consist of flood plains of modernstreams whether or not they are still subjected toperiodic flooding. The principal source is the St .Lawrence River and extensive alluvial depositsoccur along it . The total area occupied by this.soil unit is about 423 ha or 7% of the mapped landarea . This acreage is concentrated in three mainlocalities : Mallorytown Landing, Cook Point-Rockport region and Grenadier Island (Map 3) .

The terrain is fairly flat or gently undulatingand occupies low elevations, only slightly higherthan the river . The parent material is frequentlyfine sandy textured with few stones or boulders .Areas of finer, silty materials also occur; theseusually have mediocre drainage and often occupylocalities with a high water table . This makesthem ill suited for most people-oriented usesunless sufficient fill is imported, an undertakingwhich may be practical in many locations becausethese areas often occupy valuable waterfront andthereby can justify the expense . Where sandyparent material dominates, drainage is good butagain in numerous instances a high water tableaffects the usefulness of many of these areas.

Where the water table is close to thesurface and drainage fairly poor (silty soils), theforest cover is typified by white and black ash,grey and white birch, red maple, willows andpoplars . Lower vegetation usually includesnumerous ferns and shrubs such as alders anddogwood ; the sub-association Impatiens - Urticafrequently describes the vegetation on theseareas . On better-drained, sandy soils, but wherethe water table is still fairly close to the surface,characteristic tree species are grey birch, whitebirch and trembling aspen; grey birch sometimesforms sizeable almost pure stands (Fig . 25) .Where the water table is no longer near thesurface, white oak and red oak become commonand can form stands averaging taller than 25 m.Other species which also frequently occupy thesesites are shagbark hickory, white ash, sugar andred maple. On the ground level bracken ferns andshrubs (e.g . dogwoods, viburnums and blueberries)sometimes cover a high percentage of the groundas representatives of the Aralia - Carpinus or theQuercus alba- Ostrya sub-associations .

The coarse- and moderately coarse textured,sandy soils of this unit provide a suitable base forrecreational uses . Good drainage and relativeflatness of the terrain facilitates the establish-ment of such things as playing fields, picnic areasand campgrounds and their necessary associatedfacilities . The usual proximity of this unit to openwater adds considerably to its usefulness in aheavily water-oriented park such as St . LawrenceIslands . However, because of its subdued reliefand low elevation, this unit is not as ideal for

hiking trails or scenic lookouts as the rugged androcky hill regions . Similarly where the water tableis near the surface certain limitations to thenumber and kinds of uses will occur . Althoughwater-level fluctuations in the St . Lawrence arenot normally excessive, some otherwise suitableareas may have reduced usefulness because of thedanger of inundation due to higher spring waterlevels . Areas tending towards more medium-textured, silty soils may also have limitations verysimilar to those encountered with the lacustrinesoils of the previous unit - increased tendencytoward wetness and muckiness, particularly in low-lying areas . Notwithstanding the preceding limita-tions, much of this soil unit has reasonably goodcarrying capacity for most medium and lightintensity activities which may occur in a parkenvironment .

7 .

Organic Soils

21

This soil unit occurs throughout the studyarea with the total extent of lands mapped aspredominantly organic being approximately 234 haor 4% of the land area . Much of this is in the formof small isolated depressions and low-lying areasless than 1 ha in size, but extensive organicmarshlands covering several hectares also occur,notably on Grenadier Island and between CookPoint and Highway 2S.

When there is no or only restricted outflow,hollows within a predominantly bedrock complexfrequently become filled with decomposed organicmaterial, but may be underlain in depth by otherdeposits, particularly glacial tills . The soils may bedeep but with the water table very close to thesurface and open water frequently present .

In more subdued topography, such as broadvalleys, organic soils have formed by the gradualaccumulation of organic material in poorly draineddepressions . The organic layer is generally muchshallower and contains more mineral soil than thepreceding, bedrock environment. Runoff as well asseepage from the surrounding higher ground carriesa certain amount of mineral soil which becomesincorporated within the organic material . Therelatively subdued relief creates shallower hollowsthan the more rugged Precambrian topography andconsequently the organic layers filling thesehollows will be thinner . Similarly, shorelinemarshes generally overlay areas of very low topo-graphic relief and the organic layer often is notvery deep and may contain substantial silty allu-vium particularly if the area floods occasionally .In the inland valleys the underlaying mineral soil isusually moderately to fairly fine textured lacus-trine silts and clays, whereas the organic soilsalong the shoreline sometimes cover much coarser,sandy-textured alluvium .

Vegetation is variable on these areas and is a

22

function of the stage of development of theorganic unit . Aquatic vegetation (e.g . waterlilies) is usually followed by a stage dominated bycattails which give way to hydrophytic shrubs (e.g .alders) and eventually trees such as willows,poplars, birches, red maple, white ash, black ashand white elm (Fig . 13) . Plant communitiestypical of organic soils are represented by thecattail arrow-head sub-association (Fig . 21).

The constant wetness and the poor load-bearing capacity of this soil unit precludes it frommany uses . Construction of buildings or roadsrequire either (a) large amounts of fill which iscostly and may require constant maintenancebecause of the instability of the underlayingorganic material, or (b) the very costly under-taking of first dredging out the organic layer andthen filling. However, areas where undertakingsof this magnitude might be justified would becertain shoreline locations where valuable water-front property was required . In many locations,dredging to provide harbour facilities or accesscanals through low-lying waterfront marshes is afeasible and often more practical alternative thanbringing in fill and building over the marsh inorder to reach the water's edge.

In general this unit serves best as wildernessor buffer zones. Some parts of it are rich ininteresting flora, water fowl (particularly shoreline marshes) and other bird and animal life .Hiking trails, with boardwalks where necessary, to

observe various marsh wildlife, environments andsuccessional stages would be a very worthwhilefacility on these areas .

Present forest cover, non-forested plant com-munities and other land use categories are mappedat the scale of 1 :10 000 (1 :5 000 for Cedar, Miltonand Stovin islands) and superimposed on land typeand planimetric information . These maps arepresented as Appendix A; a composite at the scaleof 1:50 000 is attached (Map 5) . Vegetation isdescribed in terms of forest cover, including ninemajor and/or distinct forest species groups, andlower vegetation as defined by plant communityassociations .

Of the total study area (14720 ha) about3440 ha are forested ;

this represents about 56%of the land area.

Table 3 summarizes the arealextent of the major vegetation/land use classeswithin the study area . These categories are shownon the attached summary map at the scale of1 :50 000 (Map 5) .

VEGETATION

FIGURE 13. Typical vegetation succession along marshy section of the St . Lawrence Riverproceeds from cattail, rush and reed grass communities through shrub (e.g .alder, willows) stages to forests dominated by birches and poplars .

Table 3 . Vegetation/land use class areas

Forest Description

The study area straddles two sections ofRowe's Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Forest Region,the L .1 - Huron-Ontario section and the L.4 -Middle Ottawa section . The first extends fromLake Ontario to the Gananoque area and thelatter covers the areas downriver from there .

Within the study area, forested lands occupyabout 3440 ha (Table 3). As evident from Table 4following, softwood (all conifers) stands are only avery small minority of the forest cover in the areawhile hardwoods (all deciduous trees except larch)and mixedwoods share it in nearly equal proportions .

A great number of tree species are in-digenous to the region . Many of these aresporadic in occurrence and at best form onlyminor components of forest stands ; others arevery prolific and can dominate large areas . Par-ticularly common are red oak, white oak, whitepine, red maple, sugar maple, hemlock, white ash,shagbark hickory, white birch, grey birch, large-tooth aspen, and trembling aspen, while at theother end of the scale are butternut, white spruce,red spruce, basswood and bitternut hickory .

Table 4 . Major forest cover type areas

Cover Type

Hectares

Percent

Softwoods

107 3Mixedwoods

1811 53Hardwoods

1522 44

Total forested

3440

100

23

With a total of over 40 tree species in thearea, innumerable stand compositions are possible .However, many of the species are such that theyseldom, if ever, provide more than a very minoraddition to a stand . Most notable examples ofthese are basswood and black cherry ; both arenumerous throughout the area but neither formspure stands and almost always occur as scatteredindividuals accounting for only a minor percentwithin a cover type . Typical locations for bothspecies are well-to moderately well drained slopesand valleys where they are frequently associatedwith maples, oaks, beech and white ash . Otherspecies which usually occur in a similar minor

Hectares % of Land % of Total

Forested 3440 56 23Upland herbs/grasses 723 12Upland shrubs 325 5Bare rock 324 5Urban/recreational 122 2Cropland 356 6Gravel pits and quarries 21 <1Roads 276 4Other cleared land 101 2Flooded land 7 <1Marsh sedges/herbs 295 5Marsh shrubs 160 3

Total non-forested land 2710 44 19Totalland 6510 42Water 8570 58

Total area 14720

24

capacity include blue beech, butternut, rock elm,red elm, red ash, mountain ash, and red pine.Most of these species inherently exist, like thebasswood and black cherry, singly or only in smallgroups within a cover type dominated by otherspecies . Red pine, on the other hand, is capableof dominating sizeable stands and in many regionsdoes just that, but along the upper St. Lawrence,it always appears in a minor capacity and isusually accompanied by white pine, hemlock, pitchpine, red oak and/or red maple on the dry, rockylocations.

Some other tree species occur only on rareoccasions and, although most are very prominentand commonplace in other regions, they make onlya token, if any, appearance in the St . LawrenceIslands area. These consist of the typically morenorthern conifers of white spruce, black spruce,balsam fir and larch, as well as, the usually moreeastern red spruce . One stand where red spruce isfairly prominent appears in the FitzsimmonsMountain region (Fig . 14); some white spruce mayalso occur in this stand, but elsewhere these twospecies are almost nonexistent . Although the areais within the range of the other three conifers,none were encountered by the field crew .

A species which is very commonplace, but atthe same time, unique in that within Canada itoccurs only in the Thousand Islands region, is pitchpine . Dry, exposed locations which often have onlya thin veneer of soil are typical sites for this pinewhich characterizes many of the rocky islands andhilltops throughout the area . On such areas it isusually associated with open and sparsely canopiedstands where ample direct sunlight reaches theground . Accordingly, wherever there is enough soilamong the bare rock outcrops, ground vegetation isplentiful and characterized by reed and oat grassesalong with typical xeric site shrubs such as vac-ciniums, juniper and sumac . In some locations thepine is numerous enough to be a major cover typecomponent and on occasion does form small purestands (Fig . 15), but although frequent, it is usuallyfound in a minor role to white pine, red mapleand/or red oak.

Beech, yellow birch, ironwood, eastern redcedar and eastern white cedar are other verycommon species, but again, more often than notoccur in a minor capacity within a number of covertypes . Beech, yellow birch and ironwood are mostfrequently associated with well-shaded stands ongood, moderately drained sites, but ironwood is also

FIGURE 14. Red spruce, accompanied by hemlock, redmaple and yellow birch, makes a uniqueappearance in a marshy depression in thenorthwestern part of the study area.

FIGURE 15. Pitch pine stands are typically very thin canopied and allow ampledirect light to the ground .

encountered on shallow, drier soils and yellowbirch is often present in moist, imperfectlydrained locations . Sometimes beech forms maturestands with red oak and sugar maple and mayinclude white ash and shagbark hickory . Thesestands represent conditions approaching a climaxstage on mesic sites . If undisturbed they mayprogress further by a gradual reduction in theamount of oak and a proportionally higher repre-sentation of sugar maple and beech. However, atpresent maple/beech-dominated stands are a veryminor type, a situation which seems to suggestthat further succession from oak/maple-domi-nated stands toward maple-beech types may bevery localized and site specific.

Yellow birch is usually associated withmaples, oaks and hemlock on a wide range ofsites . Red maple is the most common associate inthe wettest areas, oaks and sugar maple on mesicsites and hemlock on the shallow, rocky slopes . Ina few locations yellow birch is fairly numerous,but usually it appears only as a minor component .However, it is fairly capable of sustaining itselfunder a closed canopy and, therefore, like thebeech may gradually increase its presence inclose-canopied, undisturbed tolerant hardwoodstands .

Ironwood, although plentiful, is consistentlyrelegated to the role of a minor species . It may

25

be abundant locally but more usually is presenthaphazardly through a stand . It does not grow verylarge and, therefore, even when present in quantityis seldom considered as a major stand component asit cannot compete with the oaks, maples and pinein a mature canopy. However, being tolerant ofshade it is able to survive under a closed canopyand often forms a substantial portion of theunderstory in stands occupying moderately well towell-drained sites .

Both of the conifers, eastern red cedar andwhite cedar, are small trees, usually less than10 m, although on occasion white cedar exceeds15 m in height .

Both are also very adaptable andcan occur on a great variety of site conditions ;white cedar in particular can be found on dry, rockknolls with minimal soil depths, as well as in wet,swampy lowlands . Similarly, the red cedar occursfrom the driest bedrock sites (Fig. 7) to somewhatimperfectly drained, lacustrine flats, but generallydoes not extend its range to the wetter areas. It isoften one of the first species to invade abandonedfarmlands and in this capacity is very noticeablethroughout the area (Fig . 11 and 16) . However,this invasion is usually in the form of widely spacedindividuals, not sufficient to classify as forest, i .e .at least 10% crown closure, and in mapping, mostof these areas are designated as upland grassand/or shrub . Similarly, in most other situationsboth the eastern red and white cedar do not occur

26

Forest Species Groups

FIGURE 16 . Eastern red cedar is often the first tree species to invade abandonedfarm lands .

in adequate quantity to qualify as the main covertype . Each has a tendency to grow in clumps and,as such, can sometimes totally occupy smallareas, but in most instances these are not largeenough to map independently and consequentlybecome incorporated into the surrounding, moredominant cover type. Areas where white cedarprevails total less than 15 ha and the totalacreage for eastern red cedar is very similar . Inalmost all cases these are sparsely stocked, openstands where tree heights rarely exceed 10 m andare often less than five .

The dominant tree species within the Thou-sand Islands region are oaks, maples, white ash,shagbark hickory, poplars, white birch, grey birch,white pine and hemlock . These, in variouscombinations with one another occur on over 90%of the forested lands in the area . A great manyspecies combinations in various proportions arepossible and do occur. However, there is atendency toward recurring patterns of speciescombinations and consequently many differentstands can usually be grouped under one majortype. These forest types, or species groups, areformed by grouping forest stands according totheir predominant tree species, i .e ., stands con-sisting of a similar major component (specieswhich account for at least 50% of stand canopyclosure) are in one group irrespective of theirminor species . For example, a predominantlymaple-oak stand containing beech and ironwood is

placed in the same group (in this case maple-oak)as an oak-maple stand whose minor species mightbe basswood and black cherry . In this study ninesuch species groups are recognized, they and theirareas are listed in Table 5 and each is subsequentlydescribed .

Table 5 . Forest area by species group

Cover type group Hectares of forest

1 . White pine 54 1 .62 . White pine-hemlock 33 1 .03 . Maple-oak-white pine 930 27.04 . White pine-hemlock-

oak-maple 790 23.05 . Oak 120 3.56 . Maple-oak 325 9.57 . Maple-oak-hickory-ash 811 23.68 . Poplar-birch 208 6.09 . Ash-red maple 68 1 .9Others 101 2.9

Total forested area 3440 100.0

1 .

White pine . A very common and noticeabletree species of the region, white pine, however,does not form large pure stands in the area.Forests consisting predominantly of white pinerepresent one of the smaller cover types,occupying only slightly more than 50 ha or about1 1/2% of the forested area. Individual stands arealso usually very small, seldom exceeding 2 ha inarea and often are less than one .

White pine is present on a great variety ofsites ranging from dry, very shallow soiled rockyoutcrops (Fig . 17) to moist, somewhat imperfectlydrained deep lacustrine deposits . Typically thestands grow on slopes and hilltops with shallow,medium coarse till soils, most of which are welldrained or dry, but on deep soils this cover typetends to occupy moister and even imperfectlydrained locations .

The predominant species, white pine, isusually accompanied by a number of other treespecies and truly pure white pine stands areinfrequent . On the dry and shallow sites the mostcommon associates are pitch pine, oaks andeastern red cedar ; the latter is also frequent ondeep soils, particularly in young, fairly open grownpine stands which sometimes encroach on oldabandoned fields . White birch and both red andsugar maple can be encountered throughout therange of sites occupied by the cover type ; greybirch may also occur, but tends to be restricted tothe moderately well drained or moister deep soilsrather than on the shallow, dry sites . Eastern

27

white cedar is another frequent component in thecover type and may be present on any site .Hemlock is often present on slopes and hilltops,especially on the cooler easterly and northerlyfacing exposures . Other tree species also commonto this cover type include white ash and poplars,particularly largetooth aspen and trembling aspen.These latter three may occur on any site, but tendto be indicative of deep, moist conditions . Inaddition, numerous others may occur, but arecomparatively infrequent ; for the most part, theseconsist of red pine, ironwood, black cherry, bur oakand shagbark hickory .

2.

