Page posted 29 Nov, 2023. To compile scientific literature related to PPP
Forest Ecology: Point Pleasant Park Field Project
Allison Schmidt and Christine Beauchamp, 2011. Proceedings of the Association for Biology Laboratory Education Vol. 32, 127-134, 2011. “On September 28, 2003, Hurricane Juan made landfall near Halifax, Nova Scotia, devastating the city’s coastal urban forest. This recent ecological disturbance presented a unique opportunity to evaluate the effects of disturbance and document the physical and biological changes in the community over time. Six permanent plots were established throughout the park in 2004. In successive years, students visit the plots to measure tree diameter, estimate the percent cover of ground vegetation and make qualitative observations of the physical surroundings. The data is then used to reconstruct the pre-disturbance forest and assess regeneration in different areas of the park.”
The Lichens of Point Pleasant Park, Halifax, Nova Scotia
Anwar Tumur and David H.S. Richardson 2019 in Northeasterm Naturalist/ PDF available here. “The peninsula on which the city of Halifax is located ends in a park that has remained mostly wooded since 1749, despite being periodically disturbed and partially cleared by military activities and storms. This first detailed study of the lichens of Point Pleasant Park is based on collections from almost 300 survey sites, which showed a remarkably diverse flora of 164 species, varying from pollution-tolerant lichens such as Lecanora conizaeoides at the northern end of the park, to members of the Lobarion community at the southern end. In 2003, Hurricane Juan felled a large number of the larger, older trees, which explains the current high proportion of crustose species established on the smaller, younger, trees. The baseline data reported in this study will be of value to follow the succession of lichens on trees as the bark surfaces change from smooth to ridged, with age, over the next few decades. The rich lichen flora of the park also reflects the fact that there are rock out- crops and vertical rock faces. These substrates support a lichen flora of 43 species, and the terricolous habitats are colonized by a further 23 species, including 18 species of Cladonia
Vegetation Structure and Composition within Urban Parks of Halifax Regional Municipality, Nova Scotia, Canada
Rich LaPaix & Bill Freedman 2010 in Landscape and Urban Planning “Plant communities within the parks varied greatly in character, and ranged from remnants of natural forest dominated by native species, to structurally simple anthropogenic habitats comprised mostly of exotics. Historical use and edge influences (from trails and stand boundaries) were significantly associated with variation in vegetative composition within semi-natural forests, particularly reflecting a higher prominence of exotic taxa. The intensity of hurricane disturbance also had a strong influence on affected communities, but was not found to promote exotics. ” Also view R. LaPaix Thesis (full text available). 24 urban parks in Halifax were sampled, including PPP.
Mapping Traditional Bird Knowledge for Urban Bird Conservation in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
Yue Guan, 2010. MES Thesis, Dalhousie University
A Geological Description of Point Pleasant Park
Tobey Neil, 2015. Earth and Environmental Sciences Undergraduate Honours Theses. Includes new observations, photos.
DO WE KNOW BEETLES? LESSONS FROM NEW RECORDS OF CERAMBYCIDAE (COLEOPTERA) FOR NOVA SCOTIA
DAVID B. McCORQUODALE1 and SØREN BONDRUP-NIELSEN.PROC. N.S. INST. SCI. (2004)
Volume 42, Part 2, pp. 209-223. Inlcudes collections from PPP “Recently introduced species may be the focus of eradication or control programs,
such as that against Brown Spruce Longhorns. If we do not know what native species live in a broad area such as a whole province and fulfill similar ecological functions, how can we realistically determine whether attempts to eradicate a newly introduced species will be detrimental to native species — let alone uncommon or rare native species? For example the program to eradicate the Brown Spruce Longhorn from Point Pleasant Park in Halifax undoubtedly is killing numerous native cerambycids and other xylophagous beetles. Will populations of native species be exterminated? Are these species common or rare in the province? Point Pleasant Park is the only place in Nova Scotia where Tetropium schwarzianum is known. If this was a frog or salamander there would be no question that conservation of a rare native species would be granted some weight in the assessment of the eradication program. Our lack of knowledge and expertise in the distribution and abundance of cerambycid beetles compromises our ability to make wise decisions about both conservation and eradication efforts – which may not be uncoupled.
Characterizing post-hurricane coarse woody debris and overstory in Point Pleasant Park, Halifax, NS
JM Kalkreuth, PN Duinker – Unpublished manuscript. SRES 2006
Post-hurricane coniferous regeneration in Point Pleasant Park
JWN Steenberg, PN Duinker – Proceedings of the Nova Scotian Institute of Science, 2010 –
Old Growth among Us: A Characterization of Urban Old-Growth Forests in Halifax
Wendy Margetts. 2015 Earth and Environmental Sciences Undergraduate Honours Theses. Inlcudes sites in PPP
A Second Amelanistic Eastern Red-backed Salamander, Plethodon cinereus, from Nova Scotia, Canada
Ronald W. Russell et al., 2011 in The Canadian Field Naturlist
Post-hurricane vegetation recovery in an urban forest
Scott Burley et al., 2008. In Landscape and Urban Planning Volume 85, Issue 2, 10 April 2008, Pages 111-122 “We examined vegetation responses to recent hurricane disturbance in a temperate mixedwood urban forest: Point Pleasant Park in Halifax, Nova Scotia, which suffered over 70% canopy loss during Hurricane Juan in fall 2003. In 2005 we surveyed 30 paired plots with disturbed and intact tree canopies to assess early regeneration patterns and seed banks. Native early successional tree species dominated seed bank and seedling layers. Soil properties were similar between intact and disturbed urban plots and local reference forests, thus long-term woody debris removal, hurricane disturbance and subsequent clean-up activities have not caused substantial soil degradation. Non-native species were not abundant throughout the park but were concentrated at the park boundary adjacent to residential neighbourhoods. The results of this study suggest that urban forests can show natural successional trajectories after catastrophic disturbance, and management is probably not necessary for forest recovery in Point Pleasant Park. Conversely, intervention to speed up regeneration of shade-tolerant canopy species may be desired by local citizens, so managers will have to balance conflicting values in developing a restoration plan for the park.”
Characterizing the Conifer Density Gradient from the Halifax Peninsula to the Hinterlands of the Halifax Regional Municipality
Levyn R. Radomske, 2023. Project report submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Bachelor of Science in
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE Supervisor: Dr. Peter Duinker