Club Moss Monitoring of Haliburton Highlands Land Trust Properties

Club Moss Monitoring of Haliburton Highlands Land Trust Properties

Anna Dlugosz & Edward Merks

Haliburton Highlands Land Trust, Greg Wickware

Tom Whillans, Environment and Resource Studies/Sciences

2021

on-line

Haliburton County

Environmental Studies, Monitoring

Developing a foundation for the long-term monitoring of club moss biodiversity in the Haliburton Highlands is essential for monitoring the health of the surrounding ecosystem. For each of our recommended species (Lycopodium clavatum, Lycopodium lagopus, and Huperzia lucidula) having a standardized monitoring protocol for when and how to monitor these species should ensure consistency, reduce bias, and maintain accurate data that portray the conditions of the Haliburton Highlands area. We suggest that using a variation of the permanent quadrat monitoring method as described throughout Section 6 in “Monitoring Protocols Utilized by Similar Organizations”, would be the most viable and efficient method. This suggestion is based on its replicability, consistency, cost effectiveness and overall simplicity for homeowners or volunteers to complete themselves. In conclusion, we suggest that possible future studies should be focused on how club mosses are reproducing in the Haliburton Highlands in order to be able to determine when, where, and how these vascular plants are establishing colonies.

Trent University