Habitats at the Oliver Ecological Centre

The Oliver Ecological Centre property is very rich in biodiversity. Trent University wants to safeguard and encourage this diversity, which will be a key feature in attracting biological and natural history studies.

The Oliver Ecological Centre property contains a number of diverse habitats, offering a variety of opportunities for study, including:

• Hardwood Forest
• Cedar Forest
• Old Agricultural Fields
• Shoreline
• Pigeon Lake and other Kawartha Lakes
• Wetlands
• Temporary Woodland Pools

Hardwood Forest

The property contains about 38 hectares (94 acres) of hardwood forest, much of it with well-preserved tracts of mature sugar maple.

Cedar Forest

A small mature White Cedar forest is present on the property.

Old Agricultural Fields

Previous owners of the Oliver property maintained agricultural fields, which are now reverting to forest. Some have been abandoned for 40 years, others untouched for only 10 years. The old fields provide the chance to study the direction and rate of old field successions, as well as providing habitat for some unique biological species.

An agricultural field immediately north of the main house.

Shoreline Habitats

The Oliver property includes about 610 m (2000 feet) of shoreline habitat on Pigeon Lake, some sandy beach, some marsh, some rocky beach.

Rock layers on a part of the Pigeon lake shoreline.

A sandy beach at the beach in front of the house, viewed during the open house.

Pigeon Lake and other Kawartha Lakes

The Oliver Ecological Centre borders on Pigeon Lake, which in turn is connected to the other Kawartha Lakes via the Trent Canal system. The table below describes some of the physical properties of the local lakes.

Pigeon Lake and shoreline.

Pigeon Lake from the cottage shoreline.

Physical characteristics of the Kawartha lakes and rivers. Data for Pigeon Lake is in bold.

Lake or River Name	Altitude (m above sea level)	Surface Area (km2)	Volume (106 m3)	Mean Depth (m)	Maximum Depth (m)	Plant Cover (% area)	Number of Fish Species
Big Bald Lake	246.0	2.0	5.36	2.7	9.4	no data	16
Buckhorn Lake	246.0	32.3	74.20	2.3	7.9	85	18
Chemong Lake	246.0	25.0	49.80	2.0	6.7	44	24
Clear Lake	324.4	10.5	61.70	5.9	12.2	<1	17
Dummer Lake	approx. 234	approx. 1.70	no data	no data	no data	no data	no data
Katchewanooka Lake	232.2	3.7	8.10	2.2	9.1	30	17
Little Bald Lake	246.0	2.1	3.82	1.8	7.6	no data	18
Lovesick Lake	241.7	2.9	6.68	2.3	25.0	no data	14
Lower Buckhorn Lake	242.6	13.1	41.90	3.2	24.0	no data	16
Otonabee River	200-320	no data	no data	no data	no data	no data	no data
Pigeon Lake	246.0	56.7	189.00	3.3	7.0	31	16
Sandy Lake	246.0	3.8	no data	no data	13	almost none	similar to Buckhorn
Stony Lake	234.4	28.2	166.00	5.9	12.2	<1	18

 

Wetlands

The Oliver Ecological Centre property has a couple of sizeable marshes on property, plus a large number of others within short boating or driving distance.

Marsh bordering forest on the Oliver Ecological Centre property

An example of a marsh on Pigeon Lake, close to the Oliver Ecological Centre property boundary.

Temporary Woodland Pools

These are present in the wet spring season, and disappear as late spring and early summer proceeds. They give rise to some unique biological species.