Master of Science in Ecological Restoration Applied Research Projects | BCIT Institutional Repository

Master of Science in Ecological Restoration Applied Research Projects

Alaksen National Wildlife Area: Reservoir suitability for the introduction of the endangered Western Painted Turtle
Alaksen National Wildlife Area located in Delta, BC is home to freshwater species in the former tidal marsh. The current agricultural landscape has left a legacy of high concentrations of heavy metals, trace amounts of organochlorine pesticides, and excess nutrients within the sediments and water of the brackish Fuller and Ewen Reservoirs. Arsenic and phosphorous exceeded Canadian water quality guidelines, while arsenic, chromium, copper, iron, manganese, nickel, and phosphorus exceeded sediment quality guidelines. There were trace pesticides known to be endocrine disrupters detected in the water and sediment, and combined low level toxicity effects are a concern. A preliminary ecological risk assessment on the metals was completed and the results indicate that there is a possibility of adverse effects for benthic invertebrates, but negligible risk for endangered Western Painted Turtles. However, compounding all the ecosystem stressors along with rising sea levels leads ANWA not an ideal place to introduce this species., © Darian Weber, 2019. All rights reserved. No part of this work covered by the copyright heron may be reproduced or used in any form or by any means – graphics, electronic, or mechanical including photocopying, taping, or information storage and retrieval systems – without written permission of the author., Western Painted turtles, ecotoxicology, risk assessment, agricultural reservoir, heavy metal, endocrine disruptors
Assessing the allelopathic effect of invasive phragmites australis on sida hermaphrodita and ammannia robusta; two species at risk in Southern Ontario
In Ontario, invasive Phragmites australis threatens to displace many species including the endangered species Sida hermaphrodita and Ammannia robusta. Germination and growth assays measured the effect of P. australis aqueous extracts from the leaves, rhizomes, and roots on S. hermaphrodita and A. robusta. Germination was inhibited by some of the treatments, but growth was not. The tissues inhibited germination differently for S. hermaphrodita (leaf> rhizome> root) compared to A. robusta (root> rhizome> leaf) indicating that the allelopathic effect was species-specific. However, the laboratory results show that allelopathic effects are weak. This result is consistent to the field study results showing an increase in S. hermaphrodita area and density over time. Results from this project inform management options by indicating which part of the plant needs to be targeted. In this case, all the tissues had some phytotoxic effects, indicating that biomass may need to be removed or long-term management implemented., Invasive Species, Species at Risk, Seed Germination, Seedling Growth, Allelopathy
Ecocultural restoration of a Coastal Root Garden on Tl’chés (Chatham Island), B.C.
Tl’chés is the Lekwungen name for the Chatham Islands — an archipelago located southeast of Victoria, British Columbia. Tl’chés is a central place in the traditional territory of the Lekwungen peoples, and today it is reserve land of the Songhees First Nation. This landscape was traditionally managed by prescribed burning and the cultivation of native plants. However, in the early 1950's, Lekwungen peoples left the archipelago, due to a lack of potable water and since then, the landscape has degraded drastically. The introduction of non-native plants has resulted in threats to the ecological, cultural resilience, and diversity of the landscape. My research focuses on developing a restoration plan for springbank clover in the coastal root garden. My restoration approach focuses on incorporating a Songhees-informed approach to restoration by integrating past practices and knowledge with the aim of answering: how to best restore the springbank clover population on Tl’chés?, Eco-cultural restoration, coastal root gardens, traditional ecological knowledge (TEK), Songhees First Nation, cultural keystone place (CPK)
The effects of canopy closure on precipitation throughfall
Since the 1860s the watershed of Spanish Bank Creek has experienced many ecological disturbances due to extensive old-growth logging and urban development. Most notably, these disturbances have altered the vegetative composition and hydrology throughout the watershed. The historic old-growth forest has been replaced by species typical of earlier seral stages, as well as invasive species such as English ivy (Hedera helix). This disturbed vegetation mosaic is characterized by an arrested ecological trajectory that perpetuates degraded conditions. Urban development has eliminated over a third of the historic length of Spanish Bank Creek and storm drains were installed to direct residential drainage into the stream. The combination of a disturbed forest and degraded hydrology intensifies runoff and associated sediment transport, and decreases the hydraulic retention time of the watershed. This has led to a significant decline in abundance of chum, coho, and cutthroat salmonids in Spanish Bank Creek. Previous research has established how trees partition precipitation into throughfall, stemflow, and interception, however there are few studies examining the effects of canopy closure on throughfall within the context of ecological restoration. Thus, the objective of this paper is to determine if increasing canopy closure can be used as a restoration model to decrease throughfall, and consequently increase the hydraulic retention time of the watershed. Results indicated that greater canopy closure was associated with decreased precipitation throughfall. From these results I formulated a restoration goal and several treatments that would increase canopy closure, and also ameliorate the degraded vegetative composition and hydrology of the watershed. The restoration treatments prescribed in this paper constitute five years of physical enhancements from which self-sustaining biological processes will continue to restore ecosystem function and structure. Successful implementation of these restoration treatments will positively affect regional biota, as well as users of the Pacific Spirit Regional Park who come to recreate, learn, and connect.
