Ecology and Conservation of the Eastern Mountain Avens in Nova Scotia

The ecology of the Eastern Mountain Avens (Geum peckii), Endangered in Canada and Imperiled globally, was examined on Brier Island, Nova Scotia, to inform its conservation management and prospect for long-term survival in situ in Canada. Over ten years of study, a picture emerged of a plant adapted to growth in naturally stressed wetland habitats where the interspecific competition (e.g., from shrubs) is low. In-field measurements and experimentation at the adult (transplantations) and regenerative (pollination and germination) stages have provided an understanding of the survival strategy of the plant, and how this may be affected by alterations in drainage, nutrient availability, disturbance and climate (temperature). In the Avens’ principal Canadian habitat, the evolution of the landscape of Big Meadow Bog on Brier Island created a lagg (peatland margin) where the Avens thrived in low biomass, waterlogged fens. In 1958, ditching lowered the water table which brought on a suite of ecological changes, including the colonization of the bog by thousands of Herring Gulls, increasing nutrient inputs. Our studies have informed the restoration of the bog’s hydrology as well as an adaptive management approach to augmenting the population of the Avens. They have also, in combination with the monitoring of climate change on the island, raised the specter that without interventions and ex situ techniques, the future climate and resultant shrubification of its remaining habitat could eradicate Avens from Canada.