This study reports a floristic and landscape survey of Ft. Assiniboine Sandhills Wildland Park. The park spans about 6,600 ha and is located along the north side of the Athabasca River northeast...
Description
This study reports a floristic and landscape survey of Ft. Assiniboine Sandhills Wildland Park. The park spans about 6,600 ha and is located along the north side of the Athabasca River northeast of the hamlet of Ft. Assiniboine. Thirty person-days of fieldwork were conducted in June and August 1997; 48 0.03 ha plots were established and described; miscellaneous observations were made outside the plots. A total of 434 species of plants were found in the study area, of which 20 species (4.59%) are classified as provincially rare. Of the 20 rare species, 6 were vascular plants, 7 were mosses, and 7 were lichens. By taxonomic group, there were 258 vascular taxa, 90 mosses, 14 hepatics, and 74 lichens. The typical 0.03 ha plot contained 50.2 species (s.d. 18.9, median 49.5), with a maximum of 97 species and a minimum of 9 species/plot. Mean number of rare species/plot was 0.771 (s.d. 1.372, median 0). White spruce forests, typically represented by riparian old-growth forests along the...