Biophysiological Features in Riding Mountain National Park

Riding Mountain National Park, covering 2973 square kilometres (1145 sq. miles) lies on the eastern extremity of the Saskatchewan Plain and includes part of the Manitoba Escarpment an out-crop of underlying siliceous shale bedrock of the Saskatchewan Plain.  This escarpment drops down to the out-wash deltas and the upper limits of the old beach ridges of pre-historic Lake Agassiz.  The topography of the Saskatchewan Plain (highlands) in RMNP is glacial kame and kettle formation creating a random pattern of hills and depressions intersected by valleys formed by the erosion of the streams and rivers that drain the area.  As much of this glacial overburden consists of impermeable clay, most of the depressions hold water.  This widespread occurrence of water storage is an important not only in recharging the aquifers but also in sustaining many perched water tables, which benefit local plant communities.

The Biomes that occur and intermix in Riding Mountain National Park are those of the Temperate Zone reflecting the climate and geographic location of the Park.  These primary recognizable plant communities are the Fescue Prairies, Aspen Woodland, Mixed Boreal and Eastern Hardwood complexes.  Variations in the physiological features such as soil type, hydrology, topography and microclimate further dictate the locations suitable for sustaining the specific vegetative types and consequently form the basis for the intermingling of the ecosystems.   The resultant complex of interspersed ecosystems makes this a globally unique biological phenomenon, warranting the MAB status of Biosphere Reserve.

On the lowlands, and on the slopes of the escarpment in places, are a variety of deciduous tree-dominated plant community, a remnant from the warmer climes of five thousand years ago. Although dominated by trembling aspen at times, hardwood mixes of (American) elm, green ash and Manitoba maple with some aspen, bur oak, (white) birch and balsam poplar, are characteristic of this community. The (relatively) warm, moist microclimate and uneven-aged stands promote a lush understorey of herbs and shrubs.

Covering most of the Park, at various stages of succession, is the aspen-white spruce association of the boreal mixed-wood forest. White birch and balsam poplar share the even-aged aspen stands, while balsam fir and bur oak occupy north and south-facing slopes respectively. Black spruce and tamarack grow in the wet bogs and jack pine persists over a limited drier, better-drained area in the east-central portion of the Park. The understorey is dominated by beaked hazel shrubs.

Remnant grasslands, occasional in the east portion and more common to the west, remain important contributors to the biological diversity of the Park as a whole. While some sites are resistant to succession, without fire many prairie openings are giving way to shrub and forest communities of the aspen parkland.

The soil parent materials of the region are largely clay, giving rise to relatively fertile, alkaline soils and eutrophic limnological conditions.  The annual freeze-thaw cycle prevents the cumulative compaction of soils and sustains soil friability.  The soil fertility combined with climatological and hydrological factors contributes to the area being able to sustain a relatively high biomass of diverse biota with high population densities of large herbivores. 

The soils of the Park highlands are mainly gray-wooded soils (Orthic Gray Luvisol) developed under the forests on glacial till, the parent material consisting mainly of clay with pockets of sand and gravel.  Larger areas of well-drained sandy soils are found in the eastern upland regions are associated with Jack Pines stands.  In the depressions of impermeable and imperfectly drained substrates, there are bogs, swamps and fens of saturated or poorly drained organic soils or bodies of open water forming lakes or ponds. 

Each specific biotic community is influenced by natural phenomena such as floods, landslides, fire, disease, the natural sequential processes of plant succession and the activities of certain fauna.

Fire is recognized as a primary factor in the natural succession of prairie and mixed boreal and boreal communities. 

Within RMNP, the high population densities of the browsing herbivores, namely deer, elk, moose and beaver have a significant dynamic affect on the successional stages often creating conditions for secondary succession or altering the normal successional stages.