White pine-hemlock . At about 33 ha and ac-counting for less than 1% of the forest cover, thisspecies group is the smallest included in Table 5 .The total acreage is composed of many individualstands, many of which are less than a hectare in

FIGURE 17 . A typical small stand of white pine on a dry, shallow-soiled, rocky point .

size . In addition there are numerous other tinyoccurrences throughout the area, but these areusually too small to warrant mapping individuallyat the scale used for this study and, therefore, havebecome incorporated with larger types, particularlywhite pine-hemlock-oak-maple .

In the St . Lawrence region, white pine-hemlock stands occur most usually on rapidly towell-drained, shallow till over bedrock, but can alsooccupy less well drained bedrock depressions .Typically, throughout the area hemlock shows amarked preference for northerly and easterlyfacing slopes and cool depressional valleys. Ac-

28

cordingly, this cover type, as well as other typescontaining substantial proportions of hemlock, isencountered on these north and east slopes morethan on other aspects .

The two major tree species are easternwhite pine and eastern hemlock. On occasion,over small areas, hemlock forms very densecanopies preventing other species from estab-lishing within the stand ; in these situations theground is usually devoid of all plant growth save afew bryophytes on rocks and fallen tree trunks(Fig . 30). Usually, however, a number of othertree species form a minor stand component withinwhite pine-hemlock cover type . Most frequentare red oak, red maple, white birch, poplars andeastern white cedar . All of these can occurthroughout the sites supporting the cover typewith the oak, maple and cedar showing a slightlyhigher incidence on the drier locations than do thebirch and poplars . Many other species, such aswhite ash, ironwood, beech, yellow birch and sugarmaple, may also occur, but are usually much lessprominent .

3 .

Maple-oak-white pine . Forest stands wherethe predominant species are maples, oaks andwhite pine are the most common type. Theyoccupy approximately 920 ha and account for overone-quarter of the forested area . As in theprevious types this total is still made up ofnumerous small stands many of which are lessthan 1 ha in size . However, a few stands coveringmore than 10 ha do occur.

Characteristic sites are dry and well-drainedshallow till soils over bedrock (Fig . 9) . In manyinstances soils are very shallow with trees growingin slight depressions or crevasses wherever anadequate covering of soil exists ; here the treedareas are often interspersed with openings of barerock or sparse growth of plants adapted to xericconditions .

The main tree species of the cover type arewhite pine, red oak and red maple. Numerousothers may occur with the most common beingwhite oak, bur oak, white ash, basswood and sugarmaple on the fresher sites and, on the drier andmore exposed locations, pitch pine, red pine andeastern red cedar .

Moderate amounts of regeneration are fre-quently present . Most often represented are redmaple, sugar maple, red oak, white pine and whiteash and occasionally beech . This may indicatethat the major cover type species will be able tomaintain their prominence within the type. In-creased amounts of sugar maple and white ashmay be a possibility in future stands, particularlyon the better sites . Where present stands form afull canopy, tolerant species like sugar maple areparticularly favoured and, at the same time, white

pine may have more difficulty and eventually bereduced to a lesser role . Thus the likelihood existsthat on the better sites a gradual shift in the forestcover composition will take place toward moretolerant hardwood types such as oak-maple-ash andeventually maybe even a maple-beech type withthe oak becoming of secondary quantity .

4.

White pine-hemlock-oak-maple . With

hem-lock as an additional major stand component, whitepine, oak and maple form another large forestcover

type.

Nearly

800 ha and

representingapproximately 23% of the forest, this cover type isthe third largest within the study area. As in thepreceding type a few stands larger than 10 ha dooccur but the bulk of the total area is made up ofmuch smaller stands ; the average stand size forthe entire cover type is approximately 2 to 3 ha .

Over 90% of the stands in this cover typeoccur on bedrock-dominated landscapes (AppendixF), which, for the most part, have only a shallowcovering of soil . Generally the soils are formed onmoderately coarse to coarse-textured, well-drainedsandy tills . Bare rock outcrops with no soil arecommon, but also depressions with deeper soilsfrequently intersperse these areas . The cover typeshows a marked preference for north- and east-facing slopes and shorelines, a characteristic re-lated to the prominence of hemlock within thetype.

The predominant tree species are white pine,hemlock, red oak and red maple. Although usuallypresent the maple is sometimes very sparselyrepresented making some stands primarily a pine-hemlock-oak type and similarly in other instancesoak may be somewhat weak. Other tree speciesfrequently include white ash, white birch, trem-bling aspen and largetooth aspen. These four areleast common on the driest and the shallowestareas, whereas others, pitch pine and eastern redcedar in particular, are more noticeable in thelatter locations than elsewhere within the type.Eastérn white cedar is also a very typical minorcomponent and appears to be equally well repre-sented regardless of site . Another minor speciesoften present is shagbark hickory . This speciestends to prefer the fresher locations with deepersoils and, when present within a landscape domi-nated by rock and thin soils, it is generally confinedto areas where adequate soil is present, usually indepressional locations among the rock outcrops .

Regeneration within the type can vary frommoderate to nil . The latter is especially typical inthose parts of a stand which are heavily dominatedby hemlock . There, a very dense crown canopyoften totally shades the ground giving very littleopportunity for tree seedlings or for any otherplants to establish ; except for few mosses clingingto rocks and rotting tree trunks, the ground can betotally devoid of plants (Fig . 30) . Where some light

penetrates to ground level typical regeneratingspecies are hemlock, sugar maple, red maple andoccasionally white ash, beech, ironwood and whitecedar . With increased availability of light theoaks and white pine begin to make a substantialshowing and, at the same time, the incidence ofhemlock tends to decrease .

The implications are that in the densest,hemlock-dominated areas, secondary growth willbe delayed until the overstory begins to thin outsomewhat and allows some regeneration to estab-lish ; this regeneration will likely be againdominated by hemlock. This, coupled with thepresence of hemlock regeneration in other well-shaded parts of the type, may indicate a gradualincrease in the dominance of hemlock. However,in these latter areas other shade tolerant speciessuch as maple, ash, beech and hickory are alsoable to establish and under suitable site conditionsoutcompete the hemlock. In more open areas redoak, white oak, white pine, red maple and sugarmaple usually show higher presence of seedlingsthan does hemlock. This combination may even-tually lead to increased numbers of white oak andsugar maple in the mature canopy which presentlyis more often represented by red oak and redmaple. Similarly, hemlock may decrease innumbers on these areas particularly when theyoccur on the southerly and westerly facing expo-sures. The cooler microclimate prevailing on thenorth and east aspects may have a compensatingeffect favourable to hemlock which, otherwise, inthe more open stands might be outcompeted bywhite pine and the hardwoods.

5.

Oak. Within the study area, oak forestscover

approximately

120 ha

or

3.5% of

theforested lands.

Almost all of the type occurs on moderatelywell or better drained locations. The soils may beshallow tills over bedrock or deep coarse-texturedsandy material, frequently of glaciofluvial oralluvial origin . The cover type also occurs onareas typified by bare rock outcrops and verymeagre soil cover; here the oak seek outdepressional locations which have gathered enoughsoil and moisture to enable the trees to sustainthemselves .

Generally the most numerous species is redoak, followed by white oak; bur oak may beoccasionally present but is much less commonthan the other two. Minor species often presentamong the oak include white ash, shagbarkhickory, basswood, poplars and sugar maple on themore mesic sites; here grey birch also makes afrequent appearance, but is almost always con-fined to the understory . On the shallow, dry soils,red maple, white pine and even pitch pine are themore typical associates .

29

The great variety in the quality and physio-graphy of oak stands is very striking betweendifferent sites. On well-drained, deep soils, standsaveraging 25-30 m in height are common. In these,the trees usually form a full canopy with large,spready crowns ; the tree trunks are free ofbranches for a considerable height above groundand diameters at breast height can be in excess of80 cm. Often there is no understory and the standshave a cleared, park-like appearance except that adense cover of shrubs, sometimes to a height of2 m or more, is a frequent occurrence . At theother extreme of sites occupied by the oak covertype, stand conditions and appearance are verydifferent . Trees grow in depressions and crevassesbetween bare rock outcrops and usually form open,very thin canopied stands. Individual trees areoften less than 10 m high, branchy and twisted,apparently struggling to survive in their exposedand desiccated locations.

Both, red and white oak regeneration areusually present although often few in numbers; instands with heavy shrub growth, regeneration canbe very sparse or absent over a large portion of thestand. Other seedlings most often present includered maple, sugar maple and white pine ; the pine ismost prominent on the rocky and dry locations andthe sugar maple on the better sites, whereas redmaple can be expected throughout the type . Thissuggests that on the more barren areas red mapleand white pine may eventually become part of themain stand and that on the mesic locations a shifttoward a maple-oak cover type is a possibility .

6.

Maple-oak. Forest stands dominated by themaples and the oaks occupy approximately 320 haand account for nearly 10% of the forested lands.As is typical of the forests of the region, this totalis again made up of numerous very small standsmost of which are less than 2 ha in area, and manyless than one.

Maple-oak stands are most common on well-drained coarse to moderately coarse textured sandyand loamy soils . They often grow where the soil isfairly shallow over bedrock but also usual arelocations with deep or at least moderate ( 1/2 m)amounts of soil covering the bedrock; bouldery tillslopes and well-drained bottomlands are typicaltopographic locations.

The dominating species consist of sugarmaple, red maple, red oak and white oak. Sugarmaple is usually confined to mesic, deep soils; theothers are common also on the more marginal sites.On the mesic areas the associate species are mostoften white ash, shagbark hickory, beech, ironwood,basswood and black cherry ; in the slightly lowerlying, moist locations, largetooth aspen, white andgrey birches are sometimes numerous, the twobirches usually being more prominent in the under-

30

story than in the main canopy . Two coniferspecies, white pine and hemlock, are also presenton occasion . These are most prominent on theshallow, bouldery till slopes, but with the hemlockoften confined to north and east aspects .

As with the oak, this cover type can alsoproduce majestic stands approaching 30 m inheight and consisting of large diameter, cleanboled trees . These trees tend to be widely spaced,but have large spready crowns and usually cut offdirect sunlight to the ground . However, thecrowns are often thin and this coupled with thelack of lower branches allows considerable light todiffuse through . As a result, in many areas,particularly if a few breaks in the canopy are alsopresent, dense shrub-growth, 1 to 2 m high, mayoccur. Where the canopy closure is dense and theinterior of the stand relatively dark, the ground isoften clean with only light shrub growth.

Regeneration is usually present but is sel-dom very abundant . In the well-shaded standssugar maple, beech, ironwood and white ash areprominent with lesser numbers of oak, while inareas receiving better lighting, the oaks becomemore noticeable . Other regeneration sometimespresent include red maple, basswood, shagbarkhickory and white pine . The pine are common onthe open drier areas whereas basswood andhickory prefer mesic, deeper soils and red maplemay occur in both areas . In dense stands, thepredominance of sugar maple seedlings suggestthat, barring significant disturbance, these standsmay in time change into a more tolerant hardwoodtype (e.g . maple-beech) with oak only as a minorcomponent . Where somewhat more light is avail-able to the ground, the cover type may be able tomaintain its present composition on the moder-ately well drained, deep soils ; on the shallow, drylocations, white pine may eventually gain suffi-ciently to become one of the major stand com-ponents .

7.

Maple-oak-hickory-ash . Second

largestwithin the study area, this cover type accounts forover 800 ha or nearly one-quarter of the forestedlands .

For the most part the cover type occurs onwell- to moderately well drained areas . Com-monly the soils are formed on moderately deep,coarse till overlying bedrock . The cover type canalso occur on dry areas with only a thin veneer ofsoil, as well as on deep deposits, usually with gooddrainage characteristics, but imperfect and evenpoor moisture conditions are also possible, albeitinfrequent .

Because of the wide range of site conditions,this cover type is characterized by a proliferationof tree species . The most consistent of these, andhence the name for the group, are sugar maple,

red maple, red oak, white oak, shagbark hickoryand white ash . More often than not, all of theseare not present in any one stand and at other timessome are present only in very small quantities .Similarly other species may on occasion make amajor contribution to the stand composition . Mostcommonly these include bur oak, trembling aspen,largetooth aspen, white pine, white birch, greybirch, yellow birch, beech, basswood and ironwood .In addition, most other species of the region canoccur but, although they can sometimes be locallyabundant, are usually sporadic .

Not only does the variety of species indicatethat the cover type occurs on a wide range of sites,but also, the local abundance of certain speciesoften defines the site conditions at that location .On a typical, average site for the cover type, themaples and the oaks tend to be in the majority withthe ash and hickory in a somewhat lesser role ;more likely minor species would be basswood andbeech. An abundance of white ash often suggestslow-lying areas, possibly with a high water table orimpaired drainage due to heavier soils than else-where in the stand . Similarly the presence ofminor species such as the poplars and the birchesalso suggests locales with abundant moisture ; greybirch often also signifies coarse-textured soils(sands), even in relatively wet areas . Likewisewhen substantial amounts of white pine are presentwithin the cover type it usually implies gooddrainage, fairly shallow, or else, coarse-texturedsoils .

Regeneration is usually present but often onlyin small numbers . As with the mature stands, manydifferent species may occur, but the primary covertype species are most usual ; particularly commonare the maples and the oaks with hickory and ashbeing somewhat less frequent . Others most con-sistent, but usually only in small numbers, arebasswood, beech and ironwood . Because of itsability to regenerate in quantity under a closedcanopy, beech may eventually increase sufficientlyto become a major component in a future over-story . Basswood, however, is not a prolific speciesand will never be present in such quantities as todominate stand composition ; ironwood does notgrow large enough to ever compete in the maturemain canopy. On the wetter sites the oaks andhickory may in time give way to more red mapleand ash-oriented stands . Poplars and birches mayalso show a gradual increase in these areas as longas ample openness is maintained; once a closedcanopy develops these species will likely disappear .On rapidly drained, shallow sites white pine regen-eration sometimes makes a fair showing, especiallyif the overstory does not form a closed canopy, andin such areas the pine may become a major standcomponent . However, these areas account for avery minor portion and represent borderline con-ditions for the maple-oak-hickory-ash type; on themore characteristic, mesic sites, any existing pine

tolerant hardwood type, i.e . less oak and moresugar maple and beech.

8.

Poplar-birch . Forest stands, characterizedby poplars and birches, account for approximately200 ha or slightly under 6% of the forested area.

Typically these stands occur on moist orsomewhat imperfectly drained locations . Thesoils tend to be medium textured, often glaciolacustrine or alluvial in origin, and even organicsoils are possible ; sandy loams, loamy and siltynear-surface soils are common although the sub-strate may be coarser textured, especially alongshorelines where high silt or organic content topsoil is often underlain by sandy alluvium . Some-times the cover type exists on sloping terrain withfairly shallow covering of soil over bedrock, butmore typical are relatively flat areas with deepsoils . The poplar-birch is primarily a pioneer typeand is generally one of the first to reforest oldfields and other open areas . It is also one of thefirst successional forest stages along low-lyingshorelines (Fig . 13) and other marshy areas .

The prime components of the type aretrembling aspen, largetooth aspen, balsam poplar,white birch and grey birch . Usually all do notoccur together in the same stand and frequentlyonly two of them are present . Other species,most commonly encountered within the type, arewhite ash, black ash, white elm, red maple, sugarmaple, red oak, bur oak, white oak and white pine .The ashes along with elm and red maple are mostusual in the moister locations whereas sugarmaple, oaks and pine are more prominent on thebetter drained areas . In many instances theseminor species, particularly the oaks, maples andpine, are residuals that occupied the area prior tosome disturbance which opened up the site per-mitting poplars and birches to take over. Wherepoplar-birch appear as a pioneer type on aban-doned farmland, red cedar is sometimes a notice-able associate, particularly along the type's fringeareas .

Generally the pattern of regeneration withinthe stands differ markedly from that of othercover types in that here most of it consists ofspecies other than those which dominate the maincanopy. Most common regeneration are white ashand red maple. A number of others include, inaddition to the weak poplar and birch regener-ation, sugar maple, black ash, basswood, hickory,white cedar, hemlock and white pine . Thepersistent weakness of the poplar and birchregeneration indicates the pioneer nature of thesestands ; in most locations they are not likely tolast much more than a generation unless some

likely abound in white and black ash, red maple andmay, in places, include white elm, white cedar andhemlock . Somewhat drier sites will progresstoward a more tolerant hardwood composition withspecies such as sugar maple, hickory, white ash,basswood, beech and hemlock eventually beingprominent in the main canopy. White pine, maplesand oaks are most likely to gain prominence on thedrier sites .

9.

Ash-red maple. The ash-red maple is one ofthe smaller cover types in the area occupying lessthan 70 ha or approximately 2% of the forestedland .

This cover type can be encountered on manydifferent land types within the region but, typicallyit occupies moist or wettish locations . Silty,medium-textured glaciolacustrine deposits orrecent alluvium are typical parent materials butcoarser loamy and sandy soils are also frequent ;organic soils may also support this cover type butoften these are underlain by sandy-textured sub-strata within a metre of the surface . On hilly androcky landscapes this cover type tends to occupydepressions and other low areas which collectample moisture but many of these are localizedand, at mapping scale, too small to separate fromthe ambient forest (Fig . 18) .

