Project Summary
Métis Crossing is an important cultural hub for Alberta Métis, and is used for tourism, industry, agriculture, and conservation. With a diverse use of land, it is important to measure plant biodiversity to monitor these land use effects to help inform and reduce land use pressures and disturbances. After investigation, sites within each ecosystem with high plant diversity should be given a certain degree of protection to maintain the biodiversity and fulfill the goal of conservation planning. We conducted field work to record plant species at Métis Crossing and analyzed the data using R, ArcMap, and other software. The results showed that site 12 within natural boreal forest, site 3 within aspen parkland, site 5 within cropland, and site 6 within grassland are more diverse and have more tree, understory and ground cover vegetation diversity. The series of work we have done will help citizens better understand the plant biodiversity of Métis Crossing, provide decision-makers with a reference for future land use planning, and also be conducive to the conservation and sustainable development of this important historical site. |