Shorline Plants of Pigeon Lake - Shoreline health is critical for a healthy lake. This is is a 3-part presentation filled with photos from Pigeon Lake on to steward the shoreline plants.

1. Riparian / Shoreline Plants in
the Pigeon Lake Area
What’s a Wildflower ?
What’s a Weed ?
Part 1 of 3
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2. We are the difference…
Whatever you value about the lake, and/or surrounding
area: young people, campers, sailors, land developers,
store keepers, cottage owners, birders, fishers, retirees,
farmers, 3rd generation and new owners…
depends on the lake and surrounding area being
naturally healthy.
Shoreline health is a vital component for the health of
Pigeon Lake and the surrounding area.
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3. Presentation Intention
This presentation (all 3 Parts) encourages effective shoreline
stewardship by providing information about:
– Important functions and elements of a healthy shoreline.
– Plant related information on bringing compromised
shorelines back to health.
– Plant identification information, along with tips for:
• Transplanting and propagating the native plants; and
• Disposing of the non-native plants.
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4. Parts, Sections & Content:
Slides
1 I. Riparian / Shoreline Areas 4 - 13
II. Native Trees & Shrubs for Riparian Areas 15 - 23
III. Native Grass, Reeds, Sedges & Bulrushes 23 – 34
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IV. Native Wild Flowers for Riparian Areas 6 - 20
3 I. Weeds found in Riparian Areas 1 – 23
I. Other Resources Near End Part 3
II. Acknowledgements End of Each Part
Also:
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• Valuable & Interesting Tidbits Throughout

5. I. Riparian / Shoreline Areas
• Riparian Areas Explained
• Value of Healthy Riparian Areas
• Healthy & Unhealthy Shorelines
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6. Riparian Areas
Trees, shrubs, sedges, rushes and
grasses that grow in the lower
riparian zone or upper part of the
aquatic zone are all part of this
presentation.
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7. Healthy riparian areas provide benefits far beyond the small % of the land it
occupies. For example when well vegetated riparian areas:
•Stabilize the soil and banks from erosion.
•Improve water quality by acting as a sponge and filter.
– Regulating the release of rainwater into the lake
– Removing sediment and other elements from runoff . (USDA studies show how riparian buffers
can reduce nitrogen from agricultural runoff by 68%.)
– Partly regulating the water temperature with shoreline plants and tree shade.
•Provides critical habitat. “80% of Alberta’s wildlife use riparian areas for all or part of their life
cycle requirements.” *
– People: - Enjoy cool shade, desirable scenery, the critters and serene waters.
– Find areas for activities such as, fishing, winter sports, picnicking and camping.
– Enhances and protects our property values.
– Fish: Shade, woody debris, terrestrial litter and food.
– Animals: Provides high energy food sources, places to hide and nest, and avenues to move to
different areas. (Some fences, buildings and roads restrict wildlife corridors)
– Insects: The diversity and concentration of vegetation provides habitat. The insects in turn are a
critical source of food for birds, fish and animals.
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* Cows and Fish - www.cowsandfish.org

8. Artificial shoreline of Pigeon Lake at Zeiner Campground;
natural wooded shoreline (west shore) in background.
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9. Conditions of the Pigeon Lake Shorelines
Alberta Sustainable Development - Fish & Wildlife June 2008
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10. We each need to restore and/or
preserve as much of the natural
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11. Healthy native shoreline at Ma-Me-O Beach July, 2009 11

12. Natural shorelines preserve natural plant diversity and provide both
riparian (bank and shoreline) and aquatic habitat.
Biodiversity is a fundamental component in ecosystem functioning. Plant
diversity is very important for many reasons, three are:
Natural Control, Checks and Balance
The different types of plants keep blights and pests in check.
Meeting the nutritional needs of insects, birds and animals
Like humans, insects, birds and animals all need a range of food to
meet their nutritional requirements for good health.
Resilience
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13. Healthy native shoreline. Zeiner Campground July 2009: 13
Left, looking toward the lake right, looking toward top of shore.