A number of tree species may be abundantand are often present in sufficient quantity to beconsidered part of the predominant crown cover.However, the characteristic trees are white ash,black ash and red maple with the most typicalassociates being white birch, grey birch, yellowbirch, largetooth aspen, trembling aspen and whiteelm. The elm is usually indicative of heavier soilsand moisture rich locations, whereas grey birchoften suggests sandy substrata, although amplemoisture may be present because of a high watertable . Yellow birch, aspen and white birch canappear on most sites occupied by this cover type.

A thick growth of shrubs, grasses, sedges andherbaceous plants is characteristic and, conse-quently, tree regeneration has difficulty gettingestablished . In some stands moderate numbers ofseedlings are present but usually regeneration isweak. The main cover type species of red mapleand both ashes are the most numerous . Otherspecies are weakly represented, especially in thewetter areas ; the better drained locations supportsome tolerant hardwood seedlings, but these arealso few in numbers . However, where closedcanopies develop these species may gradually in-crease and slowly alter stand composition toinclude more species such as beech, basswood,hickory, yellow birch and sugar maple. On the

component will probably disappear in time. In-stead, the major cover type species will likely

31

disturbance again creates conditions favouringthese fast-growing, light-demanding species . The

maintain their prominence for some time and replacement stands will vary according to pre-possibly change gradually toward an even more vailing site conditions . The wettest areas will

32

Forest Succession

FIGURE 18 . An ash-red maple cover typeoccupying a small, poorly draineddepression within a predominantlydry, bedrock landscape .

wetter areas it appears that the ashes and redmaple will be able to maintain their prominence inthe near future and, in effect, may represent anedaphically controlled climax type which may notchange much unless a significant change in siteconditions takes place .

A forest is not a static entity which willunchangingly maintain its status unless alteredartificially or by a catastrophic event like a forestfire . Instead, it is changing continuously, butusually very gradually and effects of the processare often discernible only in terms of generationsrather than a few years . If left undisturbed aforest composition will tend to change with eachsucceeding stand containing new species or dif-ferent proportions of species than the precedinggeneration . This progress will continue until asituation is reached where the species in themature stand are such that they can regenerate

themselves to the virtual exclusion of any addi-tional species . The stand will then perpetuateitself and is considered to have reached its climaxstate . This condition, however, is seldom achievedbecause innumerable disturbances and variations insite and climatic factors are constantly creatingopportunities for disrupting the progress towardssuch a climax and, should a climax state bereached, for destabilizing it . Long-term predic-tions assume minimal interference with thosefactors which influence successional processes and,therefore, should be considered more as potentialthan concrete future events .

For the short term, the next generation ortwo, interpolation of future stand composition andconditions is more practical and reliable . Giventhe silvicultural requirements of a species and theexisting site characteristics, an indication is ob-tained regarding that species' likelihood of successin the area. The abundance of existing regen-erating is a most important indicator of the nextstand composition . Should the regeneration consistof the same species as the main canopy and,especially if, in addition, the site factors meet theneeds of these species, the forest may be nearing aclimax stage . However this apparent climax can bedestabilized by the effect the species themselveshave on the site and the microclimate . Forexample, a prolonged occupancy by one group ofspecies may eventually deplete the site of somevital nutrient making it less and less suitable tothese species and, thereby, allowing a differentgroup with different needs to successfully competeand gradually take over the location . Similarlymany other vegetation-induced changes to the sitecan occur and cause an apparent climax type forestto change and to begin a new progression toward adifferent climax . Thus the occurrence of a trueperpetual monoclimax is often a theoretical entityor so far removed (in time) from an existing foresttype that planning towards it becomes impractical .The real value of knowledge of this climax and ofthe possible routes to it, is that it gives anindication of the developmental stage and thepotential stability of existing forest types and thepossible direction their near future developmentwill take .

The preceding descriptions for the nine forestspecies groups suggest possible successional de-velopments which some of them may undergo in theimmediate future . Since each of these groupsincludes a great variety of stands with manydifferent species combinations, succession couldproceed in a multitude of directions and, therefore,the trends suggested for a cover type serve as asummation for medial types . References areusually made to the influence of a particularspecies within the cover type and these cansometimes be useful in appraising the successionaldirection individual stands may take, i.e . becausetwo stands contain different proportions of species

(possibly as a result of some difference in siteconditions) their successional progress may followseparate paths even though they both belong tothe same cover type group .

Figure 19 is a schematic summation ofpossible successional trends in some of the area'scharacteristic forest types . Included are onlyselected species groups for the purpose of illu-strating typical trends . Many other speciescombinations occur in the area and, in mostinstances, so do numerous interim successionalstages . Three general land types are considered ;rapidly drained bedrock and very thin soiledoutcrops, well to moderately drained deep ormoderate soils, and wetlands.

r__1I hMBe

hMB eHA

1I-

K___J

On the bedrock sites the pioneer vegetation istypically reed grasses, vacciniums, ground juniper(Fig . 8), sumac and generally corresponds to theRhus typhina-Calamagrostis lower vegetation sub-association (Fig . 22) . Some of the first trees onsuch areas are eastern red cedar and white cedarwhich usually occur in small clumps or as scatteredindividuals on the bare bedrock . Whenever somesoil exists, pines and hemlock are quick to takehold, followed by oaks and maples (mostly redmaple) . On these shallow-soiled, dry areas, whitepine, oaks and maples in various combinationsappear able to sustain themselves from one genera-tion to the next; hemlock is another significantmember of these sites, especially on north and eastaspects, but is often left to a lesser role on other

FIGURE 19. Schematic of possible forest succession for selected cover types . Speciesabbreviations from Appendix C .

33

34

areas . These white pine-oak-maple and, on thecooler exposures, white pine-hemlock-maple-oakforest types may be physiographic climax typeswhich are likely to maintain their position ofdominance until site conditions gradually changeallowing other species groupings to supersedethem, or until a disturbance accomplishes thesame, usually causing a regressive step to anearlier successional stage, e.g. a forest fire couldvery easily set the progression right back to thereed grass and vaccinium stage .

Fresher sites with moderate or deep soilcover, including most abandoned farm lands in theregion, usually are first invaded by white and greybirch, trembling aspen, largetooth aspen, balsampoplar and eastern red cedar, the latter beingparticularly noticeable on old fields (Fig . 11 and16) . In the shelter of the poplars and birches,other species, such as white pine, oaks andmaples, are able to establish and eventually takeover the site . More shade tolerant hardwoods willenter gradually and the forest cover seems tostabilize with a maple, oak, hickory, white ashcomposition . At that stage, species compositionof the regeneration appears to be in proportion tothat of the mature stand and therefore the standsmay be able to perpetuate themselves, at least forthe immediate future . It is possible that the oaksmay be gradually replaced, particularly in fullyshaded stands, by more shade tolerant speciessuch as sugar maple and beech. However, atpresent sugar maple beech-dominated stands arevery few . It may be, that in a readily accessibleregion such as this, the forests are subjected tosufficient disturbances to allow oak to maintain aprominent place on these mesic sites and tocurtail successional progress beyond the maple-oak-hickory-ash stage . Accordingly in Figure 19,cover types with a sugar maple-beech dominanceare shown by broken lines indicating them only asa potential next stage rather than a major existingentity .

Marshes, the third main site group, generallydevelop through shrub, alder and willow stagesuntil sufficient soil buildup has occurred to allowpoplars, birches (Fig . 13), ashes and red maple toestablish ; white elm is also a frequent componentof these wet areas, but usually does not occur insufficient quantity to dominate stand composition .Eventually red maple, white and black ash tend tooutlast the poplars and birches and, as long as thesite remains wet, predominate both, the canopyand the regeneration . The ash-red maple types,therefore, appear to be another edaphically con-trolled climax forest, requiring a significant sitealteration to progress further . However, shouldmoisture conditions moderate somewhat, sugarmaple, hickory and oak are able to competesuccessfully while black ash tends to become lessfrequent . Thus, the ash-red maple also mayeventually progress toward a similar maple-oak-

hickory-white ash climax type as do the otherforests of the area . In some locations, for examplethe stand in Figure 18, this could happen in theforeseeable future, but more often a substantialamelioration of site conditions is necessary and thetime required to attain this change is long andlikely beyond plans based on present land usepriorities .

Figure 19 and related discussions on forestsuccession assume relatively disturbance-free con-ditions throughout the cycle . A minor disturbance,such as partial opening of the canopy may alsocause a small regressive step where some of theearlier pioneer species reinvade the openings, butwhich will again be replaced in the next generation .On the other hand, a catastrophic event like a firecan set a near climax forest back many generationsto an early pioneer stage . Thus the amounts andtypes of disturbances and the ability of variousspecies to cope with these, will have a markedeffect on the direction stand development willtake. In a heavily used region such as the ThousandIslands, disturbance is often constant and manyforest stands probably regress periodically insteadof moving steadily toward a climax type .

Introduction

Plant Community Classification

The plant communities of the park weresurveyed to determine their plant groupings (asso-ciations/sub-associations) . This information generates an understanding of the fundamental ecologi-cal processes in the area and can be related tocommunity dynamics and successional trends . Byknowing these resources, management of the com-munities and their environment become possible .

The most important objective in an ecologicalapproach to plant resources is to determinewhether recurring groups (sub-associations) of plantspecies exist, can they be classified and, if so, arethe classes ecologically significant and natural .

As with most vegetation studies, a decisionmust be made as to which classification systemshould be used . The answer to this is thevegetation itself . The natural groups of somevegetation types are more easily determined by onesystem of classification than another, while withothers, most systems will work effectively . Thus,the system which should be used is the one whichwill produce the most natural groupings and themost ecologically significant information . Unfor-tunately, unless one has extensive a priori know-ledge of the vegetation of the study area, themethod best suited may not be apparent before-hand . One of the most frequently used is theBraun-Blanquet method (Mueller-Dombois and

Ellenberg 1974) the two main criteria of whichrequire that relatively natural (undisturbed) areasbe examined, and that a relatively low number ofsample plots and species be examined . Theanalysis of large numbers of these make the timeand effort required to determine vegetationclasses, by rearranging the association table,prohibitive . In this project the size of the analysis(109 plots with 96 species) and significant humandisturbance throughout the park contravene thecriteria of this system and consequently theapproach used was a more "mathematical" classi-fication . Another reason why this was done wasthat the mathematical approach to analysis reliesless on the investigator's a priori knowledge of thestudy area, and it also tends to limit biasconsiderably in the analysis .

The method which proved to be most naturalwas Orloci's (1967) agglomerative polytheticcluster analysis, which was modified from Jesberger and Sheard (1972) . A cluster method wasexpected to be used, as it is best adapted to large,somewhat dissimilar data, while ordination pro-grammes need small homogeneous stands to beeffective in producing relevant ecological infor-mation. Other methods tried and proven unac-ceptable were Orloci's method using originalcover-abundance values, a modified Beals' (1960)ordination with both original and standardizedcover-abundance values . Beals' ordination wasalso used on the final associations produced fromthe cluster analysis, but due to lack of homo-geneity, proved uninformative .

For the analysis, field plot notes werecompleted and plant specimens not identified inthe field were identified and verified . Coverabundance values for species in each plot weretransferred from these plot notes to a sortingtable . Where a species was present, its cover-abundance values were transformed to a value of1, and the absence of a species was valued at 0(zero) . Species which occurred on less than foursample plots were eliminated from the analysis ;although some of these are important because oftheir rarity in the park, they are too erratic to bean aid in community classification, but are in-cluded in the species checklist (Appendix H) . Atotal of 96 species were examined in a total of109 sample plots . The plot information was codedon computer cards and the program run on an IBM360 computer .

Orloci's method is based on grouping sampleplots on their affinity to each other rather thantheir dissimilarities . The basis for clustering anytwo plots or groups of plots is that they must bemore similar to each other than to any otherremaining plot or group of plots in the analysis . Inthis program, more than two samples may belinked at any one cycle, with the linked samplesthen forming a class equivalent to one sample,

ready to be linked to any similar remaining sampleor samples in the next cycle . The visual represen-tation of this linking of sample plots is produced inthe form of a dendrogram (Appendix G) . Thedendrogram is the graphic summary of the analysisand a two-dimensional representation of the rela-tionships between the sub-associations which inreality are multi-dimensional relationships; thedendrogram should be imagined as a hanging mobilewith each cluster (sub-association) able to turn andbe closer or farther in a third dimension than thedendrogram shows. This mobile, because of itsmovement, is able to express changes in environ-mental parameters and their effects uponclustering distance (similarity) .

The Association Table

35

An association table is generally related tothe Braun-Blanquet (1932) method of communityclassification . Here the table is not derived fromthat type of analysis but from a cluster analysisand is the matrix representation of the dendro-gram . Clusters (sub-associations) have been re-arranged within the associations for a clearerrepresentation of these communities. This re-arrangement does not affect the information, asthe type relationships are not altered, but merelyshifted for visual purposes . Examining the table(Appendix G), the nine sub-associations producedare listed along the top . The naming of theassociations and sub-associations is simplified fromBraun-Blanquet, but the identification and classifi-cation of the characteristic, differential and com-panion species are all done by standard Braun-Blanquet methods (Mueller-Dombois and Ellenberg1974) . Within each sub-association all sample plotsare numerically listed and their basic plot infor-mation accompanies them . Each plot can belocated by referring to Appendix I, which gives theoriginal plot number, plot location and UTM gridcoordinates for their location on each island or themainland . The vertical axis is comprised of thespecies used in the classification and are groupedas to characteristic, differential, shared differen-tial and companion species .

The sub-associations are represented by theircharacteristic and differential species, and to adegree by their shared characteristic and differential species . Characteristic species are thosewhich have high cover-abundance and presencevalues in a defined sub-association, while a dif-ferential species is one which is restricted to asmall number of sub-associations, and shared char-acteristic and differential species are ones whichare characteristic or differential within some othersub-association . Companion species are ones whichoccur in a large number of stands and hold noaffinity to any one association or sub-association .For this study, a species is differential if if occursin a sub-association at least 50% of the time and

36

characteristic if it is almost exclusively restrictedto, or has high cover-abundance values in its sub-association .

The association table, by its arrangement,enables one to easily determine the floristiccomposition of each sub-association . All sampleplots within a sub-association are not totallysimilar floristically . An abundance of variationexists ; however, the plots within each sub-association are more similar to each other than tothose outside the type . The variations reflect thenatural evolutionary plasticity and communitydisturbance, particularly by human factors, in anyarea and especially in a heavily used area such asSt . Lawrence Islands National Park.

Plant Community Descriptions

The sub-associations or plant communities inSt . Lawrence Islands National Park are listedbelow ; their composition as determined fromthe cluster analysis is shown by the associationtable . In this section, the sub-associations aredescribed floristically, in terms of their speciescomposition and their cover-abundance conditions,edaphically, and also by other important ecolo-gical considerations .

Vegetation Associations and TheirSub-associations

A .

Vicia-Rhus typhina-Typha AssociationSub-associations :1 .

Vicia-Poa pratensis (Vetch withKentucky bluegrass)

2 .

Typha-Sagittaria (Cattails witharrow-head)

3 .

Rhus typhina-Calamagrostis (Sumacwith reed grass)

B .

Impatiens AssociationSub-associations :

2 .

Impatiens-Urtica (Jewel weed andnettles)Impatiens-Parthenocissus (Jewel weedand virginia creeper)

3 .

Ribes-Circaea (Currants andenchanter's nightshade)

C.

Aralia AssociationSub-associations :

Al .

Vicia-Poa pratensis sub-association (Vetch withKentucky bluegrass) . This sub-association repre-sents old-field areas and within the park occurs atMallorytown Landing, on Grenadier Island (on eachof the central, eastern and western sections),Beaurivage, Cedar and Thartway (Leek) islands .Usually classified as U I and U2 on forest covertype maps, it is the largest of the non forested sub-associations . The old fields in the park arecharacterized by an absence of trees and typicalold field flora of such species as goldenrod,milkweed, aster and numerous grasses which occurwith a high degree of presence and high cover-abundance values (Fig . 20), while others such ascow vetch and Canada thistle have lower cover-abundance values but are type specific .

The sub-association is generally a layer ofherbaceous vegetation, casually encroached bysporadically occurring trees or shrubs from thesurrounding forests . The occurrence of shrubs andtrees such as meadow sweet, raspberry, dogwood,red cedar (Fig . 16), birches and poplars indicatesthe beginning of forestation of these lands and theslow process of secondary succession with this sub-association representing an early stage. As more,trees and shrubs become established, the shade-intolerant old-field plant community will give wayto a more shade-tolerant woodland-like speciescomposition .

The sub-association occurs on lands that havebeen opened and the forest cover removed ; in thepark most of these areas indicate previous humanland use, especially farming and cottages . Gen-erally it exists on deep soils formed on moderatelycoarse to medium textured, sandy and loamy,materials with good to moderate, occasionallyimperfect drainage . It is also present on oldclearings on other soil types, as for example, onBeaurivage, Cedar and the west end of Grenadierislands where the soils are shallow and rapidlydrained .

Floristically, the sub-association is composedof the following groupings .

