Tourism, Parks, Recreation and Culture

INTRODUCTION

Compiled by Lorna Allen, Ecologist, Alberta Natural Heritage Information Centre. May 2006.

The Alberta Natural Heritage Information Centre (ANHIC) was initiated as a joint project of The Nature Conservancy, Canadian Heritage, Alberta Region and Alberta Environmental Protection. The Devonian Botanic Garden of the University of Alberta is an affiliate. The Centre is housed within the Parks and Protected Areas Division of Alberta Tourism, Parks, Recreation and Culture .

The purpose of the Centre is to collect, evaluate and make available information on the elements of natural biodiversity of Alberta – plants, animals, natural plant communities and landscapes. ANHIC develops tracking lists of elements that are considered of high priority because they are rare or special in some way. Tracking lists serve as a focus for data gathering to increase our knowledge and understanding of the elements of Alberta’s biodiversity. The lists are under constant review and are updated periodically. Elements may be added, deleted, or their status may be revised, as data become available.

 

Developing Ecological Community Tracking and Watch List

Natural plant communities are defined as recurring assemblages of plant species; the species occurring together because they respond similarly to a variety of site attributes (Grossman et al 1994). To develop an initial tracking list of natural ecological community elements, publications describing vegetation types in Alberta were reviewed and discussions were held with knowledgeable individuals. Vegetation types that have been described as ‘unusual’, ‘uncommon’, ‘of limited extent’ or ‘encountered infrequently’ by vegetation experts were considered for inclusion on the Ecological Community Tracking List. Vegetation types that have been described as ‘in decline’ or ‘threatened’ by vegetation experts were also considered for inclusion. Only natural communities were considered.

Appended to the Preliminary Tracking List is a “watch list”. This is an initial list of communities that appear to have a restricted distribution in Alberta and for which information will be collected to ascertain trends.

The development of a tracking list for Alberta’s special ecological communities is at a preliminary stage, with many more references to review and many more knowledgeable individuals to contact. More studies are required, as some aspects of Alberta’s vegetation are poorly known. It is hoped that this list will stimulate dialog on the ecological community aspect of biodiversity, help us to move toward some understanding of those types that are unusual and help to identify areas and types for which information is lacking.

 

Conservation Ranks

Communities are ranked on a global, national and sub -national scale of 1 to 5 in a manner similar to the system developed by The Nature Conservancy for ranking species. A rank of G1 (Global 1) indicates that a community is of high conservation concern at the global scale due to rarity, endemism and / or threats, and a rank of G5 (Global 5) indicates a community that is demonstrably widespread and abundant. Similarly, a rank of N1 (National 1) or S1 (Sub-National 1) indicates that the community is of high conservation concern at the national or state / provincial level, respectively.

The two major criteria in determining a community's rank are the total number of occurrences and the total area (hectares) of the community, range-wide. Measures of geographic range, trends in status (expanding or shrinking range), trends in condition (declining condition of remaining hectares), threats and fragility are secondary ranking factors that may be considered when assigning a rank. The criteria used to assign a rank to a particular community are documented using a standardised format. The purpose and process for developing conservation ranks is discussed in greater detail at the following website:
http://www.natureserve.org/explorer/ranking.htm#assessment.The definitions of the provincial conservation ranks for communities are as given in Table 1. The Srank is provided for all communities on the tracking list. Some communities have been cross-walked with types that are also recognized in the United States, and for these, Granks are also provided.

 

Estimating Ranks

While community ranking intends to integrate all available information, it is usually necessary to do a preliminary ranking when the information is incomplete. Although these methods are standardised, applying conservation ranks to communities is nonetheless a subjective process. The amount of information available for each of the ranking factors vary for each community. Ranks are assigned based on the best available information and are refined over time. This ranking procedure provides a reasonable estimate of the community rarity, although some degree of error is inherent.