The effects of tree thinning and broadcast burning on the quality of ungulate winter range: a case study within a Southern Interior Forest in British Columbia
Food limitation on ungulate winter range (UWR) has been a suspected factor in the regional declines of Odocoileus hemionus (mule deer) in the Pacific Northwest. Accordingly, enhancing browse resources in this critical habitat is increasingly recommended. At a dry forest site in Southeast B.C. called Fiva Creek (IDF dm1), I investigated the effects of two commonly prescribed methods for enhancing browse production: tree thinning and prescribed burning. Treatments were implemented between 2005–2008 and included three levels of thinning (all burned) and control areas (uncut and unburned). The response variables I measured included browse cover, canopy closure, security cover, visibility, and pellet abundance. I also evaluated browsing pressure on the indicator plant, Saskatoon (Amelanchier alnifolia). Using linear mixed-effects ANOVA tests, I assessed how thinning (with follow-up burning) influenced forest and vegetation properties. There was no evidence of a treatment effect on browse production; however, browsing pressure was very high across the site (i.e., > 80% of A. alnifolia twigs showed evidence of browsing). Additionally, canopy cover was below recommended levels in all thinned treatments. My results suggested that restoration treatments actually diminished the quality of UWR at Fiva Creek. Further investigations are needed to develop effective UWR restoration methods., Mule deer, ungulate winter range, thinning, prescribed fire, restoration ecology
Geochemical and biological response of an intertidal ecosystem to localized restoration efforts
Geochemical and biological attributes of three intertidal areas in the Squamish Estuary with different levels of disturbance (low, medium, and high) were assessed to determine short-­term ecosystem responses to localized restoration efforts conducted one year previously on a former log handing site. Sediment and macroinvertebrate variables were analyzed among sites to characterize the ecosystems response and provide insight on the nature and process of an assisted successional trajectory. Invertebrate composition and biomass were lowest on the site with the highest level of disturbance. The high disturbance site also contained the highest percentage of fine sand (0.0067 mm to 0.25 mm). This confirms that in the short term there are distinct site responses to disturbance and ameliorative restoration efforts – even in a highly dynamic estuarine environment. The medium site contained more invertebrates than the low disturbance site indicating that something other than localized disturbance is affecting the invertebrate community on the low site. All sites exhibited a less-­rich and less diverse invertebrate community than that of historical records (circa. 1970-­1980). Invertebrate community in the east delta today is more typical of estuarine environments with higher salinity levels -­ which indicates more widespread levels of disturbance throughout the Estuary is affecting the study sites. This study highlights the importance of considering temporal and spatial scales when setting restoration goals, objectives and creating monitoring plans. Additional monitoring of sediment, invertebrate, and other variables on restored and reference sites is recommended to characterize typical recolonization and reassembly attributes of restoring intertidal estuaries in coastal British Columbia. This would provide evidence and rigor in determining effective restoration techniques and management strategies for a critical and increasingly threatened ecosystem., Macroinvertebrates, Restoration, Sediment, Benthic ecology, Estuaries, Intertidal flats
Restoration of old forest characteristics in a 1957 spacing trial in the Malcolm Knapp Research Forest, British Columbia
Forest managers are interested in determining how stands that have been logged might be managed to restore features characteristic of forests in later-stages of development. Incorporating forest restoration into forest management enables the use of forest-management skills, such as silviculture and regeneration techniques, to manage individual stands for multiple objectives. Therefore, I performed a comparative analysis of large trees, very-large trees, large snags, very-large snags, and large CWD among three stand types (i.e., 60-yr-managed, 140-yr-natural, and 500-yr-natural stands). The 140-yr-natural and 500-yr-natural stands were used as reference conditions to guide the restoration of a 59-yr-managed spacing trial. All attributes differed among stand-types; however, large snags were the most similar attribute between 140-yr-natural and 500-yr-natural stands. Large trees were the fastest attribute to recover in 60-yr-managed stands, however mean values among stand-types still differed. This study highlights the potential of restoring old-natural attributes in younger-managed stands to increase ecological resiliency., forest, natural, managed, prescription, restoration, old-natural attributes
Restoring a culturally eutrophic shallow lake: Case study on Quamichan Lake in North Cowichan, British Columbia