Differential speciesVicia craccaPoa pratensis

Characteristic speciesPhleum pratenseAgropyron repensCirsium arvenseAliasriacasceps

1 . Aralia-Carpinus (Spikenard and blue Aster novae-angliaebeech)

2 . Quercus alba-Ostrya (White oak - Shared differential speciesironwood) (i) with sub-association Rhus typhina-

3 . Tsuga (Hemlock) Calamagrostis

Rosa sp .Fragaria virginianaHypericum perforatum

Juncus tenuisAgrostis tenuisLythrum salicariaRumex crispus

Urtica dioicaRhus radicansEquisetum hyemaleSolanum dulcamaraLycopus americanusPyrus malusOxalis strictaConvolvulus arvensisGeum canadenseLactuca biennis

FIGURE 20 . Extremely thick growth of goldenrods, asters and grasses characterize

(ii)

with sub,-associations Rhus-typhina-Calamagrostis and Typha-Sagittaria

Companion species restricted to associationsVicia-Rhus typhina-Typha and Impatiens

Companion species restricted to associationsVicia-Rhus typhina-Typha and Aralia

Convolvulus sepiumAchillea millefoliumPoa compressaPinus strobus

many of the abandoned farm fields in the park.

Companion species

Vitis ripariaOnoclea sensibilisAster sp .Maianthemum canadensePteridium aquilinumAmelanchier arboreaAcer saccharumSolidago canadensisSpiraea latifoliaSolidago sp .Rubus sp .Cornus racemosaGalium circaezansRanunculus acrisAcer rubrumCarex sp .Galium asprellumQuercus borealisPopulus tremuloides(Plus other species not used in the clusteranalysis)

Regenerating species (in decreasing order ofimportance

Rhus typhinaPopulus tremuloidesQuercus borealisPinus strobus

38

Acer rubrumCornus racemosaAcer saccharum

A2.

Typha-Sagittaria (cattails with arrow-head) .Typha-Sagittaria is the sub-association occurringon marshy alluvium around many of the islandsand mainland shores . These are also areas ofemerging vegetation which have accumulated aquantity of organic material about their roots andover the years formed a surface soil rich inorganic matter; however, in many locations thisrate of soil accumulation and the makeup of thedepositions can be greatly influenced by waveaction and spring flooding.

Along the outermost edge of the community,broad-leaved arrow-heads, water lilies andpickerel-weed form floating colonies on thewater . Proceeding towards the shore, cattails,the dominant species of the sub-association, formdense colonies and occur with great abundanceand high cover values (Fig . 21) . It is here where aslow, gradual extension of the shoreline takesplace as the living Typha roots and their previousyears' roots and stems with their accumulatedsilty and organic matter provide better rootingareas for species which are not truly littoral, aswell as, a micro-habitat which is more stable andmore sheltered from wave action . Here, mois-ture-loving species such as reed grass, rushes,

water plantain, blue flag, bindweed, touch-me-not,bulrush and others become established . Some ofthese do not appear outside marshy areas, arerelatively few in occurrence and, therefore, havebeen excluded from the association table . These,nevertheless appear in the plant check list (Ap-pendix H). Such species include Polygonum natans,P . coccineum , Lemna minor , L . trisulca , Spar -ganium americanum, S . chlorocarpum, S . eury -carpum, Butomus umbellatus , Sagittaria graminea,Thelypteris palustris , Sium suave, Verbena hastataand others .

As these marsh areas allow organic and siltymatter to build up, and the soils become moreinsulated against the river's effects, trees begin toinvade . Species such as alders, willows, black ash,birches and poplars (Fig . 13) are among the first tobecome established . Thus the ecological successioncontinues with less water-loving species such asbugle-weed, scullcap, sour dock and reed grassesbecoming rooted and, eventually, when the soil isno longer saturated and afforestation is moreadvanced, rushes, bent-grass, hair-grass, brackenfern and Canada goldenrod invade and establishthemselves. This latter process can be seen in thedrier parts of the sub-association, such as sampleplots 2, 52 and 63 (Association Table) .

The floristic composition of the sub-associ-ation, as described here, is a combination of the

FIGURE 21. Cattails sometimes form dense, extensive colonies along the St . Lawrence River.

drier (later stage) and true (wet) marshes. Of thetwo, the drier marsh species tend to be propor-tionally more numerous because they includemany species which are also present on other sitesand thus have a sufficiently high total occurrenceto be included in the cluster analysis . The truemarsh species, on the other hand, are restricted tovery specific sites and show only in samples takenon these sites. Because of the relatively fewnumber of samples (7) within this sub-association,some of the less prolific true marsh species do notoccur in the minimum number of samples (4) to beincluded in the cluster analysis and, therefore, inthe assocaition table . Therefore, the followingfloristic composition, based on the associationtable, is likely incomplete in places, particularlywith respect to true marsh species .

Differential speciesSagittaria latifoliaTypha latifolia

Characteristic speciesPhalaris arundinaceaAlisma plantago-aquatica

Shared differential and characteristic species(i)with sub-association Rhus typhina-

CalamagrostisCalamagrostis canadensis

(ii)

with sub-associations Rhus typhina-Calamagrostis and ViciaPoa pratensisJuncus tenuisAgrostis tenuisLythrum salicariaRumex crispusPolygonum convolvulus

Companion species restricted to associationsVicia-Rhus-typhina-Typha and Impatiens

Solanum dulcamaraLycopus americanusStachys hispidaScutellaria galericulataAlnus rugosa

Companion species restricted to associationsVicia-Rhus typhina-Typha and Aralia

Deschampsia flexuosa

Companion speciesFraxinus nigraSambucus canadensisImpatiens bifloraOnoclea sensibilisSambucus pubensPteridium aquilinum

Solidago canadensisSpiraea latifoliaRubus sp .Galium circaezansAcer rubrumLysimachia ciliataBetula populifoliaIlex verticillataCarya ovata

39

A3.

Rhus typhina-Calamagrostis (sumac with reedgrass). This sub-association occurs on disturbed,open locations with shallow, excessively drainedsoils and usually with exposed bedrock present . Insuch areas the heat of summer combined with therelatively rapid drainage often result in verydesiccated sites and stressful conditions for plantgrowth . However, a number of species haveadapted to these situations and are able to thrivequite well . Typically abundant are reed grasses,oat grasses and shrubs (Fig . 22), particularly sumac,junipers and blueberry . Other species frequentlyencountered include bluegrass, bindweed, St .John's-wort, raspberry, black and choke cherries .

Tree cover may or may not be present ; ifpresent, it generally forms a sparse canopy al-lowing abundant light to reach the ground (Fig . 23) .The tree species most commonly present are oaks,shagbark hickory, white ash, maples, white pineand, less frequently, basswood.

The shallowness and dryness of these sitescombined with a relatively high degree of humandisturbance severely restricts the variety ofspecies and the existing community is likely to beperpetuated unless marked change occurs in theconditions noted. In the short term the possibilityof change will be related to the intensity of humanuse ; a substantial increase will further deterioratethe site eliminating some of the present species butperhaps allowing some new ones to establish .Removal of human disturbance would not signifi-cantly alter the tree species composition becausethe other limiting factors of shallow soils and rapiddrainage conditions would still deter the intro-duction of most other species . Tree regenerationmost likely to endure under present conditionsconsist of hardy species such as oaks, maples, whiteash and pines . However, reduced disturbance maypermit an increase in the quantity of the presenttree cover causing a change in light availability tothe ground and more stable moisture conditions,two factors certain to alter the ground speciescomposition and probably shift it towards plantcommunities such as those within the Aralia vege-tation association .

Floristically the sub-association consists of :

FIGURE 22 . Very shallow soils, supporting a pioneer community of grasses and shrubs .

FIGURE 23. Sparse-canopied stands of the Rhus typhina-Calamagrostis sub-association permitplentiful light to the ground thus allowing grasses, sumac and abundant othervegetation to thrive .

Differential speciesNo species were found

Characteristic speciesRhus typhinaCalamagrostis canadensisJuniperus communisDanthonia spicata

Shared differential and characteristic species(i)with sub-association Vicia-Poa pratensis

Poa pratensisPhleum pratenseAgropyron repensAsclepias syriacaRosa sp.Fragaria virginianaHypericum perforatum

(ii)

with sub-association Typha-SagittariaPolygonum convolvulus

(iii)

with sub-associations Vicia-Poa pratensisand Typha-SagittariaJuncus tenuisAgrostis tenuisLythrum salicariaRumex crispus

Companion species restricted to associationsVicia-Rhus typhina-Typha and Impatiens

Solanum dulcamaraPyrus malusOxalis strictaConvolvulus arvensisGeum canadenseLactuca biennisAlnus rugosa

Companion species restricted to associationsVicia-Rhus typhina-Typha and Aralia

Achillea millefoliumPoa compressaPinus strobusDeschampsia flexuosaVaccinium angustifoliumThuja occidentalis

Companion speciesUrtica dioicaFraxinus nigraRibes sp .Vitis ripariaGalium triflorumOstrya virginianaTsuga canadensisSam bucus pubescensAster sp .Rubus odoratus

Pteridium aquilinumMaianthemum canadenseSolidago canadensisSolidago sp .Rubus sp .Cornus racemosaCarex sp .Galium asprellumQuercus borealisLysimachia ciliataBetula populif oliaCarya ovataPrunus serotinaPolygonatum pubescensPrunus virginianaTilia americanaAster cordifoliusViburnum lentagoViburnum rafinesquianumFraxinus americanaDryopteris marginalisCelastrus scandensGeranium robertianum

Regenerating species (in decreasing order ofimportance)

Quercus borealisPrunus serotinaPrunus virginianaPinus strobusFraxinus americanaCarya ovataThuja occidentalisTilia americanaAcer saccharumOstrya virginiana

41

B1 . Impatiens-Urtica (jewel-weed and nettles) .The Impatiens-Urtica sub-association occurs onmoist to imperfectly drained, fairly open sites thathave generally moderate to deep soils ; the micro-topography is usually flat or slightly undulatingwith slope gradients not sufficient to appreciablyinfluence soil moisture or drainage conditions .

The ground vegetation reflects the prevailingmoist, open conditions of the site as indicated bythe prevalence of jewel-weed and nettles (Fig . 24)along with numerous ferns such as sensitive fern,wood ferns, royal ferns and marsh fern, as well asherbs and shrubs like meadow rue, currants, rasp-berries, dogwood, serviceberry, elderberry, nanny-berry, sumac and others . Alder are also oftenpresent in some of the especially wet areas .

Most of these areas seem to have beenpreviously disturbed in one way or another creatingthe existing open canopy conditions which, in turn,allows for the preponderance of weeds and shrubsand does not favour tree regeneration . Thissituation will exist until the canopy closes suffi-ciently to reduce the amount of available light,

42

of :

Differential species

None were found

Characteristic species

Urtica dioica

thereby permitting the more shade-tolerant treespecies to compete against the ferns and shrubs.The present canopy varies from mixtures of whitebirch, black cherry, shagbark hickory, red oak andwhite pine stands to fairly pure stands of blackash, grey birch or balsam poplar. once, moreshade-tolerant tree species begin to get estab-lished in increasing numbers, it will signify areduction in the availability of light to the groundand gradually create a change in the lowervegetation . A possible next stage in this succes-sion can be toward plant communities similar tothe Impatiens-Parthenocissus sub-association .

Floristically the sub-association is composed

Shared differential and characteristic species

Fraxinus nigraRibes sp .Vitis ripariaImpatiens bifloraOnoclea sensibilis

FIGURE 24 . Dense ground flora, including a proliferation of tall nettles, of anImpatiens-Urtica community .

Sambucus pubensAster sp .Circaea quadrisulcataRubus odoratusRhus radicansParthenocissus quinquefolia

Companion species restricted to associationsVicia-Rhus typhina-Typha and Impatiens

Solanum dulcamaraConvolvulus arvensisGeum canadenseStachys hispidaScutellaria galericulataAlnus rugosa

Companion species restricted to associationsImpatiens and Aralia

Dryopteris cristataViola sp .Pyrola ellipticaPodophyllum peltatumAmelanchier arboreaStreptopus roseus

Companion species

Lythrum salicariaRhus typhinaRumex crispus

Alisma plantago-aqua ticaPolygonum convolvulusCalamagrostis canadensisPoa compressaSolidago canadensisSpiraea latifoliaSolidago sp .Rubus sp .Cornus racemosaAcer rubrumCarex sp .Galium asprellumPopulus tremuloidesLysimachia ciliataBetula populifoliaPrunus serotinaTilia americanaAster cordifoliusViburnum lentagoFraxinus americana

Regenerating species (in decreasing order ofimportance)

Betula populifoliaPopulus tremuloidesAcer rubrumPrunus serotinaTilia americanaFraxinus nigraFraxinus americana

B2. Impatiens-Parthenocissus (jewel-weed

andVirginia creeper). This type of plant communityfrequently occupies areas of moderately coarse to

coarse- (sandy-loam, loamy sand) textured soilswith medium to somewhat imperfect drainageconditions. Generally these sites tend to beslightly drier than those of the preceding (B1) sub-association but the topographic relief is verysimilar, both being predominantly flat with onlyminor undulations and gradients.

The tree canopy is usually of moderatedensity which not only permits the penetration ofsome direct light but also provides substantialshading of the ground . The species composition ofthe tree canopy is very variable and ranges fromalmost pure stands of poplars and birches (Fig . 25)to mixtures of red oak, red maple, black ash,shagbark hickory and other, minor components .However, in general, red oak, black ash and greybirch occur fairly consistently in this sub-asso-ciation, with the birch very often restricted to thesub-canopy .

A moisture-loving woodland flora of jack-in-the-pulpit, baneberry, bedstraw, meadow rue, hog-peanut and avens characterize this sub-associationas compared to the more shade-intolerant speciesof Impatiens-Urtica sub-association . Here thedenser canopy closure has also an effect in re-ducing the numbers of plants on the ground, theircoverage and diversity of species. Shrubs such aselderberries and sumac are lower in cover, abun-dance and presence values than in the previoustype ; the same is true for the ferns of this sub-association. On the other hand, individual plantcommunities within this sub-association are often

FIGURE 25. An almost pure stand of young grey birch with dense ground vegetationof an Impatiens-Parthenocissus sub-association.

43

44

dominated (high cover values) by one or two of itsspecies (Fig . 26) in one location and by differentspecies in another place; particularly competitivein this respect appear to be the goldenrods,sensitive fern, raspberries and currants .

Floristically, the sub-association is com-posed of :

Differential species

Equisetum hyemale

Characteristic species

Fraxinus nigra

Shared differential and characteristic species

Urtica dioicaActaea albaRibes sp .Vitis riparia

Galium triflorumSambucus canadensisImpatiens bifloraOnoclea sensibilisSambucus pubensAster sp .Circaea quadrisulcataRhus radicansParthenocissus quinquefoliaArisaema triphyllum

Companion species restricted to associationVicia-Rhus typhina-Typha

Solanum dulcamaraLycopus americanusPyrus malusOxalis strictaConvolvulus arvensisGeum canadenseLactuca biennisStachys hispida

FIGURE 26 . An Impatiens-Par thenocissuscommunity heavily dominatedby jewel-weed.

Scutellaria galericulataAlnus rugosa

Companion species restricted to associationsImpatiens and Aralia

Dryopteris cristataViola sp .Pyrola ellipticaPodophyllum peltatumAmelanchier arboreaStreptopus roseusSmilax herbaceaBe tula papyriferaAmphicarpa bracteataTrillium sp .Prenanthes altissima

Companion speciesPoa pratensisCalamagrostis canadensisQuercus albaMaianthemum canadensePteridium aquilinumSolidago canadensisSpiraea latifoliaRubus sp .Cornus racemosaGalium circaezansAcer rubrumCarex sp.Galium asprellumQuercus borealisPopulus tremuloidesLysimachia ciliataIlex verticillataCarya ovataPrunus serotinaPolygonatum pubescensPrunus virginianaTilia americanaViburnum lentagoViburnum rafinesquianumFraxinus americanaCeiastrus scandens

Regenerating species (in decreasing order ofimportance)

Carya ovataFraxinus nigraAcer rubrumQuercus borealisQuercus albaPrunus serotinaPrunus virginianaBetula papyriferaPopulus tremuloidesTilia americanaFraxinus americana

133.

Ribes-Circaea (currants

and

enchanter'snightshade) . The sub-association occurs on freshsites of moderately coarse textured sandy-loamysoils .

As

is

typical

throughout

theImpatiensassociation, topographic relief is generally subduedand without substantial slope gradients or . otherabrupt terrain variations .

The physiognomy of the forest stands isgenerally different from that of B1 and B2 in thathere the tree heights within the stands tend to bevery diverse whereas in the others more or lessone-storied stands are characteristic . In this sub-association the moderately dense canopy oftencombines a tall, 15 to 20+ m, upper story with asecond story of tolerant hardwoods . The uppercanopy may be composed of such species as redoak, sugar maple, white pine and occasionallyshagbark hickory, basswood, white ash and blackcherry .

