Project Description
In 2012, key A Rocha volunteers began an inventory study of rooted vegetation, bryophytes, fungi, and slime molds in the riparian forest located at Brooksdale Environmental Centre in South Surrey, BC. The purpose of this project was to improve understanding of the ecosystems at A Rocha’s property and contribute to a national initiative: EMAN (Ecological Monitoring and Assessment Network) to monitor the health of Canadian biodiversity over the long-term. Since A Rocha is committed to protecting and studying the riparian forest on their property in perpetuity, three 20m x 20m plots were established for long-term monitoring and education purposes. Rooted vegetation surveys used EMAN methods, which were created as part of the Canadian Biodiversity Strategy. For the rooted vegetation portion of the study, macroplots were laid out in 2012, sampling occurred in 2013 and 2014, and measures with the least inter-annual variability (e.g. tree age) were recorded last. Additional tree ages were acquired in 2016 and this contributed to reporting. Bryophytes were surveyed in microplots within the existing forest macroplots in the winter and spring of 2014. Surveys for fungi and slime molds resembled those of a scientific BioBlitz, however, they specifically targeted these two groups of species and they were not time constrained, occurring across several days and seasons in 2013 and 2014. A Rocha Canada is grateful for the efforts of these key volunteers and advisors; their study, analyses and reporting provide invaluable understanding of the forest ecosystem at Brooksdale Environmental Centre.