Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
•. Snow.regime.(depth.and.duration)
•. Local.measures.of.songbirds.and.small.mammals
Some. of. these. measures. will. be. annual. (such. as. the. active-layer. monitoring,. soil.
temperature,.and.snow.regime).and.can.be.conducted.somewhat.by.park.technical.
staff,.and.others.will.be.measured.on.a.5-year.basis.(vegetation.change,.songbirds,.
and. small. mammals). and. will. require. professional. staff. to. conduct. the. sampling..
Analyzed.together,.these.inter-related.measures.are.linked.to.conceptual.ecosystem.
models.and.are.designed.to.“tell.a.story”.of.ecological.change.in.the.targeted.focal.
ecotypes,.should.change.be.occurring..A.similar.suite.of.measures.would.be.moni-
tored.in.other.EI.Indicators..For.example,.stream.discharge,.water.quality,.benthic.
invertebrates,.and.ish.community.could.be.monitored.at.long-term.sample.locations.
along.targeted.stream.reaches.
This. system. of. intensively. sampled,. long-term. sample. sites. can. be. supported.
by. extensive. sampling. using. photographic. techniques,. and. by. observational. data.
designed.to.observe.and.record.important.ecological.changes.occurring.across.the.
park.landscape,.such.as.the.introduction.of.invasive.species,.plant.die-back.or.dis-
ease,.ire.occurrence,.mass-wasting.events,.or.presence.of.new.animal.species..Parks.
staff.on.patrols,.indigenous.people.on.the.land,.and.possibly.park.visitors.could.be.
trained.to.record.these.observations,.either.through.directed.systematic.surveys.or.
during. the. course. of. their. travels. through. the. park.. This. approach. would. extend.
ground-based. ecological. surveillance. to. a. wide. area. of. the. park,. and. important.
observations.would.be.investigated.and.potentially.become.the.focus.of.more-struc-
tured.monitoring.
A. second. important. component. of. park. monitoring. programs. will. be. EI. mea-
sures.of.population.trends.in.focal.species.important.to.park.EI,.including.caribou,.
moose,.polar.bears.and.other.carnivores,.songbirds,.colonial.seabirds,.muskrat,.and.
migratory.shore.birds.and.waterfowl..Other.supporting.measures.will.follow.trends.
in.important.ecological.processes.such.as.rates.of.coastal.erosion,.stream.discharge,.
and.sea.ice..Much.of.this.work.is.ongoing.with.federal.and.territorial.partners.and.
will.be.included.in.park.monitoring.programs.as.they.are.developed..Where.appro-
priate,.focal.ecosystems.selected.for.long-term.monitoring.of.ecosystem.productivity.
and.plant.species.change.can.be.linked.to.key.habitat.components.of.these.species.to.
provide.a.more.comprehensive.picture.of.ecological.change.for.focal.species.
To.support.the.ground.observations.and.extend.monitoring.over.the.entire.area.of.
the.park,.a.range.of.common.remote-sensing-based.EI.measures.are.being.developed.
for.northern.national.parks.through.the.ParkSPACE.program..This.is.a.cooperative.
program. funded. by. the. Canadian. Space. Agency,. where. Parks. Canada. ecologists.
are. working. with. remote-sensing. scientists. from. the. Canadian. Centre. for. Remote.
Sensing.to.develop.protocols.for.remote.sensing-based.EI.measures,.and.to.imple-
ment.an.operational.system.for.delivering.these.EI.measures.for.northern.national.
parks..Remotely.sensed.EI.measures.being.developed.include.changes.in.the.area.of.
tundra,.forest,.wetland,.and.coastal.ecotypes;.changes.in.lake.surface.area;.changes.
in. ecosystem. productivity. and. growing. season;. changes. in. active-layer. depth. and.
permafrost;.changes.in.the.phenology.of.lake.and.river.ice;.and.changes.in.glacier.
area.. As. additional. components. of. ParkSPACE,. baseline. satellite. data. are. being.
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