The shrub layer is often dominated by rasp-berries, serviceberries, chokecherry and dogwoodwith the ground flora frequently represented bytouch-me-not, goldenrods, asters, spikenard, sensi-tive fern and enchanter's nightshade . Among theseis substantial tree regeneration, particularly ofsugar maple, white ash, chokecherry, basswood, andothers as indicated under the heading "Regen-erating species" .

Floristic composition of this sub-associationis as follows :

Differential speciesActaea alba

Characteristic speciesRibes sp .Vitis ripariaGalium triflorumSambucus canadensis

Shared differential and characteristic species

Fraxinus nigraImpatiens bifloraOnoclea sensibilisSambucus pubensAster sp .Circaea quadrisulcataRubus odoratusRhus radicansParthenocissus quinquefoliaArisaema triphyllum

Companion species restricted to associationVicia-Rhus typhina-Typha

Solanum dulcamaraPyrus malusOxalis stricta

45

46

Stachys hispidaScutellaria galericulata

Companion species restricted to associationsImpatiens andAralia

Dryopteris cristataViola sp .Podophyllum peltatumAmelanchier arboreaStreptopus roseusBetula papyriferaTrilliumsp .Prenanthes altissimaAcer saccharum

Companion speciesAralia racemosaJuniperus communisRhus typhinaHypericum perforatumCalamagrostis canadensisCarpinus carolinianaViburnum acerifoliumOstrya virginianaPteridium aquilinumSolidago canadensisSpiraea latifoliaSolidago sp .Rubus sp .Cornus racemosaGalium circaezansRanunculus acrisAcer rubrumCarex sp .Galium asprellumQuercus borealisLysimachia ciliataBetula populifoliaCarya ovataPrunus serotinaPolygonatum pubescensPrunus virginianaTilia americanaAster cordifoliusViburnum lentagoFraxinus americanaDryopteris marginalisGeranium robertianum

Regenerating species (in decreasing order ofimportance)Re Acer saccharum

Fraxinus americanaPrunus virginianaTilia americanaPrunus serotinaOstrya virginianaFraxinus nigraCarpinus carolinianaAcer rubrumCarya ovataBetula papyrifera

C1. Aralia-Carpinus,(spikenard and blue-beech) .This type of plant community prefers moderatelywell drained and dry locations ; the soils are usuallyfairly coarse textured and often shallow overbedrock . Many of these areas have been and aresubjected to severe disturbance by trampling,particularly on the smaller, heavily used islands .

Commonly the sub-association occurs underan oak, maple, white pine, ash canopy which hashigh cover values and can provide full shade to theground . The occurrence of other tree species,especially shagbark hickory, basswood, birches andblack cherry is also frequent, albeit usuallyscattered among the predominant species, but incertain locations may be present as a major standcomponent .

Shrubs in this sub-association can play animportant role, as, for example, blue beech whichoccurs regularly and, because of its tendency togrow in clumps, with some abundance (Fig . 27) .

FIGURE 27 . Abundant undergrowth of blue-beechis a frequent characteristic of anAralia-Carpinus plant community.

Others, because of their high competitive abilityonce established, can dominate a stand veryquickly and such is the case here on occasion withraspberries, winterberry and dogwoods . Whereverthis dominance occurs it results in a markedreduction in the numbers of other species, espe-cially ground flora . In any case, the low avail-ability of light on the ground does not usuallypermit an abundant lower vegetation . However,spikenard, a typical woodland species which tendsto have wide distribution in well-shaded locations,does extremely well in this community . Otherimportant species are the woodland goldenrods,asters, blueberries and the shared differentialspecies, bracken fern and lily-of-the-valley, al-though the latter two do not occur with thefrequency or abundance they do in the Quercusalba- Ostrya or Tsuga sub-associations .

Tree species regeneration in this sub-asso-ciation is, as would be expected, dominated byshade-tolerant species such as sugar maple, redoak, beech, black cherry and basswood (Fig . 28)with other species occurring sporadically .

This sub-association is floristically com-posed as follows :

Differential speciesCarpinus caroliniana

Characteristic speciesFagus grandifolia

Shared differential and characteristic speciesPteridium aquilinumAralia racemosaMaianthemum canadense

Companion species restricted to associationsVicia-Rhus typhina-Typha and .tralia

Achillea millefoliumPoa compressaPinus strobusDeschampsia flexuosaVaccinium angustifoliumThuja occidentalis

Companion species restricted to associationsImpatiens and Aralia

Amelanchier arboreaStreptopus roseusTrillium sp .Acer saccharum

Companion speciesCircaea quadrisulcataPoa pratensisAster novae-angliae

FIGURE 28 . Abundant red and white oak regeneration is typical among the groundflora of Aralia-Carpinus communities .

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Hypericum perforatumCalamagrostis canadensisImpatiens bifloraAster sp .Solidago sp .Rubus sp .Cornus racemosaRanunculus acrisAcer rubrumCarex sp .Quercus borealisBetula populifoliaCarya ovataPrunus serotinaPolygonatum pubescensPrunus virginianaTilia americanaAster cordifoliusViburnum lentagoViburnum rafinesquianumFraxinus americanaDryopteris marginalisCelastrus scandensGeranium robertianum

Regenerating species (in decreasing order ofimportance)

Quercus borealisAcer saccharumCarpinus carolinianaFagus grandifoliaTilia americanaPrunus serotinaCarya ovataFraxinus americanaThuja occidentaiisAcer rubrumBetula populifoliaPinus strobus

C2.

Quercus alba-Ostrya (white

oak-ironwood).This sub-association typically occurs on the well-drained, shallow tills which occupy much of therolling terrains and slopes of the area . Moder-ately coarse to coarse-textured, bouldery, loamyand sandy soils are usually associated with thisplant community but it can also occur on finersoils and less well drained areas.

The trees tend to form almost total canopycover. Typically stand composition consists ofwhite and red oak and white pine but it can varyand stands of hemlock, pitch pine or poplars wereencountered with this sub-association. Sugarmaple and red maple usually have a minor role inthe overstory but are important regenerationspecies. White oak, although not occurring inlarge numbers, are almost always present and verycharacteristic of this community, not only in theoverstory but also in the sapling and seedlingstages. Ironwood, being a hardy shade-tolerantspecies, also competes well under the closed

canopy and is often abundant .

In addition to white oak and ironwood, specieswhich typify this sub-association include the shrubsmaple-leaf viburnum and wintergreen, the latter ofwhich was encountered only once outside the sub-association . Other shrubs most commonly presentare raspberries, blueberries and other viburnumsbut, in general, shrubs do not play as important arole here as in other sub-associations . Instead, theground flora usually dominates wherever sufficientlight is able to penetrate the tree canopy. Impor-tant plants in this respect are asters, spikenard,bracken ferns, lily-of-the-valley, goldenrods andcow-wheat (Fig . 29). Solomon's seal, a companionspecies, occurs regularly here but only sporadicallyelsewhere. Similarly, the violet family reaches itshighest presence values here and forms an impor-tant component of this sub-association.

Generally regeneration of tree species-is verygood, especially that of red oak, white oak, sugarmaple, red maple, black cherry and ironwood .

The following is the floristic description ofthe sub-association:

Differential species

Quercus alba

Characteristic species

Ostrya virginianaViburnum acerifoliumGaultheria procumbens

Shared differential and characteristic species

Fagus grandifoliaTsuga canadensisPteridium aquiiinumAralia racemosaMaianthemum canadense

Companion species restricted to associationsVicia-Rhus typhina-Typha and Aralia

Dryopteris cristataViola sp .Pyrola ellipticaPodophyllum peltatumAmelanchier arboreaStreptopus roseusSmilax herbaceaBetula papyriferaAmphicarpa bracteataTrillium sp .Prenanthes altissimaAcer saccharum

Companion species restricted to associationsImpatiens and Aralia

Achiilea millefolium

Poa compressaPinus strobusVaccinium angustifolium

Companion species

FIGURE 29. Dry sites with numerous bracken ferns, spikenard and maple, oak, whitepine seedlings characterize the Quercus alba-Ostrya sub-association .

Impatiens bifloraRibes sp .Fraxinus nigraParthenocissus quinquefoliaVitis ripariaArisaema triphyllumRubus odoratusSol idago canadensisSpiraea latifoliaSolidago sp .Rubus sp .Galium circaezansRanunculus acrisAcer rubrumCarex sp.Galium asprellumQuercus borealisPopulus tremuloidesLysimachia ciliataBetula populifoliaIlex verticillataCarya ovataPrunus serotinaPolygonatum pubescensPrunus virginiana

Tilia americanaAster cordifoliusViburnum lentagoFraxinus americanaDryopteris marginalis

Regenerating species (in decreasing order ofimportance)

Quercus borealisQuercus albaAcer saccharumAcer rubrumPrunus serotinaOstrya virginianaPinus strobusBetula populif oliaCarya ovataTsuga canadensisTilia americanaBetula papyriferaFagus grandifof isFraxinus americanaFraxinus nigraPopulus tremuloides

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C3. Tsuga (hemlock) . Typical locations for thisplant community are well-drained, shallow-soiled,often rocky, slopes, particularly those with aneasterly/northerly aspect . Because of this aspectand also because the hemlock tree cover is fre-

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quently very dense, thoroughly shading the ground,the sites tend to be cool and fresh despite rapiddrainage conditions .

It is because of this shading, frequently byalmost pure hemlock, that very sparse groundvegetation is characteristic of the type (Fig . 30).Not only is the vegetation sparse but the speciesdiversity is also low; the only species which seemto occur with regularity are lily-of-the-valley,woodferns, spikenard and some sedges .

Eastern hemlock is the characteristic, andoften sole, tree species ; others most likely to beencountered are sugar maple, beech, white birch,white pine, white and black ash . Tree regener-ation is usually minimal with only hemlock, whitecedar, white ash and sugar maple being of anysignificance .

of :Floristically the sub-association is composed

Differential speciesNone were found

Characteristic speciesTsuga canadensis

Shared differential and characteristic speciesFagus grandifoliaGaultheria procumbensPteridium aquilinumAralia racemosaMaianthemum canadense

Companion species restricted to associationsVicia-Rhus typhina-Typha and Aralia

Convolvulus sepiumVaccinium angustifoliumThuja occidentalis

Companion species restricted to associationsImpatiens and Aralia

Dryopteris cristataBetula papyriferaTrillium sp .Acer saccharum

Companion speciesAgrostis tenuisJuniperus communisDanthonia spicataSambucus pubensRibes sp .Fraxinus nigra

FIGURE 30 . Forest floor almost devoid of ground flora is a frequent occurrence underdense hemlock canopies .

Onoclea sensibilisRubus sp .Carex sp .Prunus serotinaPolygonatum pubescensFraxinus americanaDryopteris marginalis

Regenerating species (in decreasing order ofimportance)

Tsuga canadensisThuja occidentalesFraxinus americanaAcer saccharumBetula papyriferaFagus grandifoliaFraxinus nigraPrunus serotina

Lower Vegetation Successional Trends

To analyze, understand and project succes-sional trends within an area require that the plantcommunities and their relationships must beknown, but to completely analyze these trends itwould be necessary to sample, in their differentstages of development, every sub-associationthroughout the area. This is an impossible task asonly those communities that are present now, canbe sampled. Where these fit in the successionalhierarchy must, therefore, be interpolated on thebasis of the information these existing com-munities themselves provide . From these data itmay also be possible to deduce the occurrence ofmissing (i .e . not encountered in sampling) sub-types, particularly if the data are sorted intosome format (e.g . Association Table, Appendix G)which brings out the affinity of the differentspecies to one another and, perhaps as well,relates them to specific site factors .

The first step in succession is a pioneerplant community which invades open unoccupiedareas of land . In St . Lawrence Islands NationalPark the unoccupied areas can be classified intothree broad types : (a) bedrock and very shallowsoils, (b) deep soil deposits, and (c) shorelines,with each site representing different edaphic andaerial conditions . The flow chart (Fig . 31)schematically demonstrates the normal andpossible trends in succession of plant communitiesthat develop on the three different substrates .

One of the first plant community types toenter bedrock landscapes is Rhus typhina - Calama-grostis sub-association . This sub-associationoccurs on the open exposed bedrock with almostno soil, save for a very few isolated very shallowpockets . This, however, is not the true pioneertype on these areas as primary moss and lichencommunities usually precede this stage and theRhus typhina-Calamagrostis is an advanced stage

51

of this pioneer community . As the sub-associationdevelops, soil is gradually accumulated around thevegetation and seedlings of various species are ableto get established and develop as directed by theprevailing ecological conditions . The Tsuga sub-association, will usually form on the north-facing,cool slopes and depressional valleys . Hemlockseedlings are able to grow well here and eventuallytotally dominate the site as mature trees . On moresoutherly exposures, where the microclimate isgenerally hotter, especially in summer, the corres-ponding community type which will develop is theQuercus alba - Ostrya sub-association .

The pre-dominant canopy species is red oak, which isgenerally reduced in height and girth from thoseoccurring on mesic sites . Both these communitiesdevelop on sites with very little soil ; where somesoil has accumulated and formed a shallow layer, athird sub-association is possible. This is the Aralia-Carpinus community, whose canopy of white andred oak, white pine and white ash produces a well-shaded ground community dominated by spikenardand blue-beech. The sites dominated by this lattercommunity are not as dry as the Quercus alba -Ostrya type, and because there is more soil,produce a ground community of more complexity.It is possible that the Aralia - Carpinus sub-assoc-iation, given the opportunity of a moderately freshsite on a minimal amount of soil, may develop intoa drier variation of the Impatiens - Parthenocissuscommunity .

Deeper soils tend to have fresher moistureconditions and provide a more favourable mediumfor plant and tree growth. The pioneer communities on these sites are the weed sub-assoc-iations characterized by the Vicia - Poa pratensistype . This is the dominant weed community of thepark and occurs on these sites without tree cover .Eventually, through competition from surroundingareas, this community will evolve into the Ribes-Circaea sub-association and ultimately into theImpatiens-Parthenocissus community . On some-what wetter sites, the development of the weedcommunity is towards the Impatiens -Urtica sub-association which itself may eventually progress toan Impatiens- Parthenocissus type.

The third original development condition con-sists of wet areas along the shores of the islandsand mainland . The shoreline community of TyphaSagittaria that presently exists gradually extendsitself into the water, occupying more area, andaccumulates more and more soil around its roots .This soil buildup eventually provides rooting zonesfor water-loving trees and the area graduallyevolves into the Impatiens -Urtica sub-associationwhich develops on very damp sites . Should thesesites become drier theImpatiens-Urtica sub-asso-ciation may in time give way to anImpatiens -Parthenocissus community .

Open

NO

U

t1,OGctSU

Well-shaded

DryMoisture

Wet

FIGURE 31 . A schematic diagram of possible successional trends of lower vegetation plant communities . Solid lines representnormal succession while broken lines indicate possible trends .

RIVERS

As the Wisconsin glacier gradually recededfrom southern Ontario a large ice contact lake,known as Lake Iroquois, formed in the LakeOntario basin . At this time, some 12.5 thousandyears ago, the St . Lawrence valley was stillblocked by ice and the drainage to the sea wasthrough an outlet at Rome, New York, into theHudson River. The ice retreated further and anew outlet opened through the Champlain valleyinto the Hudson River . The waters in the Ontariobasin, called Lake Frontenac at this stage, drainedthrough the Champlain valley until the lake levellowered to that of the outlet and stabilized ; thelake so formed is known as Lake Fort Ann .Finally the ice moved north of the St . Lawrencevalley and Lake Fort Ann drained along it leavinga small low-level lake, called Admiralty Lake, inthe Ontario basin . As the St . Lawrence valleyopened it not only allowed drainage out but alsobecause the land had been depressed by theglacier let the ocean in and formed the ChamplainSea. The sea extended up to Brockville andpossibly further inland when at its maximum . Theland rebounded quickly and by about 9.5 thousandyears ago the sea had receded from easternOntario . As the land rose in the St . Lawrencevalley the Ontario basin began filling and Ad-miralty Lake (which covered only the easternmostpart of the basin) expanded becoming LakeOntario. At the same time, the St . LawrenceRiver began establishing its present channelthrough the rebounding valley, a channel whichtoday drains a total of nearly 1.2 million km2 .

Within the Thousand Islands region the riverchannel width varies considerably from one loca-tion to the next . Disregarding very small islands,its width at the western end of the study area isnearly 5 km between Gananoque and GrindstoneIsland and another 3 km between Grindstone andthe United States mainland . This total width of8 km narrows very quickly and becomes only about1 1/4 km at the Ivy Lea Bridge (Fig. 1) . Hereagain the total width is split into two mainchannels . On the Canadian side, Raft Narrowswhich is about 3/4 km and Upper Narrows on theAmerican side which is less than 1/2 km wide.There is also a third channel (along which theinternational boundary is located) between Hilland Wellesley islands but this is less than 100 mwide in places. After this constricted area theriver again widens and is over 6 km at Mallory-town Landing near the eastern end of the studyarea.