14. Native vegetation
fills the mouth of
Pigeon Lake Creek
(July 2009) where it
empties into Pigeon
Lake.
Find native
vegetation around
muddy deltas
alongside sandy
beaches.
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15. Throughout the presentation the bad, non-
native, invasive plants are bordered by RED; the
Fireweed
Himalayan Balsam
Creeping (Canada) Thistle
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16. II. Native Trees & Shrubs for
Riparian Areas
Learn more about...
The native trees and shrubs that
grow around Pigeon Lake.
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17. Top of bank trees: Left, Balsam Poplar; Right, Aspen 17

18. Balsam Poplar, Aspen and White Spruce
can be planted to create native shoreline habitat.
They can be obtained from nurseries, grown from seed or
transplanted as seedlings from natural seedlings growing
abundantly on muddy lake shores.
Balsam poplar leaves and
seeds.
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19. If you see seedlings like these where you do not want trees, remove them.
They can also be added to create native habitat to enhance its functioning.
They can be dug up (provided they are not attached to parent trees) and
transplanted where you want.
Balsam Poplar seedling Aspen seedling; 19

20. Willows are tall, bushy
shrubs, that provide
abundant food and shelter
for wildlife.
They can be grown from
seed or readily propagated
from switches cut from
vigorous shoots and rooted
in water or moist sand.
Keep moist after roots have
developed from the stems
and the whole has been
transplanted.
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21. Sandbar Willow
colonizes large
stretches of moist sand
and mud along lake
and river shores.
It has the
narrowest leaves of
all our provincial
willows.
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22. Red-osier
Dogwood can
be propagated
in a similar
manner to
willows.
With a little
pruning it can
form an
attractive bushy
shrub.
A favourite food of moose and deer. Red-osier Dogwood 22

23. Smaller native shrubs include…
Currants and gooseberries (left),
that require moist soils.
Wild roses can tolerate drier soils,
e.g. at the top of sandy shores.
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24. III. Native Grasses, Reeds, Sedges
Common around
parts of Pigeon
Lake, the plants in
this section
provide critical
habitat for many of
our lake creatures.
Fig 37 from the Atlas of Alberta Lakes (Alberta Conservation Assoc and the University of Alberta,
Department of Biological Sciences
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25. Most of the plants included in
this section grow in the Emergent zone
or just up on the shoreline.
Fig 41 from the Atlas of Alberta Lakes (Alberta Conservation Assoc and the University of Alberta,
Department of Biological Sciences
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26. On some of the
shoreline, cattails
form a fringe.
They are an extremely
important component
of riparian vegetation
because they filter out
pollutants from the
water, taking them into
the plant body.
They also provide
excellent cover for
water birds.
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27. These at Pigeon Lake Village, have
their flowers emerging from
their protective sheaths.
The upper part of the spike
consists of hundreds of tiny
pollen-bearing flowers; the
lower, velvety green portion
consists of female flowers.
As the fruits in this lower part of
the cylinder ripen, it turns
brown, producing the
characteristic brown “cigar.”
Cattails spread by the thick
They are thought to be easily white rhizomes that are edible,
propagated, from pieces of and can be grown from seed.
rhizome or from seed. 27

28. Bulrushes are very
common and important
components of shoreline
vegetation.
Like cattails they have spongy
stems with lots of air spaces
to provide the plant with air
since the roots are
waterlogged.
In the foreground is
Common Great Bulrush; in
Great Bulrushes tolerate deeper water better
the background Great
than the Common Great Bulrushes which tend to Bulrush.
grow slightly higher up the shore.
They also have slightly smaller brown flower
clusters than the Common Great Bulrush. Picture taken at the mouth
of Pigeon Lake Creek 28

29. Small-fruited Bulrush (left) is very common
…as is Creeping Spike-rush 29

30. They may form extensive patches like the sedge on the left, or thick,
sprawling clumps, like the sedge on the right.
Sedges are common grass-like plants found slightly higher up the shore.
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31. Most grass you see on the shore is likely to be native.
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32. Bluejoint or
Marsh Reed Grass ,
is among the most
common of grass of
our wetlands and
moist forests.
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33. Slough Grass Knotted Rush
Also common shore plants. 33

34. Wire Rush is likely the most common rush, seen almost everywhere in wet places.
It spreads by means of a horizontal underground stem or rhizome.
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35. Field Horsetail (left); Swamp Horsetail (right) 35

36. Also see…
Riparian / Shoreline Plants in
the Pigeon Lake Area
• Part 2 – Native Wild Flowers
&
• Part 3 – Weeds
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