Supervised by:

Francis Gauthier (Associate Member)

Co-supervised by:

Guillaume de Lafontaine (Regular Member (Co-researcher))

Research project description

The impacts of rock climbing on the plant communities of the limestone cliffs of Bic

Introduction

Cliffs can be considered as island ecosystems due to their isolation in the landscape and their vertical structure. Therefore, they serve as refuges for species well adapted to abiotic stresses caused by the specific conditions and characteristics of the wall, such as the type of rock, microtopography, orientation, etc. The maritime influence on coastal cliffs adds an additional constraint on the species present in these environments. The species richness and relative abundance of species on cliffs depend on several geomorphological variables. These elements are also essential for the practice of climbing, a sport that is increasingly popular worldwide, including in Quebec. This represents the primary anthropogenic disturbance that could alter the natural processes determining patterns of plant biodiversity on cliffs.

Objectives

The project's objectives are to (1) document the diversity and spatial distribution of plant species on cliffs, (2) evaluate the effects of climbing on the diversity and spatial distribution of plant communities, and (3) develop a statistical model to identify areas more suitable for climbing while avoiding critical areas of plant biodiversity. The development of an outdoor climbing route planning tool will be made possible through this project. This tool will allow for the selection of routes that are most likely to be interesting for climbing while preserving a representative biodiversity of limestone coastal cliffs in Quebec.

Study Sites

The cliffs under study are located outside the eastern boundary of Bic National Park in the Bas-Saint-Laurent region of eastern Quebec. The walls form a rocky escarpment approximately 80 meters in height and two kilometers in length along the shoreline of the St. Lawrence Estuary and can therefore be considered coastal cliffs. These cliffs are composed of sandstone and limestone conglomerate. Their orientation is northward, and the slope is relatively steep.

Material and methods

To achieve the project's objectives, high-resolution aerial photographs will be used to extract various characteristics of the vegetation cover, including phenological stages, in one-meter by one-meter analysis cells. A more in-depth characterization of the vegetation cover will be done in one-meter by one-meter vegetation quadrats. Thus, the percentage of coverage (abundance), species richness, and evenness can be extracted using data processing software. Average, maximum, and minimum slope, wall roughness, density, types of topographic and microtopographic elements, and drainage are also elements of the cliffs that will be characterized by digital terrain models.

Expected results

Rock climbing likely causes anthropogenic disturbances to the plant communities in these environments. Moreover, routes with higher traffic and those with steeper slopes and more prominent microtopographic features should have more noticeable effects than those with higher difficulty.

Research Site Coordinates