Through the Thousand Islands the depth ofwater in the channels is also extremely variable(Map 6) . Extensive shallows (less than 2 m) occurthroughout the Admiralty Islands group at thewestern end of the map area. Similarly towards

53

the eastern end, most of the nearly 2 km widechannel between Grenadier Island and the Canadianmainland is not only very shallow but also containsextensive weed beds. The deepest sections occur inthe vicinity of the Ivy Lea Bridge . Here, in theRaft Narrows for a distance of about 4 km easterlyfrom the bridge, depths are in excess of 45 m withsoundings down to below 70 m; similar depthsoccur also in the Upper Narrows on the Americanside . In this area the river apparently flows over asubstantial underwater ledge (Greggs and Gorman1975) and the change from moderate depths to verydeep is abrupt . In the Raft Narrows the changeoccurs very near the bridge, for mid-channelsoundings upstream from it do not exceed 25-30 m .This sudden drop in the river floor, combined withthe almost as abrupt narrowing of the channel,creates strong currents which swirl among thenumerous small islands in the vicinity . Thoughextreme depth occurs both in the Raft and theUpper narrows, the third passage (between Hill andWellesley islands) through this section is uniformlyvery shallow, mostly less than 2 m, with only a verysmall portion slightly deeper than 6 m.

Seasonal water level fluctuations are a nor-mal occurrence along the St . Lawrence River . Onthe average, the water levels are the lowest in latefall to mid-winter. They begin to rise in lateFebruary-early March and climb steadily, usuallycresting sometime in June, after which a con-tinuous decline takes place until the levels againstabilize for the three to four months beginningearly November. During this cycle the variation,between the high and the low monthly mean,averages slightly more than 1/2 m . The meanwater levels from one year to the next can alsovary considerably but not so excessively as tocreate major flood threats . The water discharge(m3/s) varies cyclically as do the water levels witha total mean flow through the area averaging 6000-7000 ml/s with recorded extremes of over 9000 andbelow 4000 m4/s (Survey and Mapping Branch 1958,1973) .

The mainland portion of the map area con-tains a few very small ponds but no lakes . Almostone half (slightly more than 20 km2 ) of it is drainedby numerous small creeks and man-made ditcheswhich run more or less directly into the St .Lawrence. Usually they drain only their immediatevicinity and do not form sizeable watersheds.However, the remaining half of the area can bedivided into five small watersheds (Map 7). Themost extensive is that of LaRue Creek which drainsa total of about 8.1 km2; the second largest areadrains easterly into Jones Creek and covers almost5 kml. In the western end, two small streams,Beaver Meadow Creek and Knights Creek, drainabout 150 ha and 420 ha respectively;

in additionapproximately 380 ha drain into Landons Bay.

54

Much of the easternmost end drains via Mudand Polly creeks into Jones Creek which itself isoutside the map area. However, both these creeksare very small, more like ditches, and completelyovergrown with weeds; they have no boating orother water-oriented recreational potential what-soever .

To the west is the LaRue Creek watershedwhich drains two separate sections within thestudy area . An area east of Highway 137 drainsnorth across Highway 401 and joins LaRue Creekoutside the map area . In this section the primarydrainage is along tiny, ditch-size rivulets whichwarrant only a culvert at road crossings . Most areovergrown with grasses and sedges and impassablewith any type of boat . The second area, betweenLaRue Mills and Highway 401, is covered byLaRue Creek itself . Below the old mill dam, thisstream runs in a bouldery and rocky gorge andgenerally does not exceed 10 m in width. It isshallow and boating is not possible in the sectionbetween the dam and the Thousand Islands Park-way . Above the mill dam is an attractive,widening of the stream (mill pond); about 1/2 kmlong ; the water is dark but not turbid andrelatively algae free . It has a good rocky orwooded shoreline with only minor marshy sections .Beyond the mill pond the creek again narrows andpasses through a rocky section, but further upbecomes a weedy meandering stream extending tobeyond Highway 401 .

Beaver Meadow Creek drains only about1 1/2 km within the map area . Near its outlet tothe St . Lawrence it flows along a narrow, rockyand bouldery v-shaped gorge. Though fast flowingeven in late summer it is completely impassablewith any kind of boat; it is so narrow andbouldery that it can be walked across almostanywhere . Further up where the terrain levels,the flow channel becomes a meandering ditchheavy with aquatic vegetation, grasses and sedges .The water is dark with an oily film on the surfaceand, in mid- to late summer, algae are abundant .There are some signs of beaver activity in thearea just south of Highway 401 .

Near its outlet, Knights Creek is a veryslow-moving, dark-watered stream with a highalgae content . Water lilies and other aquatics arenumerous and low-lying shorelines, dominated bycattails, sedges and grasses, are common but high,dry ground also sometimes extends to the water'sedge. The creek is passable by canoe or rowboatwithin a kilometre or so from its outlet but soonthereafter narrows to an impassable ditch con-taining very little water, particularly in the latterpart of summer.

At the Thousand Islands Parkway the shore-line of Landons Bay is generally rocky and sharplydefined but this changes fairly soon and, by the

time the bay narrows to about one half of itsoriginal width, most of the eastern shore consistsof cattails and marshy terrain . Aquatics, particu-larly water lilies, are common throughout the bayand some, but not extensive, algae buildup occursalong the shores . Small outboards can navigate inthe bay, but towards late summer weediness maypose some problems, while rowboats and canoeswill have no difficulty proceeding right to the endof the bay. Most of the narrow part of the bay runsin a deep gorge bound on both sides by shear rockcliffs . At the end of the bay the incoming rivuletruns in a shallow, very bouldery creek bed, totallyunnavigable, which eventually spills over a low rockledge into the bay (Fig . 32) . Further up, the creekchannel becomes a series of marshy beaver pondswhich are fed by a twisty and turbid rivulet havingan open flow of only 2-3 m wide and the rest of thechannel overgrown with grasses and sedges .

The moderate coarseness of a large portion ofthe soils and the predominantly rocky nature of thelandscape through which the St . Lawrence Riverpasses, combined with the presence of a vastsettling basin upstream (Lake Ontario) has resultedin clean, clear waters for centuries . The level andflow-rate fluctuations create a flushing actionsufficient to periodically clear out stagnated areasor even moderate concentrations of pollutants .Thus, as land clearing expanded and livestockincreased, runoff, which carried with it more andmore fine soil particles and dissolved animal waste,at first, had little noticeable effect on the waterquality . However, towns and villages multipliedand many of these discharged untreated sewagedirectly into the river and, compounded with rapidindustrial expansion and almost indiscriminate useof domestic solvents, the amount of foreign matterin the water began to increase rapidly . Aspollutants took noticeable hold the cause was nolonger entirely local ; effects of the numerousindustrialized centres all along the system began tobe felt .

The nearness of the Thousand Islands to LakeOntario creates a situation where the quality of thelake's water dictates the quality around the Thousand Islands ; compared to the hugh flow rate in theSt . Lawrence, relatively minute amounts of addi-tional water enter it between the lake and thestudy area. The lake is not considered verypolluted at its outlet to the St . Lawrence; itspotability is questionable, but its suitability forrecreational activities, such as swimming, is stillacceptable . At the same time the largeness of theriver, the complexity of its currents and variety ofshoreline characteristics precludes one overallmeasure of water quality . Tests and studies arenecessary for each location before a meaningfulestimate of the water's suitability for a specificpurpose can be obtained . Data collected for LakeOntario may be adequate for sections in themainstream of the river but, along the shore, in the

bays and inlets, the water tends to be lesstransient and, therefore, more susceptible to localsources of pollutants . The heavy weediness andapparently high algae populations, as previouslynoted for some of the creek outlets, are often anindication of excessive amounts of dissolvents inthe water. With the increase in pollutants comeincreased bacterial populations causing a healthhazard and possibly reduced oxygen content in thewater and making it less suitable for fish andother aquatic life . Fortunately initial steps invarious forms, from local improvements to inter-national agreements, are being taken to stop andhopefully reverse the deteriorating trend . How-ever, this is still in a very primeval state and, fora successful and lasting cleanup, much progress isyet to be made.

INTERPRETATION AND APPLICATIONOF DATA

Basic land and vegetation data are anessential requirement for meaningful land useplanning . It is also necessary that these data beinterpreted in their correct perspective ; it wouldbe conjecture to plan in more detail than arerepresented by the data and, conversely, a wasteof information if their full potential went un-realized . This task of interpretation is partic-ularly demanding when the data are symbolizedand presented according to a preset, standardizedformat . It is obvious that in such a case the

FIGURE 32 . Rivulet entering Landons Bay spills over a rocky ledge making passagebeyond the end of the bay impossible by any type of boat.

55

symbol rarely describes the delineated area fully orexactly as it is ; in most instances, to achieve thelatter, long detailed descriptions would be neces-sary . Conversely the symbolization cannot beconsidered as an oversimplification which depictsonly the most obvious attribute of the area .

The mapping in this survey, as in any biophy-sical study, emphasizes patterns of landscape andvegetation features . Rather than giving an absolute description of every detail within the delin-eated boundary, these patterns represent land andforest characteristics which typify the area. Thisinformation provides basic data for the formulationof general planning policies. In addition, bycombining relevant segments of the data numeri-cally and/or graphically, more specific problemscan also be appraised according to their biologicaland physical requirements .

Within a given climatic area the biologicalproductivity is very much influenced by the phy-sical properties of the landscape . This is particularly true where disturbance is at a minimum, butin a heavily utilized area, such as along the St .Lawrence, artificial deterrents as well as stim-ulants frequently have an effect and sometimesoverride natural factors . Landscape features whichare especially influential are soil moisture/-drainage, topography, soil texture and, in an areasuch as this where rock outcrops are commonplace,soil depth over bedrock . These have a significanteffect, firstly, in determining the kind of vege-tation which will occupy a location and, secondly,on the vigour and abundance of that vegetation .

56

These landscape characteristics are apparent onbiophysical maps produced at the land type leveland in this way the maps reflect the biologicalpotential of the area.

When existing vegetation is mapped andsuperimposed on the land features, the rating oflandscapes for biological capability is made yetmore effective . In some instances and for certaincharacteristics this can be appraised almostdirectly from the mapped information . Forexample, the capacity of a particular landscapeunit to support forest is frequently indicateddirectly by the forest cover type as mapped forthat land unit . When the land unit is non-forested,contains immature forest, is in a heavily disturbedlocation or otherwise supports stands not de-veloped to their fullest, an estimate of its fullpotential can be deduced by comparing it withsimilar land units supporting fully stocked, matureand healthy stands . Similarly areas most likelysuited for various birds and other wildlife can beextracted by locating land-vegetation complexeswhich best fulfill the animal's needs for food,shelter and space . For this purpose biophysicalmaps give data by land types (shelter, space) andvegetation (food, shelter) . Appraisals can thus bemade for numerous other biological disciplinesand, by grouping all landscape complexes whichcontain the appropriate criteria, an estimate ofthe total extent of the best, or if desired, theworst areas can be compiled and located .

Mapping of topographic and soil characteris-tics at the land type level gives an indication ofthe terrain's engineering properties . Soil compactability is related to grain size which, inmapping, is reflected by the texture classes ; anindication of internal drainage and moisture-holding properties can be deduced by combiningtexture with the data on such items as moistureregime, gradient, soil depth over bedrock andorigin of parent material . These same data arealso useful in determining where to locate roads,probable problems which might be encounteredduring construction as well as the potentialmaintenance requirements . Topography, mois-ture, soil texture and depth are all useful cate-gories to note in planning campgrounds, playingfields and many other intensive use applications .Similarly, initial appraisals of an area's suitabilityfor numerous other construction-related projectscan be obtained by analyzing the applicable landtype information .

In a recreation-oriented environment likethe Thousand Islands region, great importancemust be placed on its intrinsic natural beauty .Much of the development within the region willcentre around as well as rely on that theme; thisapplies whether the development is connectedwith public parks or private tourist facilities . It is

therefore desirable that the aesthetics of theregion are not ignored in planning but, instead, areexploited whenever possible . Vistas, picnic areas,hiking trails and numerous other leisure time usescan be planned to enhance and to take bestadvantage of the area's scenic value . Generallyscenery showing diversity and contrasts willprovide a much more attractive setting than alocation lacking in variety . In this respect landtype mapping brings out topographic features, slopegradients, water courses, and patterns of forestcover, non-forested vegetation and rock outcropsall of which are useful indicators of a location'saesthetic potential .

Combinations of criteria can be extractedfrom the mapped data and these used to locate themost likely areas for the intended use . Forexample, locations having the necessary eng.-neering properties to support an intensive usefacility such as a major campground can bescrutinized for their aesthetic value and therebythe potentially suitable areas located . In this waybiophysical maps can be utilized to the fullestwherever the important requirements of a proposedundertaking can be determined and listed before-hand and the maps used to locate those areas whichfulfill the requirements . When the mapped dataare not detailed enough to provide a full answer,and they often are not, the mapping serves as afoundation for additional studies by directingattention to areas warranting more detailed workand thereby eliminating much extraneoussearching .

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY

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Beals, E . 1960 . Forest bird communities in theApostle Islands of Wisconsin . Wilson Bull .72:156-181 .

Brown,

D.M., G.A. McKay, and - L.J . Chapman.1968 . The climate of southern Ontario . Dep .of Transp ., Meteorol . Branch, Climatol . Stud .No. 5 . U.D.C . 551-582(713) .

Canadian Hydrographic Service . 1975 . CanadianNautical Charts 1418, 1419, 1420. Environ .Can ., Ottawa, Ont .

Chapman, L.J . and D.F . Putnam . 1966 . Thephysiography of southern Ontario . Ont . Res.Found ., U . of T . Press, Toronto, Ontario .

Cody, W.J . 1976 . A phytogeographical study ofthe flora of St. Lawrence Islands NationalPark region. Biosystematics Res. Inst ., Res.Branch, Agric. Can., Ottawa, Ont.

Crowder, A. and A.E . Garwood . 1971. Report onbotanical research in the St. LawrenceIslands National Park. Queen's Univ., King-ston, Ont .

Crum, H.A., W.C. Steere and L.E . Anderson.1973. A new list of mosses of NorthAmerica, north of Mexico. Bryologist 76:85-130 .

Gleason, H.A . and A. Cronquist.

1963. Manual ofvascular plants of Northeastern UnitedStates and adjacent Canada . D. Van Nos-trand Co., New York.

Greggs, R.G. and W.A. Gorman . 1977 . Geology ofthe Thousand Islands. Dep. Geol . Sc.,Queen's Univ ., Kingston, Ont.

Hale, M.E . Jr . and W.L . Culberson. 1970 . Afourth checklist of the lichens of the con-tinental United States and Canada . Bryo-logist 73:499-543 .

Henderson, E.P . 1970 . Surficial geology ofBrockville and Mallorytown map-areas,Ontario. GSC, Dep. Energy, Mines andResour., Paper No. 70-18.

Jesberger, J.A. and J .W . Sheard . 1973 . Aquantitative study and multivariate analysisof corticolous lichen communities in thesouthern boreal forest of Saskatchewan.Can. J. Bot . 51:185-201 .

Lacate, D.S . 1969 . Guidelines for bio-physicalland classification . Dep. Fish . and For.,Can. For. Serv., Publ . No. 1264. Queen'sPrinter, Ottawa. 61 p.

Liberty, B.A. 1971 . Paleozoic geology of WolfeIsland, Bath, Sydenharn and Gananoque map-areas, Ontario. GSC, Dep. Energy, Minesand Resour., Paper No. 70-35.

Mueller-Dombois, D. and H. Ellenberg. 1974 .Aims and methods of vegetation ecology.John Wiley and Sons, New York.

Orloci, L. 1967 . An agglomerative method forclassification of plant communities. J. Ecol .55:193-206 .

Richards, T.L . 1969 . The Great Lakes and theweather. Univ. of Toronto, Great LakesInst ., Rep. PR-39. Toronto, Ont .

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Rowe, J.S . 1972 . Forest regions of Canada .Environ. Can., Can . For . Serv . Publ. No.1300 .

Sanford, B.V . and G.M . Grant. 1975. Physiographyof eastern Canada and adjacent areas. GSC,Dep. of Energy, Mines and Resour., Map No.1399A.

Surveys and Mapping Branch .

1958 and 1973. Thenational atlas of Canada . Dep. Energy,Mines and Resour., Ottawa, Ontario.

Wynne-Edwards, H.R . 1961 . Geology, Gananoque,Ontario. GSC, Dep. Energy, Mines andResour., Map 27-1962.

Wynne-Edwards, H.R. 1962. Geology, Brockville-Mallorytown area, Ontario. GSC, Dep.Energy, Mines and Resour., Map 7-1963 .

APPENDICES

APPENDIX A

MAPS AND OVERLAYS

Ten map sheets at the scale 1 :10 000 andthree map sheets at 1:5 000 showing:

- planimetry/micro-drainage- forest cover/land type composite

Transparent overlays for the above maps, showing:

- land types- forest types

Submitted under separate cover to Packs Canada, Ontario Region, Cornwall, Ontario.

