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I have selected four areas and they have been chosen for its ethnobotanical potential for harvesting specific plant species utilized and managed by the surrounding indigenous community. I have provided a list of plant species that will be targeted in my survey and will be the keystone species surveyed. Each stratum has specific plant species to be located and recorded.

I will be recording this data and conduct cultural heritage resource surveys of cultural values, including ethnobotanical, wildlife, cultural and ethno archeological resources (hunting grounds, CMTS)

I will assess the current plant community and any potential impacts.

For my study I have decided to analyze the ethnobotanical potential of the study area within my Nation. The survey will determine the current plant community, plant frequency and abundance. I will also collect data on the specific significant native species of interest; these are species that have been harvested for generations upon generations by the Syilx People.

Utilizing previous plant research in the community and knowledge of the study area as well with elder’s knowledge from the community I have targeted specific habitat types in the search for the selected keystone species identified. Elder’s knowledge indicated that plant species is well known and various of areas provide harvesting of medicine and foods for the indigenous people.

The Keystone species I have selected and four areas of study are..

1. Canopy Areas (Douglas-fir forest cover or Interior Douglas-fir Biogeoclimatic Zone).
Keystone Species Selected: Wild Onion, Soapberry, Red Osier Dogwood Field Mint, Tiger Lily, White Bog Orchid, Willow Spp., Spring Beauty, Saskatoon, Chocolate Lily, Paper Birch, Oregon grape, and Raspberry.
2. Grasslands (open areas or Bunchgrass Biogeoclimatic Zone)
Key Stone Species Selected: Saskatoon, Balsam Root, Sagebrush, Mariposa Lily, Big Sagebrush, Cactus, Field Mint, Fern-leaved Desert Parsley, Shrubby Penstemon Giant Wildrye, Yellow bell, Tarragon and Spring Beauty
3. Riparian Area
Key Stone Species Selected: Black Cottonwood, Cattail, Cows Parsnip, Douglas Maple, Field Mint, Bull Rush, Paper Birch, Red Osier, Dogwood, Raspberry, Saskatoon, Stinging Nettle, Water Birch, White Bog Orchid, and Willow.
4. Meadows (high-elevation opening in forest)
The meadow section of the footprint is surveyed specifically for spring beauty, due to the elders’ knowledge indicating that these areas were very productive harvesting sites. These areas were also surveyed later on as the canopy stratum with the same keystone species listed used to determine species frequency and abundance

Referring to my Post 1 and my interest in the CPC/DPC of my study area , as well as the current state of traditional foods/medicines valued by the Syilx People. I will be referring to my personal experience in Cultural Heritage Resources in the Forestry Industry, My Traditional Beliefs as a Syilx Woman, My Grandmothers and Grandfathers Traditional teachings of the Timxw (The Land) and incorporating my knowledge I’ve been studying in Western Science.

I will also refer to a couple of papers..

Wright, Justin P, Clive G Jones and Alexander S Flecker (2002). An ecosystem engineer, the beaver, increases species richness at the landscape scale. Ecosystems Ecology 132: 96–101
Barrett, S.w., and Arno, S.F. 1982. Indian Fires as an Ecological Influence in the Northern Rockies. Journal of Forestry 80 (10). Pg. 647-651.
Pilarski, Michael. 1987. Native American Ecosystem Interaction. Restoration Forestry. An International Guide to Sustainable Forestry Practices. Kivaki Press. Pg. 280.

Good Afternoon,

The area I have selected to observe is an area of interest/traditional value for the Syilx Nation People (Okanagan Nation) In the Syilx Nation we are fortunate to have very diverse ecosystems and low to high elevations. The area I have chosen is endangered and affected by natural disturbances and is very valuable for traditional medicines and foods.

In this study I will look at the four areas of interest, The Canopy (IDF), Grasslands, Meadow and The Riparian Area.

Possible questions for my study

1. What is the Current Plant Community? What is the Desired Plant Community (CPC, DPC)
2. What are the affects of Cattle grazing on this ecosystem?
3. What is the current status of the traditional foods/medicines for the Syilx People?

I definitely experienced some issues with my experiment and was unable to course-correct due to changing field conditions.  I collected my field data in August and then did not proceed again until winter.  Big mistake!!!  As my experiment was concerned with soil moisture content, and I did not measure this adequately in the summer, I was unable to get better data when the ground froze and was covered with 3 feet of snow.

As I worked through the experiment a little more, I think it would have been more interesting to assess biodiversity among shorelines more generally instead of specifically thinking about 1 species (Labrador Tea).  This is my first time designing and implementing a field experiment and it has made me appreciate the breadth of knowledge and skills that it takes to collect sound data and then clearly communicate that to readers.  I have always understood that developing ecological theory is a slow evolution that takes skill and patience.  Performing my own experiment has made me realize that it is possible to do your own research and it doesn’t have to be complicated; however, the science can get really complex if you are interested in a higher level of research.  Support and guidance would be key in next-level analyses.

I had a very difficult time trying to come up with a graph as I did a presence/absence quadrat and did not measure soil moisture content very precisely.  I definitely should have gotten quantitative values for the soil moisture content instead of using a general description.  I wanted to do a graph, but ended up making a table for lack of better ideas.

As I had to look long and hard at my field notes to decide what kind of graph or table to make, I ended up drawing a couple of unexpected conclusions about my data.  Initially I was focused on simply the presence/absence of Labrador Tea but I noticed that biodiversity in general was higher within the wetlands than at the more extreme dry or flooded areas.  Optimal soil moisture content promotes greater biodiversity.  I also noticed that the Labrador Tea was the most prevalent species, indicating it may be a stronger competitor than a lot of other wetland vegetation.  The general trend for biodiversity was unexpected, as I was only planning to make conclusions about optimal growth conditions for Labrador Tea.

Further exploration would entail more precise field measurements of soil moisture content.  Of course sampling more quadrats and identifying more species would give greater detail if I wanted to look at biodiversity more generally.

My project examines the role that soil moisture has on the abundance and density of Labrador Tea in wetlands surrounding two small lakes.  The wetlands range in saturation from “flooded” (pooling water all season) to well-drained and range in distance from the lake shorelines.  The ecological processes that my hypothesis touches on is competition.  Plants that are stronger competitors and can thrive in a range a moisture levels are more likely to be able to survive in lake shorelines where changing water levels, wave action and ice scour are routine.  The ideas that underpin my research are that flooding intensity and duration are predictors of biological diversity and lake shoreline vegetation, therefore, is determined by changing water levels.  Another idea is that Labrador Tea, specifically, is common in wetland communities but not in well-drained or permanently flooded areas.

Three key words:  wetlands, shorelines, Ledum groenlandicum

I have sampled exactly as I described in the previous post: semi-randomly selected 5 shoreline sites on Eskers Lake West and Eskers Lake East 80-100m apart and within those 5 sites haphazardly sampled 3 1mX1m quadrats giving me 15 replicates.

The problems that I encountered were site access issues and difficulty identifying plant species.  In the end, the issue of site access may not be terrible.  The western shorelines of Eskers Lakes are at a lower elevation and have more wetlands while the northern and eastern shorelines are fairly steep and formed by eskers and would require boat access.  I am interested in soil moisture as the predictor variable so sampling well-drained steeper locations would not be as pertinent to the research.  As I expected, the plant identification was difficult for certain species so I made generalizations in my field notes (ie. “sedges” over “beaked sedge” or “water sedge”).

I have noticed that the Labrador Tea always co-exist with the Black Spruce.  Perhaps the presence of Black Spruce indicates higher soil moisture and the Labrador Tea is tolerant to a wide range of shade conditions.