Quamichan Lake is a culturally eutrophic shallow lake located in North Cowichan on Vancouver Island in British Columbia. My research project examined the current trophic status and water quality of Quamichan Lake and investigated a number of watershed and in-lake restoration methods to return the lake back to mesotrophic (nutrient rich) conditions. Based on the data collected, Quamichan Lake is currently in a hypertrophic state caused by excess phosphorus inputs that leads to Cyanophyte phytoplankton species (cyanobacteria) to dominate during the summer. Eutrophication is both an environmental and human health issue as cyanobacteria algal blooms can disrupt the lake ecology and are toxic to most mammals. The goal of my research was to provide the Municipality of North Cowichan and Vancouver Island Health Authority with a comprehensive restoration plan to contribute to the restoration of Quamichan Lake and other lakes in southern Vancouver Island that are experiencing cultural eutrophication., © Kathleen E Moore, 2019. All rights reserved. No part of this work covered by the copyright heron may be reproduced or used in any form or by any means – graphics, electronic, or mechanical including photocopying, taping, or information storage and retrieval systems – without written permission of the author., Eutrophication, Limnology, Watershed Management, Cyanobacteria, Restoration
Restoring hydro-impacted wetlands for secretive marsh birds
Secretive marsh birds can be difficult to detect and are dependent on wetlands, leaving them vulnerable to wetland loss or alteration. This study examines the influence of management-altered hydrological regimes on five secretive marsh bird species in the West Kootenay and Columbia Wetlands in British Columbia, Canada. Focal species occupied wetlands with less frequently altered hydrological regimes more often and in greater numbers. Occupancy models suggested that woody vegetation, tall vegetation, and open water are important drivers of occupancy for these species. Wetlands most frequently experiencing heavily altered hydrological regimes had more open water and less tall vegetation, both of which were negatively associated with wetland occupancy. Water management operations may be promoting altered vegetation communities within these wetlands, in turn promoting lower occupancy of secretive marsh bird species. Restoration recommendations include: prioritizing lower elevation wetlands, limiting woody vegetation encroachment, and experimentally restoring the hydrological regime of affected wetlands., © Ashleigh M. Westphal 2019. All rights reserved. No part of this work covered by the copyright heron may be reproduced or used in any form or by any means – graphics, electronic, or mechanical including photocopying, taping, or information storage and retrieval systems – without written permission of the author., secretive marsh bird, Kootenays, British Columbia, hydro, water management, wetlands
Splendor without spoil: restoring tidal channel habitat on Swishwash Island
Restoration of estuarine and tidal marsh habitats in Canada’s Fraser River estuary is imperative for the conservation and recovery of select depressed Pacific salmon populations and the many species that depend on them. In the 1930’s through to 1940’s, dredge spoils were deposited on East Swishwash Island, permanently altering the small delta island’s geomorphology and ecology. The purpose of this study was two-fold: 1.) Confirm and describe fish use of remnant tidal channel habitat on Swishwash Island, using juvenile Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) as a focal species and 2.) Quantify the historical tidal channel loss on East Swishwash Island and potential for restoration. Tidal channels and adjacent marshes were sampled for realized fish use, plant distributions, basic water parameters, and large woody debris (potential predator refugia). Remote data sets (historical and present-day) were used to quantify historic, current, and future tidal channel density scenarios. Swishwash tidal channels were utilized during the sampling period by Chinook salmon with comparable relative abundances and fork lengths. Tidal channel capacity and marsh habitat have been reduced by 50% on East Swishwash Island due to spoil deposition and marsh erosion. Based on reference conditions derived from undisturbed and historic marsh islands, restoring island elevations could facilitate the addition of 1 km of marsh edge while increasing tidal channel area on East Swishwash Island by nearly 200%. This would provide important habitat in a fragmented distributary of the Fraser River estuary to species of fish and wildlife, including 3 ecotypes of juvenile Chinook salmon., © Kyle Armstrong, 2019. All rights reserved. No part of this work covered by the copyright heron may be reproduced or used in any form or by any means – graphics, electronic, or mechanical including photocopying, taping, or information storage and retrieval systems – without written permission of the author., Estuaries, Chinook, Oncorhynchus tshawytscha, rearing, restoration, mitigation, tidal channels
A Test of ARP Topic Categories
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