1 inch

1 foot

1 square foot

1 acre

1 mile

1 square mile

APPENDIX B

UNITSOF MEASUREMENT AND CONVERSION FACTORS

2.54 cm (centimetres)

30.45 cm (centimetres)

0.093 m2 (square metres)

0.405 ha (hectares)

1.609 km (kilometres)

2.59 km2 (square kilometres)

1 cm = 0.39 inches

1 m = 3.28 feet

1 m2 = 10.76 square feet

1 ha 2.47 acres

1 km = 0.62 miles

1 km 2 = 0.386 square miles

Simple

Note : DRAINAGE

LAND AND FOREST CLASSIFICATION SYSTEMS

Note:SURFICIAL MATERIAL

LANDTYPE LEGEND

APPENDIX C

a) Asingle Drainage classdescribes 80% or more of the Land Type .b) Two consecutive Drainage Classes (is : 2-3) combined describe 80% or more of the Land Type with the first beingdominant .c) Two non-consecutive Drainage Classes (is : 3-5) combined describe 70% or more of theLand Type with the first DrainageClass describing >50% andthesecond > 20% of the Land Type.d)

110% ofa Land Type area may be any other Drainage Class.

a) Asingle Mate.ial alone (or alone over bedrock or other Material) describes S 80% ol the Land Type.b) Two Materialsseparatedbya hyphen combined describe S 80% of the Land Type with the first representing > 50%.c) AMaterial occurring in brackets at theend of the symbol represents approximately 10% of the Land Type andsignificantlydissects the Land Type.d) When bedrock is S80% and a textureand material follow in brackets, the bracketed portion significantly influences thecharacterof theLand Type, making up < 20%.

Land type lineJoins similar land types

LOCALTOPOGRAPHY DRAINAGE CLASSES

SYMBOL DESCRIPTIONSYMBOL DESCRIPTION

Knob, ridge or high hill1 Rapidly drained

n Hill2 Well drained

Knoll3 Moderately-well drained

r'- 1 Elevated flat or plateau4 Imperfectly drained

Elevated roiling plain or dissected hill5 Poorly drained

rri Elevated plateau with eroded channel(s) 6 Very poorly drained

MAM Undulating, rolling TEXTURE CLASSES

High rolling SYMBOL DESCRIPTION

Rough, highly dissected vc Very coarse: gravel, coarse sand

Trough or steep valley c Coarse : sand, loamy sand

Depressional valley with steep sides me Moderately coarse : sandy loam, fine sandy loam

U Depression or valley m Medium : very fine sandy loam, loam, silt loam, silt

`vJ Depressional valley with eroded channel(s) mf Moderately tine: sandy clay loam, clay loam,silty clay loam

v Depressed flat

L-i Depressed flat with eroded channel(s)f Fine : sandy clay, silty clay

of Very fine : 60% clayFlat

Note : Symbol underlined (i .e .M.Q) refers to the presenceFlat with eroded channel(s) of boulders.

Î Cliff or bluff

Scarp or terrace ORIGIN OF SURFICIAL MATERIAL

SLOPES SYMBOL DESCRIPTION

T TillComplex Gradient in

percent F Glacio-fluvial

1-10 L Glacio-lacustrine

11-30 W Waterlaid

31-60 A Aeolian

61-100 C Colluvial

100+ M Marine

0 Organic

R Bedrock

X Unclassified

Note : T/R represents <3'tili over bedrock.

SAMPLE SYMBOL

Drainage Class 2 (well drained) describing -Till and Glacio-Fluvial Materials averaging less>50% and Drainage Class 4 (imperfectly than 1 metre in depth over bedrock with Tdrained) describing >20% of the Land type. (Till) comprising S50% of the Land Type ;

TF F- (Glacio-fluvial) < 50% of the Land Type ;mm 2-4 vc (0) and with (O)- (Organic) comprising approxi-

-mately 10% of the Land type or significantlydissecting it.

Rolling topography, describing 80% or more Predominantly very coarse textured surficialof the Land Type . materials .

SYMBOL

1

2

3

4

5

CLASS DESCRIPTION

Regeneration following adisturbance, G10 years,height class 1

Young, normal growth, 11to 30 years, height class1 or 3

Young to mature, normalgrowth, 31 to 60 years,height class 3 or 5

Mature, good growth,healthy, 61 to 80 years,height class 5 or 7

Mature, good growth,healthy, 81+ years,height class 5 to 11

FOREST LEGEND

SAMPLE SYMBOL

1

) indicates species occurring sporadically within the standindicates species which occur primarely along the shoreline

Vegetation type line

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Joins similar vegetation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . .,

FOREST SPECIES AND LAND USE SYMBOLS

CONDITION CLASSES

SYMBOL

1A

2A

3A

4A

SA

CLASS DESCRIPTION

No regeneration following adisturbance

Young, retarded growth dueto poor site and/or over-stocking, height class 1 or 3

Young to mature, retardedgrowth due to poor siteand/or overstocking, heightclass 3 or 5

Forest cover affected byexposure, shallow soils,exposed bedrock, and/orother site factors. Heightclass 5 to 7

Overmature, showing signsof decadence, height class5to11

SYMBOL COMMON NAME SYMBOL COMMON NAME

P Pine w Willow

WP Eastern white pine Po Poplar, Aspen

PP Pitch pine Su Butternut

rP Red pine H Hickory

sP Scots pine sH Shagbark hickory

L Larch bH Bitternut hickory

S Spruce Ironwood

He Eastern hemlock BI Blue - beech

F Balsam fir B Birch

Ce Eastern white cedar yB Yellow birch

rCe Eastern red cedar WB White birch

gB Grey birch

UI Upland herbs & grasses Be Beech

U2 Upland shrubs 0 Oak

MI Marshland sedges & herbs w0 White oak

M2 Marshland shrubs r0 Red oak

M3 Sphagnum bog E Elm

M4 Floating vegetation Ch Cherry

FL Flooded land M Maple

R Rock hM Hard maple

Ur Urban or recreational rM Soft maple

Ag Cropland Bd Basswood

GP Gravel pit A Ash

0 Quarry

CL Other cleared land

OVERSTORY DESCRIPTION UNDERSTORY DESCRIPTION

0 to 25% density class 26 to 50% density class

5780% white pine -7 wwP 1 '520% pine-spruce species group

5 MOB-PS 260 to 80' height class- iI

5; 50% maple-oak-birch species group

40 to 60' height class

Condition class 5 5/3 -Condition class 3

C-3

SYMBOL

HEIGHT CLASSES

HEIGHTfeet metres

DENSITY

SYMBOL

CLASSES

PERCENTAGECROWN CLOSURE

1 <20 <6 1 <25

3 21-40 6-12 2 25-50

5 41-60 12-18 3 51-75

7 61-80 18-24 4 > 75

9 81-100 24-30

11 101+ 30+

APPENDIX D

AREA COMPILATION SHEETS FOR PARK PROPERTIES

- Area compilation sheets for St . Lawrence Islands National Parkshowing areas, in hectares, of individual map units with U.T.M .designations which locate the southwesterly corner of each mapunit .*

- Forested vs . non-forested land area summary sheet for majorpark holdings .

St . Lawrence Islands National ParkArea Summaries for Major Park Entities

*Submitted under separate cover to Parks Canada, Ontario Region.

Island Name N.T.S . Map Number Forested

Area in hectares

Non-forested Total

Cedar Part of 31C/le 5.4 3.5 8.9

Milton Part of 31C/le 2.6 0.6 3.2

Aubrey 31C/8 II 5.3 1 .0 6.3

Mermaid 31C/8 II 0.9 0.8 1 .7

Beaurivage 31C/8 IX 2.5 2.6 5.1

Lindsay 31C/8 IX 3.8 0.4 4.2

McDonald 31C/8 IX 10 .1 5.3 15.4

Leek 31C/8 11 37.5 4.5 42.0

Hay 31C/8 IX 3.6 20.2 23 .8

Camelot 31C/8 II and IX 8.3 2.0 10.3

Endymion 31C/8 IX and X 5.3 1 .1 6.4

Gordon 31C/8 IX 7.1 0 .8 7.9

Mulcaster 31C/8 X 5.8 0.6 6.4

Hill 3113/5 VI and XV 106.3 56 .2 162.5

Georgina 3113/5 XV 9.5 0 .6 10.1

Constance 3113/5 XV 3.2 0.3 3.5

Grenadier West 3113/5 XV 3.9 0.9 4.8Grenadier Centre 3113/5 XVII 33.3 41.1 74.4Grenadier East 3113/5 XVII 18.7 14.4 33.1

Grenadier (total) 3113/5 XV and XVII 55.9 56.4 112.3

Squaw 3113/5 XVII 1.3 9.5 10.8

Adelaide 3113/5 XVII 1.9 0 .8 2.7

Stovin Part of 31B/12b .2.6 1 .2 3.8

Mallorytown Landing 3113/5 XXIV 23.4 14.6 38.0

APPENDIX E

AREA SUMMARIES FOR SOIL UNITS

St. Lawrence National Park and SurroundingsAreas of Major Soil Units

Areas, in Hectares, of Major Soil Unitsby Predominant Moisture Conditions

Soil type 1 2

Moisture

3

regime4 5 6 Total %

Bare rock and veryshallow over bedrock (R) 1085 1083 5 - 1 - 2174 34

Shallow over rock (/R) 60 1071 357 28 - - 1516 26

Glacioiacustrine (L) - 20 847 216 167 - 1250 20

Glaciofluvial (F) 49 183 51 31 - - 314 5

Till (T) - 4 51 25 24 - 104 2

Alluvial (W) - 13 157 197 56 - 423 7

Organic (O) - - - - 31 203 234 4

Unclassified (X) 135 - - - - - 135 2

Total 1329 2374 1468 497 279 203 6150 100

% 22 39 24 8 4 3 100

Soil units Hectares %

Bare rock 324 5.3

Very shallow soil (R) 1850 30.1

Shallow soils (/R) 1516 24.6

Total soil cover < 1 m 3690 60.0

Predominantly till (T) 104 1 .7

Predominantly glaciolacustrine (L) 1250 20.3

Predominantly glaciofluviai (F) 314 5.1

Predominantly alluvial (W) 423 6.9

Predominantly organic (O) 234 3.8

Total soil cover > 1 m 2325 37 .8

Unclassified (X) 135 2.2

Total land area 6150 100 .0

Drainage class

Area by Soil Drainage Classes

Area (ha) %

1 11341-2 195

Rapidly drained 1329 221-3 11932 231

2-1 842-3 1353-1 731

Well drained 2374 382-4 91

3 7723-2 2043-4 3804-2 21

Moderately drained 1468 243-5 272

4 864-3 594-5 80

Imperfectly drained 497 84-6 241

5 165-6 22

Poorly drained 279 56 202

6-5 1

Wet 203 3

Total 6150 100

AREA SUMMARIES FOR FOREST COVER TYPES

St . Lawrence Islands National Park and Surrounding AreasForest Areas, in Hectares, by Soil Units

Species abbreviations from Appendix C

APPENDIX F

St. Lawrence Islands National Park and Surrounding AreasForest Areas, in Hectares, by Moisture Regimes

Species abbreviations from Appendix C

Forestcover type Dry

Welldrained

Moderatelydrained

Imperfectlydrained

Poorlydrained Wet Totals

wP 7 8 16 19 4 - 54% 13 .0 14 .8 29 .6 35 .2 7 .4 - 100.0

wPHe 11 16 6 - - - 33% 33 .3 48 .5 18 .2 - - - 100.0

WP-OM 264 548 77 20 21 - 930% 28 .4 58 .9 8.3 2.2 2.2 - 100.0

wPHe-MO 194 525 58 6 6 1 790% 24 .6 66 .4 7.3 0.8 0.8 0.1 100.0

O 38 64 17 1 - - 120% 31 .6 53 .3 14 .1 1.0 - - 100.0

MO 101 151 65 7 1 - 325% 31 .1 46 .5 20 .0 2.1 0.3 - 100.0

MOHA 172 494 111 17 16 1 811% 21 .2 60 .9 13 .7 2.1 2.0 0.1 100.0

PoB 15 35 45 97 15 1 208% 7.2 16 .8 21 .6 46 .7 7.2 0.5 100.0

ArM 3 21 8 22 12 2 68% 4.4 30 .9 11 .8 32 .4 17 .6 2.9 100.0

Others 36 24 18 6 17 - 101% 35 .7 23 .8 17 .8 5.9 16 .8 - 100.0

Totals 841 1886 421 195 92 5 3440% 24 .5 54 .8 12.2 5.7 2.7 0.1 100.0

Forestcover type

Shallowsoils Till

Predominantly

Lacustrine

deep (>

Fluvial

1 m) soils

Alluvial Organic Totals

wP 24 2 28 - - - 54

wPHe 31 - 2 - - - 33

wP-0M 857 15 37 10 7 4 930

wPHe-MO 739 13 31 6 - 1 790

0 106 1 - 9 4 - 120

MO 262 - 23 22 18 - 325

MOHA 721 17 41 13 18 1 811

PoB 51 4 45 24 83 1 208

ArM 21 1 16 7 19 4 68

Others 63 14 10 2 8 4 101

Totals 2875 67 233 93 157 15 3440% 83.6 1.9 6.8 2.7 4.6 0.4 100.0

Drainage codes and species abbreviations from Appendix C

St. Lawrence Islands National Park and Surrounding AreasForest Areas, in Hectares, by Soil Units and Drainage Classes

Drainage 1

Shallow soils

2 3 4 2

Till

3 4 5 2

Predominantly deep

Lacustrine

3 4 5 1 2

(> 1

Fluvial

3

m)

4

soils

2

Alluvial

3 4 5

Organic

5 6

Totals

Forestcover type

wP 7 8 8 1 - - 2 - - 8 16 4 - - - - 54

wPHe 11 16 4 - - - - - - 2 - - - - - - - - - - - - 33

wP-0M 264 537 50 6 - 6 2 7 1 18 8 10 - 9 - 1 1 3 3 - 4 - 930

WPHe-MO 192 517 30 - - 11 2 - 6 15 4 6 2 2 2 - - - - - - 1 790

0 37 61 8 - - 1 - - - - - - 1 3 5 - - 3 1 - - - 120

MO 98 136 28 - - - - - - 18 5 - 3 13 6 - 2 13 2 1 - - 325

MOHA 171 485 64 1 2 10 3 2 1 24 2 14 1 6 4 2 - 9 9 - - 1 811

PoB 12 34 4 1 - 2 2 - - 21 18 6 3 1 6 14 - 12 62 9 - 1 208

ArM 3 14 1 3 - - 1 - - 2 4 10 - 6 - 1 1 5 13 - 2 2 68

Others 36 21 6 - - - 1 13 - 7 3 - - 2 - - 1 5 2 - 4 - 101

Totals 831 1829 203 12 2 30 13 22 8 115 60 50 10 42 23 18 5 50 92 10 10 5 3440

% 24.2 53.2 5.9 .3 .1 .9 .4 .6 .2 3.3 1 .7 1.5 .3 1.2 .7 .5 .1 1 .5 2.7 .3 .3 .1 100.0

APPENDIX G

PLANT COMMUNITY DENDROGRAM AND ASSOCIATION TABLE

G1.

A hierarchical classification of sub-associations presented in the formof a dendrogram demonstrating relationships resulting from clusteranalysis of 109 ground vegetation samples on various islands and themainland in St . Lawrence Islands National Park. Relationships aremeasured on the vertical scale in percent dissimilarity. The numbersalong the bottom represent original field sample numbers (Appendix I) .

G-2.

Association table showing floristic composition of plant communities.

*Plants which appear on the Association Table.

APPENDIX H

A CHECKLIST OF PLANTS FOUND INST. LAWRENCE ISLANDS NATIONAL PARK

AND SURROUNDING AREAS

VASCULAR PLANTS'

1 Vascular plant names are according to Gleason and Cronquist's "Manual of vascular plants", while the namesof the mosses are in accordance with Crum, Steere and Anderson (1973), and lichens with Hale and Culberson(1970) .

LYCOPODIACEAE

Lycopodium lucidulum Michx. shining clubmoss

EQUISETACEAE

*Equisetum hyemale L. scouring rushEquisetum pratense Ehrh. meadow horsetailEquisetum sylvaticum L . woodland horsetail

OPHIOGLOSSACEAE

Botrychium virginianum (L .) Sw . rattlesnake fern

OSMUNDACEAE

Osmunda claytoniana L. interrupted fernOsmunda regalis L. royal fern

POLYPODIACEAEAthyrium filix-femina (L .) Roth . lady fern

*Dryopteris austriaca var. spinulosa (Muell .) Fiori spinulose woodfernDryopteris cristata (L.) Gray crested woodfern

*Dryopteris marginalis (L .) Gray marginal shield fern*Onoclea sensibilis L. sensitive fernPolypodium vulgare L. polypody

*Pteridium aquilinum (L .) Kuhn. brackenThelypteris palustris Schott . marsh fern

TAXACEAETaxus canadensis Marsh. ground hemlock

PINACEAEPicea glauca (Moench.) Voss white sprucePicea rubens Sarg . red sprucePinus resinosa Ait. red pinePinus rigida Mill . pitch pine

*Pinus strobus L . white pinePinus ~ylvestris L. scotch pine

*Tsuga canadensis (L .) Carr . hemlock

Carex annectens (Bickn.) Bickn.Carex comosa

Boott .