 

Table 1. Provincial Community Conservation Ranks

RANKS*	DEFINITION
S1	Five or fewer occurrences or very few remaining hectares
S2	Six to 20 occurrences or few remaining hectares
S3	21 to 80 occurrences. May be rare and local throughout its range or found locally, even abundantly, in a restricted range (e.g. a single western province or a physiographic region in the East).
S4	Apparently secure globally (State / Province wide), though it may be quite rare in parts of its range, especially at the periphery.
S5	Demonstrably secure globally (State / Province wide), though it may be quite rare in parts of its range, especially at the periphery.
SNR	Element is not yet ranked
SU	Unrankable—Currently unrankable due to lack of information or due to substantially conflicting information about status or trends.
SNA	Not Applicable —A conservation status rank is not applicable because the element is not a suitable target for conservation activities.
S#S#	Range Rank* —A numeric range rank (e.g., S2S3) is used to indicate any range of uncertainty about the status of the species or community. Ranges cannot skip more than one rank (e.g., SU is used rather than S1S4).
MODIFIERS
Q	Can be added to any global rank to denote questionable taxonomy (e.g. G2Q = 6 to 20 known occurrences, but questions exist concerning the classification of this type). Cannot be used with provincial ranks.
?	Can be added to any rank to denote an inexact numeric rank (e.g. S1? = Believed to be 5 or less occurrences, but some doubt exists concerning status).
* ranks can be combined to indicate a range (e.g. S2S3 = May be between 6 to 80 occurrences throughout Alberta, but the exact status is uncertain). Combined ranks indicate a larger margin of error than ranks assigned a "?" qualifier

 

Organization of the Lists

Ecological communities on the Preliminary Tracking List are organized first by the following physiognomic classes (see Appendix 1 for definitions):

• Forest/Woodland
• Shrubland
• Dwarf Shrubland
• Shrub Herbaceous
• Herbaceous
• Sparsely Vegetated

Within these classes the types are grouped, usually by dominant species, and then listed alphabetically by ecological community. Aquatic plant communities are also included on the tracking list, grouped by the following physiognomic classes:

• Emergent Aquatic
• Floating-leaved Aquatic
• Submergent Aquatic

Communities are named according to the dominant species found in each vegetation layer. The names are kept as short as possible, but sometimes several species may be needed per layer to define the type. Species within the same vegetation layer are separated by dash (-), layers are separated by slash (/). A forest community, for example, may have several layers, with the community name put together as follows:

• tree layer 1/tree layer 2/tall shrub/medium shrub/low shrub-grass-herb-moss-lichen.

Species included in the name are often the dominant species for the layer, although sometimes they are diagnostic species. The naming conventions are further detailed at the following website: http://www.natureserve.org/explorer/classeco.htm#heirarchy

A short description of each type is included, and when available, references are supplied that give more detail on the type. The preliminary provincial rank is given directly opposite the community name. Tables listing the ecological communities on the preliminary tracking list, by natural region, in alphabetical order of scientific name are provided in Appendix 2. Common names for the community types are also included in those tables.

 

Updates and Additional Information

Information on the ANHIC is available through the Internet or by contacting:

Alberta Natural Heritage Information Centre
Alberta Tourism, Parks, Recreation and Culture
2nd Floor, 9820 – 106 St.
Edmonton AB T5K 2J6

We are asking for your help in the development of the ecological community tracking list and in the documentation of community characteristics and locations. Community characterization abstracts (CCAs) which provide additional detail on the tracking list plant communities are available (see Appendix 3 for an example CCA). Comments on this list; requests for CCAs or to be put on the mailing list for updates, should be directed to:

Lorna Allen
Ecologist, Alberta Natural Heritage Information Centre
Alberta Tourism, Parks, Recreation and Culture
2nd Floor 9820 – 106 St.
Edmonton AB T5K 2J6
Telephone (780) 427 6621 Fax 427 5980
Email: lorna.allen@gov.ab.ca

 

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