Camosun College Combined Ecosystem Garden

Site Visit: Tuesday, March 8^th, 2022. 10:30-11:20am.

Weather Conditions: It is 8°C with a high of 10°C today. The sky is overcast and it has been raining off and on for the last week. There is a slight breeze coming from the North which is keeping temperatures cool. Seasonally it feels like spring is just beginning.

Physical description of the study area: This area is a semi-managed planted garden of native-like plants. Largely left to itself invasive species have moved in while some native plants still survive. There are walkways that were made throughout the site using large rocks to denote the path. Many of these paths are barely visible with some new ones being forged by deer and human activity. At the top of the hill is a man-made pool that is in disrepair. Rubber matting and stones denoting the outside of the pool are what is left. There is an old wooden fence that denotes the limits of the native plant garden that is slowly decaying. There are many different types of trees scattered over the site although they are not dense. Grasses are the dominant species on the site. The site is often visited by deer and occasionally by students. It has for the most part been left alone and forgotten at the Lansdowne campus.

Approximate size and location: The site is shaped like a parallelogram that is roughly 50×60 meters. It is located on the Camosun College Lansdowne Campus, 3100 Foul Bay Rd, Victoria, BC right next to Foul Bay Road. The approximate GPS location of the middle of the site is 48°26’50.3″N 123°19’19.7″W.

Topography: The site is sloping upwards on three sides as the top of a small hill is situated in the middle of the area. Adjacent to the site is a parking lot (North), road (East), open grassy area (South), and wall of a school building (West).

Vegetation: Garry Oak ecosystem in a Mediterranean-like climate on one side of the site with the other side attempted to be a coast forest ecosystem.

Designation: This is a “native plant” garden that has not been managed for the last 30 years other than having the grass cut down once per summer. Initially it was supposed to represent two of the ecosystems that we have on Vancouver Island. The troubles is that this area does not get enough rain throughout the summer to support some of the coast forest ecosystem vegetation so some of the vegetation is struggling in this area.

Trees, Shrubs and Plants:  Garry Oak are the dominant tree type at the site. Most of the Garry Oak trees are very old probably being here since before the site was developed. There are very few saplings. Also native to this area are the arbutus trees of which there are a couple. There are a combination of planted trees that were added to the site roughly 30 years ago. They include a possible combination of pine, spruce, hemlock, big leaf maple and birch. There are a few clusters of nootka rose and snowberry bushes as well as a couple of planted species that I do not recognize. Against the school wall there are large clumps of sword ferns that are not doing well as there is a lack of water here during the summer months. For native plants there will shortly be some Great Camas growing near the top of the rocky outcrop. There is less and less camas growing on campus every year.

Mosses (Bryophytes): From other work I have done in this area, I have identified the following moss species at the study site. These species have blanketed all surfaces that are not impacted by regular human traffic. They grow in thick mats on the sides of rocky outcrops and also grow on the tree bark and branches. The decaying wooden fence is also home to some mosses however this fence is primarily a haven for liches.

• Growing on trees: Homalothecium nuttallii, Orthotrichum lyellii, Antitrichia californica, Tortula ruralis
• Growing on rocky outcrops: Kindbergia oregana, Dicranum scoparium, Racomitrium canescens
• Growing on decaying fence surrounding study area: Dicranoweisia cirrata, Scleropodium cespitans

Lichens: These microspecies are probably the most native plant diversity that exists in this study site per area. It is amazing that within a single portion of decaying fence over 8 different species of lichen can be growing. These are local species that have been able to exist despite the heavy urbanization that has occurred over the last 100 years.

• Growing on trees: Xanthoria ramulosa, Parmelia sulcate, Usnea species
• Growing on decaying fence surrounding study area: Evernia prunastri, Ochrolechia oregonensis, Chrysothrix granulosa, Cladonia macilenta, Cladonia chlorophaea, Hypogymnia physodes, Platismatia glauca

Invasive Plant Species: Unfortunately, the site has been left on its own and so all of the native grass species are gone with invasive species like Kentucky blue grass now dominating the area. There are a couple of flowers starting to pop up which are gorgeous even though they are invasive. They include both purple crocuses and yellow daffodils. There are smaller purple flowers that have five petals that are also starting to come out but I am not sure what species they are.

Animals: Since this site is impacted by the surround urban areas, there were few animals on site today. There was lots of evidence of deer present with scat, hoof marks, and grass bent as bedding. It is known that there are roughly 7 deer that live on campus. There are several birds that utilize the site. I have often seen annas hummingbirds, robins, chestnut-backed chickadee, dark-eyed juncos, ravens and bewick’s wrens.

Questions:

1. What are and where are the natural species for this area and what could be done to bring more of them back?
2. As this is a managed ecosystem, how does tree succession occur and what sort of management plan is in place for this? Note: most of the Garry Oak tress on campus are in a mature state (>80years) with very few saplings (<15 saplings on the entire property).
3. Are Garry Oak saplings not surviving due to herbivory or due to human management? What plans could be put in place to ensure that there is a healthy level of succession in this area to replace the aging Garry Oak trees?
4. Since most of the native plant species in this area are moss and lichens how can they be used to determine ecosystem health?