Parks Canada

Forest canopy or over-story species composition provides useful information on forest tree species present at the stand and landscape level. Much of PEI National Park’s forest areas were cleared for settlement and agriculture prior to park establishment and have regenerated with early...

PEI National Park samples Chlorophyll-a to measure aquatic productivity in four freshwater ponds. The sampling is carried out on an hourly basis between May-October each year using YSI sonde data loggers. In PEINP, all freshwater ponds are shallow (maximum depth is 4.5 m) and non-stratifying....

Purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria) is an alien invasive species that is considered a threat to wetland plant community biodiversity. In PEI National Park, annual monitoring focuses on distribution within the park and individual wetlands, as well as density once detected. Assessing management...

Prince Edward Island with its sandstone bedrock and dynamic sandy beaches is very sensitive to the effects of sea-level rise. The north shore of PEI National Park is exposed to the Gulf of St. Lawrence and large waves and storm surge. By monitoring the nearshore ice, the level of PEI National...

Seasonal flooding and water retention within low lying areas or areas associated with water drainage pathways creates unique and productive habitat within the landscape. The area of wetlands that are regularly flooded and contain substantial amounts of emergent and submerged vegetation is called...

Freshwater ponds are monitored annually for fish species diversity and American eel abundance (catch per unit effort, or CUE), and American eel total length. Hoop traps and gee-type minnow traps are used to sample fish communities in four ponds within PEI National Park. Each pond is sampled over...

Georgian Bay Islands National Park uses point counts to monitor forest birds on Beausoleil Island; this measure focuses on the abundance of five common songbird species and overall diversity.

Hydrological patterns determine water depth, flow intensity, duration, and frequency of flooding, as well as low flow periods. Water levels in streams are not considered stable, but fluctuate seasonally. Hydrologic conditions primarily affect abiotic factors such as habitat structure, temperature...

The removal and restoration of outdated infrastructure has been an ongoing since 2009, with formal tracking and monitoring for forest and coastal ecosystems starting in 2014. The natural function of an ecosystem is highly degraded by above and below ground infrastructure. A five step scale was...

Coastal erosion is the process that removes shoreline material, causing the coastline to retreat inland. The coastal landscape of Prince Edward Island is identified as a region sensitive to sea-level rise. Systematic measurements for coastal erosion were carried out between 2007-2010 using...

Hydrological inputs and outputs determine water depth, flow patterns, and duration and frequency of flooding. The seasonal pattern of changes in a wetland’s water level is called the hydroperiod. Year-to-year variability of hydroperiod is related to climate and site specific conditions....

Annual decay rates in soil humus are monitored in 12 permanent forest plots within PEI National Park using year-to-year dry weight losses of standardized wood pieces (tongue depressors) as a proxy for soil decomposition. Climate change, pollution, dominant vegetation and land-use can all have...

Water temperature is considered a key ecosystem driver in freshwater ponds and streams of PEI National Park. American eel and Eastern Brook trout have been chosen for evaluating pond and stream temperature conditions as they are a common residents in most Atlantic Canada water bodies. Eastern...

In PEI National Park tree health and growth are monitored in 20 long-term permanent forest monitoring plots. These plots were established in 2006 in mature white spruce forests under the Ecological Monitoring and Assessment Network (EMAN) program. The measure reports on tree species dominance,...

Plant Watch is a national program which has been incorporated into ecological integrity monitoring in PEI National Park. The program adds to understanding of how common plant phenology is responding to climate change. PEI National Park monitors the first bloom Julian dates of four species within...

Thousand Islands NP installs temperature data loggers to monitor hourly stream water temperatures at designated stream study sites from spring until fall.

Existing invasive exotic species and the potential introduction of new invasive species pose a threat to forest biodiversity and function. The PEI National Park invasive species composite measure consists of two annual field measurements: the percentage of forest ecosystem with invasive species...

Plant Watch is a national program which has been incorporated into ecological integrity monitoring in PEI National Park. The program adds to understanding of how common plant phenology is responding to climate change. PEI National Park monitors the first bloom Julian dates of five species within...

Stream benthic invertebrates are important indicators of aquatic health and have been monitored in PEI National Park to assess community diversity as well as abundance of pollution tolerant and intolerant taxa in streams. Benthic invertebrates are collected on an annual basis using the sampling...

This measure tracks changes of the lake water level in the coastal ecosystem of GBINP. This is significant in driving ecological processes as well as acting as a stressor in the the park’s costal wetland ecosystem - as it is hydrologically connected to the lake water body, both at the surface and...