Beaver are the most obvious in this regard.  Their dam building activity is a dynamic factor in the successional processes.  By damming and expanding water-laden depressions they create conditions, which undergo successional stages from streams to marshes to bogs.  In faster flowing drainage areas siltation occurs in the beaver impoundments leading to the process of beaver meadow formations.  These are first populated by sedges and willows and finally black spruce and tamarack, which grow in the poorly drained acidic soils developed through the accumulation of many generations of organic matter.  Often black spruce-tamarack bogs are re-flooded by the dam building activities of subsequent beaver generations when adjacent aspen populations have regenerated; giving rise to flooded wooded swamps and this process can be repeated.  Clear cutting stands of aspens restarts the succession cycle with grass and herbaceous growth.

Large herbivores such as the deer, elk and moose retard the encroachment of aspen and brush, such as beaked hazel into prairie plant communities by heavily browsing on the new shoots of these plants along the margins.  The browsing of these Cervids on regenerative aspen saplings has a thinning affect on the forest allowing more sunlight to penetrate to the level where growth of browse species of plants can benefit.  The role of the moose in this regard is augmented by its, widespread behaviour of breaking and killing aspen and balsam poplar saplings.   

Patterns of Human Activities

Recent archeological evidence of habitation, fishing, hunting, tool and pottery making and burial activities suggests that aboriginal peoples have inhabited the area for at least 6000 years. More recently the Ojibway, along with the European fur traders, migrated from eastern regions to inhabit the Riding Mountain area, previously the home of the Nakota Nation. The Nakotas, known to travel widely, shifted west and south moving tribal boundaries. The Ojibway, active fur traders, roamed throughout the area trapping, fishing and hunting. Today there are several First Nation communities around the park. In 1896, a fishing reserve established on the shores of Clear Lake for the Keeseekoowenin Ojibway First Nations was wrongfully removed in 1930 at the time of the establishment of the park; this land was returned in 1991 after the Band made a land claim. Oral histories of various elders have added not only to our archeological and geographical knowledge, but also to our understanding of the sacred meaning that the mountain and its waters hold. For seven years, between 1931 and 1938, the controversial conservationist, Grey Owl, lived on the shores of Ajawaan Lake in the Park. His cabin has been restored for visitors and is a popular hiking destination.

With the advent of settlement of Manitoba and Saskatchewan by Europeans, “the forested uplands of Riding Mountain served as a source of timber for buildings, railway ties and fuel wood; much of the burr oak on the river valley slopes was harvested during this period, to the extent that no undisturbed stands remain. Large logging camps used the big stands of spruce, while others took pine, oak and poplar.

Fires set to burn slash and clear land often escaped into the unsettled highlands, razing many mature forest stands. Two large forest fires effectively cleared the remaining forests west of Clear Lake by 1890. By the mid-1880's resources were clearly dwindling and protective intervention was required.

To reduce pressure on the timber resources of the escarpment, the federal government in 1895 established the Riding Mountain Forest Reserve, withdrawing the land from settlement. Controlled harvest of timber continued, some reforestation experiments were begun, and haying and grazing of the Reserve were encouraged. Although the heaviest period of exploitation was over, these practices were not phased out until around 1970.” (Parks Canada Ecosystem Plan)

Trapping and hunting in the Riding Mountain area extirpated some species such as plains grizzly, bison, beaver, fisher and pine martin. These species have been re-introduced, except for the plains grizzly.  Bison have not been released into the wildlife but are kept in fenced enclosures.  No known plant species have been extirpated.

Formal designation as a national park in 1930 and it was officially opened in 1933. As federal crown land it falls under the mandate of the Parks Canada Act.  Parks Canada staff administers and regulates all activities within the Park including those of seasonal residents, businesses and tourists.  They develop and maintain the Park infrastructure such as roads, trails, campgrounds and other public facilities, monitor human use and enforce regulations and monitor biological processes to assess environmental changes, which may be affecting the integrity of the ecosystem.  Presently Fire protection in the Park prevents this critical element from functioning naturally in the succession of the prairie and mixed-wood boreal ecosystems.  Park Canada staff actively manage the ecosystems through measures such as removing exotic flora and prescribed burning.    The RCMP performs the law enforcement functions in the Park.