CUPRESSACEAE

*Juniperus communis L. ground juniperJuniperus virginiana L. red cedar

*Thuja occidentalis L. eastern white cedar

TYPHACEAE

*Typha latifolia L. cattail

SPARGANIACEAE

Sparganium americanum Nutt . bur reedSparganium chlorocarpum Rydb. bur reedSparganium eurycarpum Engelm . bur reed

ALISMATACEAE

*Alisma plantago-aquatica L. water plantainAlisma subcordatum Raf . subcordate water-plantainSagittaria graminea Michx. grass-leaved arrow-head

*Sagittaria latifolia Willd . broad-leaved arrow-head

BUTOMACEAE

Butomus umbellatus L. flowering rush

HYDROCHARITACEAE

Hydrocharis morsus-ranae L . european frog's bit

GRAMINEAE

*Agropyron repens (L .) Beauv. quack grassAgropyron trachycaulum var. glaucum

(Pease & Moore) Malte. wheat grassAgrostis hyemalis (Walt.) BSP. tickle grassAgrostis hyemalis var . tenuis (Tuckerm .) GI . tickle grassAgrostis stolonifera L . creeping bent-grass

*Agrostis tenuis Sibth. Rhode Island bent-grassAndropogon gerardi Vitm . beard grass

*Calamagrostis canadensis (Michx.) Beauv. bluejointCalamagrostis inexpansa Gray contracted reed grassDanthonia compressa Aust . compressed wild oat grass

*Danthonia spicata (L .) Beauv. wild oat grass*Deschampsia flexuosa (L.) Trin . hair grassFestuca ovina L. sheep fescueGlyceria canadensis (Michx .) Trin . rattlesnake grassGlyceria grandis S. Wats . manna grassGlyceria striata (Lam.) Hitchc . manna grassHystrix patula Moench . bottle-brush grassLeersia oryzoides (L .) Sw . cut-grassOryzopsis asperifolia Michx. rice grassPanicum spp . panic grassPanicum philadelphicum Bernh. panic grass

*Phalaris arundinacea L. canary reed grass*Phleum pratense L. timothy*Poa compressa L. Canada bluegrassPoa interior Rydb. bluegrass

*Poa pratensis L . Kentucky bluegrassPoa trivialis L . rough meadow grass

CYPERACEAE

*Carex spp. sedge

Carex crinita

Lam.Carex cristatella Britt .Carex deweyana

Schw .Carex gracillima

Schw.Carex laxiflora

Lam.Carex lurida Wahl .Carex pensylvanica Lam.Carex projecta MackenzieCarex pseudo-cyperus L .Carex retroflexa var. retroflexa Muhl .Carex scoparia Schk .Carex tribuloides Wahl .Carex tuckermani Boott.Cyperus filiculmis Vahl . galingaleCyperus strigosus L. galingaleEleocharis acicularis (L .) R. & S. spike rushEleocharis obtusa (Willd .) Schutt . spike rushScirpus acutus Muhl. hardstem bulrushScirpus atrovirens Willd . bulrushScirpus cyperinus (L .) Kunth. wool grass

ARACEAE

Acorus calamus L. sweet flag*Arisaema triphyllum (L .) Schott . jack-in-the-pulpit

LEMNACEAE

Lemna minor L . duckweedLemna trisulca L. duckweed

PONTEDERIACEAE

Pontederia cordata L . pickerel-weed

JUNCACEAE

Juncus spp. rushJuncus effusus L. rush*Juncus tenuis Willd. path rush

LILIACEAE

*Maianthemum canadense Desf . wild lily of the valley*Polygonatum pubescens (Willd .) Pursh . solomon's seal*Smilax herbacea L. carrion flowerSmilacina racemosa (L.) Desf . false solomon's sealSmilacina stellata (L .) Desf. false solomon's seal*Streptopus roseus Michx. twisted-stalk*Trillium spp. trillium

IRIDACEAE

Iris versicolor L. blue flag

SALICACEAE

Populus balsamifera L. balsam poplarPopulus grandidentata Michx. large-tooth aspen

*Populus tremuloides Michx. trembling aspenSalix spp. willowSalix discolor Muhl . pussy willowSalix fragilis L . cracked willow

JUGLANDACEAECarya cordiformis (Wang.) K . Koch. bitternut*Carys ovata (Mill.) K . Koch. shagbark hickoryJuglans cinerea L. butternut

BETULACEAE*Alnus rugosa (Du Roi) Spreng . speckled alderBetula lutea Michx. yellow birch

*Betula papyrifera Marsh. white birch*Betula populifolia Marsh. gray birch*Carpinus caroliniana Walt. blue beechCorylus cornuta Marsh. hazel*Ostrya virginiana (Mill .) K . Koch. ironwood

FAGACEAE*Fagus grandifolia Ehrh. beech*Quercus alba L. white oak*Quercus borealis L . red oakQuercus macrocarpa Michx. bur oak

ULMACEAEUlmus americana L. American elm

URTICACEAELaportea canadensis (L .) Wedd . wood-nettle

*Urtica dioica L . stinging nettle

POLYGONACEAEPolygonum spp .Polygonum coccineum Muhl. water smartweed*Polygonum convolvulus L. black bindweedPolygonum natans Eat . water smartweedPolygonum punctatum Ell . smartweedPolygonum scandens L. false buckwheatRumex acetosella L. sheep sorrelRumex crispus L . sour dock

CARYOPHYLLACEAECerastium vulgatum L. mouse-ear chickweedSaponaria officinalis L . bouncing-BetStellaria graminea L . common stickwort

NYMPHAEACEAENuphar variegatum Engelm . bull-head lilyNymphaea odorata Ait . water lily

RANUNCULACEAE*Actaea alba (L.) Mill . white baneberryActaea rubra (Ait.) Willd . red baneberryAnemone canadensis L . Canada anemoneCoptis trifolia (L .) Salisb . goldthreadHepatica acutiioba DC . hepatica

*Ranunculus acris L . buttercupThalictrum dioicum L. meadow rueThalictrum polygamum Muhl. tall meadow rue

BERBERIDACEAECaulophyilum thalictroides (L.) Michx. blue cohosh*Podophyllum peltatum L. mayapple

PAPAVERACEAE

Sanguinaria canadensis L. bloodroot

CRUCIFERAEBerteroa incana (L.) DC. hoary alyssumCardamine pensylvanica Muhl . bitter cressLepidium virginicum L. pepper grassSisymbrium officinale var . officinale (L.) Scop. hedge mustard

CRASSULACEAEPenthorum sedoides L. ditch stone cropSedum sarmentosum Bunge stone cropSedum telephium L. live-forever

SAXIFRAGACEAE*Ribes spp . currantRibes cynosbati L. dogberrySaxifraga virginiensis Michx. early saxifrage

ROSACEAEAgrimonia gryposepala Wallr . agrimony*Amelanchier arborea (Michx . f .) Fern . serviceberryAmelanchier laevis Wieg. serviceberryAronia melanocarpa (Michx .) Ell . black chokecherryCrataegus spp . hawthorn*Fragaria virginiana Duchesne wild strawberry*Geum canadense Jacq. white avensPotentilla anserina L. silverweedPotentilla norvegica L. rough cinquefoilPotentilla recta L. rough-fruited cinquefoilPotentilla simplex Michx. cinquefoilPrunus pensylvanica L. f . pin cherry

*Prunus serotina Ehrh. black cherry*Prunus virginiana L. chokecherry*Pyrus malus L. apple*Rosa spp . wild rose*Rubus spp . raspberryRubus allegheniensis Porter common blackberry*Rubus odoratus L . flowering raspberryRubus strigosus Michx. red raspberrySpiraea alba Du Roi meadow-sweet

*Spiraea latifolia (Ait .) Borkh. meadow-sweetSpiraea tomentosa L. hardhack

FABACEAE*Amphicarpa bracteata (L.) Fern. hog-peanutDesmodium canadense (L.) DC. show tick-trefoilDesmodium glutinosum (Muhl.) Wood pointed-leaved tick-trefoilTrifolium pratense L. red cloverTrifolium procumbens L. hop cloverTrifolium repens L. white clover

*Vicia cracca L. cow vetch

OXALIDACEAE*Oxalis stricta L . hellow wood-sorrel

GERANIACEAE

*Geranium robertianum L. herb Robert

ANACARDIACEAE

Rhus aromatica Ait. fragrant sumac*Rhus radicans L. poison ivy*Rhus typhina L . staghorn sumac

AQUIFOLIACEAE

*Ilex verticillata (L.) Gray common winterberryIlex verticillata var . verticillata (L .) Gray common winterberry

CELASTRACEAE

*Celastrus scandens L. bittersweet

ACERACEAE

Acer negundo L. Manitoba mapleAcer pensylvanicum L . striped maple*Acer rubrum L. red mapleAcer saccharinum L. silver maple*Acer saccharum Marsh . sugar maple

BALSAMINACEAE

*Impatiens biflora Walt . touch-me-not

RHAMNACEAE

Rhamnus catharticus L. buckthorn

VITACEAE

*Parthenocissus quinquefolia (L .) Planch . virginia creeper*Vitis riparia Michx. riverbank grape

TILIACEAE

*Tilia americana L. basswood

HYPERICACEAE

Hypericum boreale (Britt .) Bickn . northern St. John's-wort*Hypericum perforatum L . perforated St . John's-wortHypericum punctatum Lam. spotted St . John's-wort

VIOLACEAE

*Viola spp . violet

LYTHRACEAE

*Lythrum salicaria L. purple loosestrife

ONAGRACEAE

*Circaea quadrisulcata (Maxim) Franch & Sav. enchanter's nightshadeEpilobium glandulosum Lehm . willow herbEpilobium hirsutum L. willow herbOenothera biennis L. evening primroseOenothera pilosella Raf. sundrops

ARALIACEAE

Aralia hispida Vent. bristly sarsparilla*Aralia racemosa L. spikenard

UMBELLIFERAE

Angelica atropurpurea L . angelicaCryptotaenia canadensis (L.) DC. honewortHeracieum lanatum Michx. cow-parsnipOsmorhiza claytoni (Michx .) Clarke sweet cicelyOsmorhiza longistylis (Torr .) DC. long styled sweet cicelySanicula gregaria Bickn . black snakerootSium suave Walt . water parsnip

CORNACEAE

Cornus alternifolia L.f . alternate-leaved dogwood*Cornus racemosa Lam. red-panicle dogwoodCornus rugosa Lam. roundleaf dogwoodCornus stolonifera Michx. red osier dogwood

ERICACEAE

Gaultheria hispidula (L .) Muhl. creeping snowberry*Gaultheria procumbens L. wintergreenGaylussacia baccata (Wang) K. Koch . black huckleberryGaylussacia frondosa (L .) T. & G . dangleberryMonotropa uniflora L . Indian pipe

*Pyrola elliptica Nutt . shinleaf*Vaccinium angustifolium Ait. blueberryVaccinium stamineum L . deerberry

PRIMULACEAE

*Lysimachia ciliata L . fringed loosestrifeLysimachia terrestris (L .) BSP. yellow loosestrifeTrientalis borealis Raf . starflower

OLEACEAE*Fraxinus americana L. white ash*Fraxinus nigra Marsh. black ashSyringa vulgaris L. lilac

APOCYNACEAEApocynum androsaemifolium L. dogbaneApocynum sibiricum Jacq . Indian hemp

ASCLEPIADACEAE

Asclepiasincarnata L. swamp milkweed*Asclépias syriaca L. common milkweed

CONVOLVULACEAE*Convoivulus arvensis L. bindweed*Convolvulus sepium L. hedge bindweedCuscuta gronovii Willd. dodder

BORAGINACEAE

Myosotis scorpioides L. forget-me-not

VERBENACEAE

Verbena hastata L. blue vervain

LABIATAE

Lamium aplexicaule L . hen bitLycopus americanus Muhl . bugleweed

*Lycopus uniflorus Michx. bugleweedMentha arvensis L. wild mintMentha piperita L . peppermintMonarda fistulosa L. wild bergamotNepeta cataria L. catnipPrunella vulgaris L . self-healPycnanthemum virginianum (L .) Durand & Jackson mountain mintSatureja vulgaris (L.) Fritsch . wild basil

*Scutellaria galericulata L. skullcapScutellaria lateriflora L. mad-dog skullcap*Stachys hispida Pursh . rough hedge nettleTeucrium canadense L. germander

SOLANACEAEPhysalis heterophylla Nees. gound cherrySolarium dulcamara L. bittersweet

SCROPHULARIACEAELinaria vulgaris Hill . butter and eggsMelampyrum lineare Desr . cow-wheatMimulus ringens L. monkey flowerScrophularia lanceolata Pursh . figwortVerbascum thapsus L. mullein

OROBANCHACEAEEpifagus virginiana (L.) Bart . beech-drops

PHRYMACEAEPhryma leptostachya L . lopseed

PLANTAGINACEAEPlantago major L. common plantain

RUBIACEAECephalanthus occidentalis L. buttonbush*Galium asprellum Michx. rough bedstraw*Galium circaezans Michx . white wild licorice (bedstraw)*Galium triflorum Michx. fragrant bedstrawMitchella repens L. partridge berry

CAPRIFOLIACEAEDiervilla lonicera Mill . bush honeysuckleLonicera canadensis Marsh. Canada honeysuckleLonicera dioica L . mountain honeysuckleLonicera tatarica L. tartarian honeysuckle*Sambucus canadensis L. black elderberry*Sambucus pubens Michx. red elderberry*Viburnum acerifolium L. maple leaf viburnum*Viburnum lentago L . nannyberry*Viburnum rafinesquianum Schult . shortstalk arrowwood

CAMPANULACEAECampanula aparinoides Pursh . marsh bellflowerTriodanis perfoliata (L.) Nieuwl . venus' looking glass(Specularia perfoliata (L .) A .D.C.)

COMPOSITAE*Achillea millefolium L. yarrow

Ambrosia artemisiifolia L . ragweedAnaphalis margaritacea (L.) Benth. & Hook pearly everlastingAntennaria neglecta Greene everlastingArctium minus Schk . burdockArtemisia vulgaris L . mugwort*Aster spp . aster*Aster cordifolius L . heart-leaved asterAster ericoides L . dense-flowered asterAster macrophyllus L. large-leaved aster

*Aster novae-angliae L. New England asterAster simplex Willd . panicled asterCarduus nutans L. nodding thistleChrysanthemum leucanthemum L. ox-eyed daisy

*Cirsium arvense (L.) Scop . Canada thistleCirsium vulgare (Savi) Tenore bull thistleConyza canadensis (L.) Cronq. horseweedConyza canadensis var . canadensis (L.) Cronq.) horseweedErechtites hieracifolia (L.) Raf . fireweedErigeron annuus (L.) Pers . daisy fleabaneErigeron philadelphicus L . common fleabaneErigeron strigosus var . strigosus Muhl . daisy fleabaneEupatorium maculatum L . joe-pye-weedEupatorium rugosum Houtt . white snakerootGalinsoga ciliata (Raf.) Blake . galinsogaHelianthus divaricatus L . woodland sunflowerHelianthus giganteus L. sunflowerHieracium pratense Tausch. yellow hawkweedHieracium scabrum Michx. hairy hawkweedInula helenium L. elecampane*Lactuca biennis (Moench) Fern. wild lettuceLactuca serriola L . prickly lettuce

*Prenanthes altissima L . white lettuce*Solidago spp . goldenrodSolidago arguta Ait . sharp-leaved goldenrodSolidago bicolor L . silverrodSolidago caesia L . blue-stemmed goldenrod

*Solidago canadensis L . Canada goldenrodSolidago juncea Ait . early goldenrodSolidago rugosa var . sphagnophila Graves rough-stemmed goldenrodSonchus asper (L .) Hill . spiny-leaved sow thistleTragopogon pratensis L . goat's beardTaraxacum officinale Weber. dandelion

H-10

Mosses

Lichen

SPHAGNACEAESphagnum russowii

Warnst .

DICRANACEAEDicranum scoparium

Hedw.

LEUCOBRYACEAEa

Leucobryum glaucum

(Hedw.) Angstr . ex Fr .

MINACEAEMnium ciliare

(C. mü11 .) Schimp . E Plagiomnium ciliare (C. mull.) KopJMnium cuspidatum

Hedw. [ Plagiomnium cuspidatum (Hedw.) Kop.]

AULACOMNIACEAEAûlacomnium palustre

(Hedw .) Schwaegr .

AMBLYSTEGIACEAELeptodictyum riparium

(Hedw.) Warnst .

BRACHYTHECIACEAEBrachythecium spp .Brachythecium rutabulum

(Hedw.) B.S.G .

ENTODONTACEAEPleurozium schreberi

(Brid .) Mitt .

HYPNACEAECallicladium haldanianum (Grev.) CrumHypnum imponens

Hedw.

POLYTRICHACEAE

NON-VASCULAR PLANTS

Polytrichum commune

Hedw.Polytrichum commune

var . perigoniale

(Michx.) HampePolytrichum juniperinum

Hedw.

CLADONIACEAEParmelia caperata

(L.) Ach.