Field Trips Flashcards

1
Q

South IVB

A
  • Lots of anthropogenic impact (trailer park, equestrian activity, ball field ===Gentrification!)
  • Impacts: Land removed from ALR, for sale, rezoning application for estates, the for sale land is connected hydrologically to marsh, ditching and draining to prevent flooding)
  • CRD side more impacted due to agriculture (potato farming)
  • Bent grass is prolific seed producer, terribly invasive
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2
Q

History of IVB

A
  • Gentrified with English parks, more open (land clearing, makes people feel safer), equestrian park, trailer park, ball field, agriculture, draining and ditching of marsh
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3
Q

Politics of IVB

A
  • Central Saanich is very pro-agriculture

- CRD wants to push back to pre-colonial impacts

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4
Q

South IVB possible changes to reverse impacts

A
  • Must determine Historical Target to be achieved, but how? Pre-colonial, or just pre-ditching?
  • Restoration is still possible because pockets of natives still exist
  • Flood area more often and invasive species such as quackgrass would not do as well and natives would do better. Would also reduce shrub establishment
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5
Q

North IVB

A
  • Red-listed communities
  • Also has invasive species moving in on edges indicating changing hydrology
  • Part is a coastal wetland, brackish with no flow through
  • Has a dune system on edge of marsh
  • Expensive fence through marsh for Puckle Farm
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6
Q

3 indicators for wetland delineation

A
  • Species
  • Hydrology
  • Soil eg. Peat
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7
Q

1st ditch on north side

A

1926

- More drainage favours grasses

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8
Q

Maple Bay

A

Irv Banman

  • NCC bought Elkington property in 1999 and it was heavily invaded by broom, etc.
  • Almost sold to developer, but saved by community and NCC
  • Bought lower field in 2001
  • Closed to public due to rare species but sometimes do tours
  • Historic state determined by photos and an old survey (called it oak and pine plains)
  • Indicated that it was mixed in past as in current state
  • Phytolith studies determined that it has been grassland for thousands of years, therefore it must have been managed by people
  • Have lots of data and some specific research is done on site (Universities)
  • Funding for restoration and supplies is difficult to come by and volunteers are essential
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9
Q

Garry Oaks

A
  • GO’s need full sun (cannot be overtopped), with that they can adapt to drought and flood
  • NCC property is Valley bottom with deep soil which has become rare due to being prime development sites
  • Managed by people, or likely would have been fir forest
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10
Q

Planting restoration (NCC)

A
  • 1st remove invasives
  • Natives were surviving in understory but not thriving
  • need seeds and plants
  • started nursery and found mature plants work best for plantings
  • Determined areas to target for planting as not all areas are ideal and may not be effective
  • Fenced areas for deer exclusion (must be large sq. ft. or raptors will destroy small ones trying to get at rodent prey)
  • Mow to open up light and reduce snowberry (invasive native) b/c not enough fire or ungulate grazing
  • Doug fir was replanted in historic fir forest on north side
  • Spacing conifer forest to increase light penetration
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11
Q

Prescribed fire at NCC

A
  • McDougal paper researched on site
  • Need to follow rules to get permits, cooperate w/ authorities
  • Get public awareness about positives
  • Ministry of Forests, By-law office, Coastal fire center, firefighters all need to be ‘on board’ in order to get permits
  • Starting to get more participation form fire hall and were able to double the size of the burn plot to 1.4 ha this year
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12
Q

What does a prescribed fire need?

A
  • Good ventilation and humidity
  • ## Wind in right direction and not too strong
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13
Q

Why are squirrels an issue at NCC?

A
  • Eat acorns, tree germ, and birds and nestlings

- Use death machine to kill the squirrels (all invasive anyways)

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14
Q

How to set a prescribed burn

A
  • Need good venting, humidity and proper wind
  • Mow along edges of plot to remove fuel
  • Surround plot with multiple water nozzles available and wet perimeter to moisten edge fuel
  • Perform a ‘back-burn’ ie. (against) direction of wind, provides a slow moving, low profile, thorough burn
  • Burn strips 10ft apart and move towards each other, extinguish before moving on
  • Establish burnt areas around trees to prevent upward burning of moss using a drip torch and then hose down
  • Fire is cool-burning, and fast so doesn’t penetrate deep
    (seed bank & acorns survives)
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15
Q

How is prescribed fire effective?

A
  • Seed bank is not penetrated (fire doesn’t reach deep enough) so native seeds survive along with some invasives and rhizomes
  • The solarisation of the blackened land cooks the grasses to kill them if fire doesn’t
  • Photo-monitored plots afterwards to monitor responses of plants
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16
Q

Main parts of burn plan

A
  • Complex plan involves many variables and all must be perfect on burn day
  • Approvals must be in place and cooperation obtained with fire hall especially
  • Humidity good
  • Venting good
  • Wind good and direction good
17
Q

Beacon Hill

A

Thomas Munn

  • GO and CDF and Coastal
  • Work w/ Friends of groups…
  • Work on removing invasives, replanting natives, restoring and maintaining until ‘free to grow’, and outdoor education
  • Add biodiversity wherever possible and collect acorns from other GO stands to add the diversity
  • Start w/ trees and shrubs then forbs/herbaceous
  • Cottonwoods not reproducing (could be due to drought and not enough moisture on ground for seeds to germinate)
  • 10 species @ risk in BH
18
Q

Issues at BH

A
  • People, dogs, and camping are a huge risk
  • Drainage, climate change, and ivy understory affecting swamp
  • Armalleria root rot of old CDF
  • Carpet burweed which likes disturbed ground, spread by campers and people and dogs from sticky burrs (burn to remove from ground)
  • ## Slope destabilization from king tides/storms on bluffs, planted snowberry, rose, and willow to support (some died of salt spray or lack of water), also left broom/gorse (also put log booms to absorb wave impact as important ecological function)
19
Q

Politics of Beacon Hill

A
  • Federal legislation for habitat stewardship program (BH has 10 species @ risk)
  • Aesthetics from ‘stakeholders’ an issue, want elms cut to improve ocean view, cutting them caused bigger issue because now suckers are appearing
  • Park is national heritage landscape, Heritage management plan for after colonization of settlers
  • Beacon Hill Charter: prevents commercial development (programs must operate on donations)
  • circle drive was a race track
  • Osaka partnership trees planted in bad spot and extirpated native
  • Parking lot was removed and restored mostly successfully
  • Keep people out of restoration area with fences
20
Q

Burning at BH

A

2 plots, one burned, one control

  • burning is now a bit easier with new laws
  • Hasn’t been burned in a long time, one time only for research
  • Would like to do more
21
Q

Other functions @ BH

A
  • Grows poinsettias for city offices
  • Garden of edible and medicinal plants
  • Plant deer resistant when possible
  • Many heritage functions are maintained even if they are not environmentally helpful
22
Q

Fort Rodd Hill

A
  • Lots of cultural modification from military and FN
23
Q

FRH, Steaming

A
  • Torch
  • Till
  • Soak
  • Torch again until it steams
  • This boils leftover meristems and seeds