Audrey Vallée
Project
Harvest pressure on maintaining populations found in intertidal marshes of the St. Lawrence River and Baie-des-Chaleurs, QuebecThis study aims to evaluate the harvesting pressure on harvested edible plant species found in the intertidal marshes of the St. Lawrence River and Baie-des-Chaleurs. This project will address the concerns of seashore plant harvesters regarding the popularity of harvesting and the sustainability of this activity. More specifically, the documentation and evaluation provided by this study would allow a better understanding of the effect of harvesting on the survival and reproduction of these edible plant species. To do this, 60 plots, further subdivided into three sections, were set up between the lower St. Lawrence and the Gaspé Peninsula. In two of the three subdivision, one to two types of harvesting were carried out, i.e. severe and partial cutting of the plants, in order to mimic different types of harvesting. The third subdivision was our control, i.e, it remained unharvested. This will allow us to analyze the total biomass production and the quantity of flowers of harvested and unharvested plants, thus giving us the ability to evaluate the impact of harvesting on the maintenance of populations. The species selected for the study are glasswort (Salicornia spp.), sea plantain (Plantago maritima), creeping saltbush (Atriplex prostrata) and Scotch lovage (Ligusticum scoticum). This study will allow a better understanding and control of harvesting activities in order to protect and conserve this important resource of the St. Lawrence River salt marshes.
