Sandbanks Draft Veg Mgmt Plan - Ontario Parks

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Zones Management Objectives Management Guidelines Vegetation Communities Comments 4.3. Woodlands Forested sections of: • Woodlands Sector (Natural Environment Zone) • Woodlands Campgrounds (Development Zone) • Outlet Campground (Development Zone) • West Point (Historic Zone) • Park Gate (Development Zone) • To establish a continuous tract of woodland through the park • To protect and enhance native forest communities, maintaining natural ecological processes • No further development should be undertaken in this unit without a detailed life science inventory and ecological assessment. • When developments in this unit are approved, plant material and topsoil should be salvaged if possible to be used for restoration. • The 1993 Management Plan recommended a vegetation monitoring program be implemented in conjunction with the development of the new Woodlands Campground. Anecdotal evidence suggests that there has been a decrease in downed woody material (DWD) and forest understorey herbs in the mature woodlots since the installation of the campgrounds. The monitoring plan outlined in Appendix F will quantify changes in DWD and vegetation over time and space. Preliminary results show significant differences in the amount of DWD at 75 m away from campsites and within 25 m. These results highlight the importance of educating campers about the negative ecological impacts of collecting dead wood. It may be appropriate to enact a ban on collecting DWD in campgrounds in deciduous forests in the park. • Invasive species are a serious threat in this unit. Areas where the forest floor is intact and still has native flora are a priority for implementing the measures outlined in section 3.4. • Deciduous Forest Ecosites • Mixed Forest Ecosites • These areas are a priority for protection in the park. • In the long term, the restoration of agricultural areas adjacent to this unit will increase the extent and continuity of forest. 4.4. Agricultural Lands Former & current open agricultural lands of: • MacDonald Farm (Historic Zone) • Woodlands/Agricultural Sector (Natural Environment Zone) • To create more natural forest cover in formerly cultivated areas by implementing the park restoration strategy • To maintain historic landscape patterns of agriculture in the appropriate zones and areas • Restoration will not target any individual species, but will encourage habitat that supports a natural assemblage of wildlife • Restoration will be implemented following the development of a detailed restoration plan (Implementation Schedule G), based on the guiding strategies provided in the 2003 Vegetation Restoration Strategy (N-S Environmental) • Active Agricultural Lands • Retired Agricultural Lands • Hedgerows • The MacDonald Farm historic zone is intended to preserve historic planting and hedgerow patterns. The restoration will not affect the few remaining original hedgerows and fields as determined through analysis of aerial photography. • Woodlands Campground (Development Zone) Sandbanks Vegetation Management Plan 23 of 28 Ontario Parks, SE Zone 2009
5.0 Research and Monitoring Needs Several of the proposed management activities provide significant opportunities for research and monitoring. By monitoring the responses of the earliest phases of management activities, these activities can be modified to improve their results through an adaptive management process. Specific management activities and responses that should be monitored are listed below. Park staff or external researchers can work with the zone ecologist to develop appropriate monitoring protocols if they are not provided in this document. • Removal of non-native conifers from plantations has the potential to have adverse impacts. Site disturbance may stimulate growth of undesirable species, which may inhibit the regeneration of desirable species (Implementation Schedule B) • Experimental control of non-native invasive plants should be conducted in a way that allows the success of control techniques to be assessed, and to determine the rate of spread of invasive species (Appendix D) • The impact of Woodlands Campground on the native understorey in the surrounding forest needs to be assessed (Appendix F) • Restoration of damaged vegetation communities in Outlet Campground should be periodically monitored. • Restoration of former field areas (Implementation Schedule G). Monitoring needs are also detailed in North-South Environmental’s 2003 Vegetation Restoration Strategy. Research and monitoring needs will be promoted to other agencies and institutions whenever possible. When research is conducted in partnership with other agencies or institutions, research permits will require that summaries of findings or copies of final publications be provided to park and zone staff. Sandbanks Vegetation Management Plan 24 of 28 Ontario Parks, SE Zone 2009
Page 1 and 2: Sandbanks Vegetation Management Pla
Page 4 and 5: Summary of Key Management Recommend
Page 6 and 7: 1.0 Introduction This vegetation st
Page 8 and 9: Outlet Sector and the former “sug
Page 10 and 11: 2.0 Vegetation Communities - Descri
Page 12 and 13: sector receive much heavier visitat
Page 14 and 15: Shallow Marsh Ecosites A few small
Page 16 and 17: 2.5. Plantations The current versio
Page 18 and 19: Hazardous Trees and Windthrows Safe
Page 20 and 21: Prescribed burning is the deliberat
Page 22 and 23: Table 3.1. Provincially rare specie
Page 24 and 25: disturbances in accordance with the
Page 26 and 27: The park staff has controlled Purpl
Page 30 and 31: 6.0 Funding/Linkages The projects i
Page 32 and 33: Norris, T. and D. Cuddy. 1990. An E
Page 34 and 35: APPENDIX A - Hazardous Tree Treatme
Page 36 and 37: IMPLEMENTATION SCHEDULE B - Plantat
Page 38 and 39: IMPLEMENTATION SCHEDULE B - Plantat
Page 40 and 41: APPENDIX D - Invasive Species Monit
Page 42 and 43: APPENDIX E - Invasive Species Infor
Page 52 and 53: APPENDIX F - Woodlands Monitoring P
Page 58 and 59: IMPLEMENTATION SCHEDULE G - Restora
Page 66 and 67: APPENDIX H - Sandbanks Species List
Page 72: APPENDIX H - Sandbanks Species List

Sandbanks Draft Veg Mgmt Plan - Ontario Parks

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