Restoration management plan for the UFV campus forest
Sierra Schwab, Dr Sharon Gillies
University of the Fraser Valley

Management Plan Foundations

The Solution

The Situation

Why should UFV restore their campus forest?

1. Improvements in human disturbance

• The Coastal Western Hemlock zone only comprises
.2% of the worlds global forests

Desired outcome
• A pathway that limits soil compaction
• Increase education and awareness about
ecosystem restoration

• Restoration could improve UFV student’s health and
well-being
• There is evidence to suggest low ecosystem function
within the campus forest

Actions required

Reference Site

Target Site

• Remove gravel from current trail pathways
• Construct a boardwalk above the old trail
• Incorporate education boards

Goals
Similarities
✓ Plant dominance
✓ Soil nutrient levels
✓ Shannon’s diversity index
✓ Plant richness

• Restore a disturbed forest
• Enhance ecosystem function
• Incorporate educational and social aspects
in the campus forest

• Soil nutrient analysis

• Soil composition

• Percent canopy coverage

• Plant identification

Desired outcome

Differences
✓ Soil ph
✓ Soil composition
✓ Plant evenness
✓ Plant composition

Methodology
• Belt transects

2. Improvements in natural management

Figure 1. Relative dominance of sixteen plant species along three belt transects at the
Target site. Richness and evenness differences between the Target and Reference sites are
displayed in Table 1 using two sample t-tests, p<.05, and n=3.

• 15-min. observational walk

Species ID
3 - Sow thistle (Sonchus oleraceus)
6 - Cleavers (Gallium aparine)
9 - Robert’s geranium (Geranium robertiannum)
12 - Barn yard grass (Echinochloa)

• Reduce the total weed coverage

Actions required
• Cutting/hand pulling to prevent soil
disturbance

Figure 2. Relative dominance of seventeen plant species along three belt transects at
the Reference site. Study sites have uncorrelated plant identification numbers.

Richness

Evenness Shannon’s Index

Reference Site (Mt. Thom)

9.6

1.5

0.42

Target Site (UFV)

7.6

0.6

0.31

P-value

0.28

0.03

0.29

Species ID
4 - Robert’s geranium (Geranium robertiannum)
7 - Lady fern (Athyrium filix-demina)
10 - Sword fern (Polystichum munitum)
16 - Vine maple (Acer circinatum)

3. Improvements in biotic/abiotic interactions
Desired outcome

Table 1

• Increase native species
• Increase species evenness
• Indirectly enhance water capacity, soil biota activity,
soil infiltration rate

Ecosystem function analysis
(of the target site)

Target site
(Chilliwack UFV campus)

Reference site
(Mt. Thom)

• Higher weed dominance

• Lower bacterial/fungi activity

• Lower ph

• Slow infiltration rate

• Less vegetation cover

Leads to…

• Lower soil biota

• Alluvial influenced

• Glacial influenced

Actions required

• Lower available water capacity
• Non-native plant competition
Maidenhair fern (native)

Bard yard grass (invasive)

Glossary

• High human disturbance • Low human disturbance
(military base in WW2)

• Re-introduce species such as: sword fern, lady fern,
red elderberry, and wild Pacific bleeding heart
• Add habitat features such as: snags, coarse woody
debris, and nurse logs
Weed species: any species that has been recognized by the BC Conservation Data Centre of BC flora

(local hiking trail)

Available water capacity: the minimum amount of water soil can retain and make available for plant use
Infiltration rate: the speed at which water moves through the soil
Alluvial soils: deposited by surface water that is formed by flooding

Why was Mt. Thom chosen as the reference site?
American trailplant (native)

• Similar conifer species & age to
the UFV forest (82-92 years old)
• Similar crown closure (60-70%)

Columbia spotted frog

Various weed species

Nurse log

Robert’s geranium (invasive)

Yellow-spotted millipede
Common nipplewort (invasive)

Wild ginger (native)

References
1. Department of Biology. (2015, Fall). Bio 210 lab manual, BCL University of the Fraser Valley.
2. Pojar, j, & Demarchi, d. (1991). 6: Coastal western hemlock zone. In Ecosystems of British Columbia (pp. 95–111). Victoria: crown publications Inc.
3. Pojar, J., & Meidinger, D. (1991). BC: The Environmental setting. In Ecosystems of bc (pp. 39–67). Victoria: BC ministry of forests.
4. Holloway. (2019, January 14). Soil Tests and Soil Reports: Soil Amendments for Clay Soil and Sandy Soil. Retrieved from https://hollowayag.com/resources/soil-reports/
5. Lousier, J., & Parkinson, D. (1976). Litter decomposition in a cool temperate deciduous forest. CAN. J.Bot, 54, 419–436.
6. Munoz-Rojas, M. (n.d.). Soil quality indicators: critical tools in ecosystem restoration. Sustainable Soil Management, 5, 47–52.
7. Sanborn, P., Lamontague, L., & Hendershot, W. (2011). Podzolic soils of Canada: Genesis, distribution, and classification. Can.J.Soil Sci, 91, 843–880.
8. Stevens, V. (1997). The ecological role of coarse woody debris: an overview of the ecological importance of Cwd in B.C. forests. Victoria, BC: Production resources.
9. Taiz, T., Zeigar, E., Moller, I., Murphy, A. (2018). Fundamentals of Plant Physiology. Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press.
10. Zhang, D., Hui, D., & Zhou, G. (2008). Rates of litter decomposition in terrestrial ecosystems: global patterns and controlling factors. Plant Ecology, 1(2), 85–93.