Coastal heathland communities have been found to have greater species richness and variation in community type than previously thought. The rare plants found in heathlands are not restricted to any particular community type. Rather, rare coastal plants in Nova Scotia occur in a wide variety of community types. Coastal heathlands add diversity to the mostly forested landscape of Nova Scotia and provide habitat for rare species.
Coastal heathlands are complex habitats, with community types and species not found elsewhere in Nova Scotia. Species richness is also high in these communities, compared to some forest and wetland communities in the province. Rare species occurrences are not necessarily correlated with specific community types. Both high- and low-shrub coastal heathlands add diversity to the predominantly forested landscape of the province and should be of conservation concern. Given the various threats to these ecosystems observed during the course of this study (Plant Communities within Atlantic Coastal Heathlands in Nova Scotia), conservation concern is especially warranted.
Source: 2013 Northeastern Naturalist Vol. 20, No. 4 2013 NORTHEASTERN NATURALIST 20(4):694–709 Plant Communities within Atlantic Coastal Heathlands in Nova Scotia Robert P. Cameron and Soren Bondrup-Nielsen
“Lands and Forestry Minister Iain Rankin says the land in Owls Head provincial park is not as ecologically valuable as other land the province intends to protect.” (CBC interview on December 18, 2019). “There isn’t high biodiversity value when you compare [it] to other pieces of land that we’ve advanced [for legal protection],” said Rankin…
Geeze, who are you gonna believe? I’m putting my money on Cameron and Bondrup-Nielsen.
Stop the sale. Protect Owl’s Head Provincial Park.
