Ecosystem Monitoring
 Ensuring
the sustainability and diversity of Manitoba's terrestrial
ecosystems is accomplished through environmental monitoring.
Natural receptors, such as vegetation, soils, snow, water,
and animal life, are sampled and tested using a variety
of techniques. These results provide detailed information
about the condition of ecosystems, and help in determining
the impact that current and future land use practices and
developments may have on the structure and function of these
systems.
The smelter monitoring program is an ongoing multi-component
program aimed at assessing the impacts of atmospheric emissions
from mining and smelting operations on urban and natural
environments in and around Flin
Flon and Thompson
in northern Manitoba. The potential effects of acid rain
on boreal forest vegetation and soil are monitored by regular
visits to a series of permanent monitoring sites established
under the ARNEWS
(Acid Rain National Early Warning System) program.
Other monitoring programs and studies are conducted to
collect pre-disturbance baseline environmental data, characterize
impacted sites and natural communities, and assess the progress
of remediation and restoration.
As well, surveys and investigations are conducted periodically
to provide insight into the structure and organization of
natural communities of special interest and ecological significance.
Examples include a detailed floristic
inventory of the Fort Whyte Alive property [PDF 740
KB] in southwest Winnipeg and a botanical
survey of the Brokenhead Wetland Ecological Reserve
[PDF 2.5 MB] north of the Brokenhead Ojibway Nation on PTH
59, between Gull Lake and Lake Beaconia.
A complete list of ecosystem
monitoring publications is available on this website.
Publications can be obtained on loan from the Conservation
and Environment Library. PDF documents are available
where indicated. Publications not available as PDF files
may be obtained by emailing
the Wildlife and Ecosystem Protection Branch.
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