Table 1.— Dominant plant species on study trails and summary 

 of changes in relative percent coverage. 



Trail 



No. Or 



plots 



Dominant species 



Common name 







No. of tramples 

 80 100 150 



200 



Recovery 

 Yr. 1 Yr. 2 



E 



2 



Linnea boreal is L. 



twinflower 



80 



65 



50 



— 



— 



78 



80 



F 



. 4 



Corniis ,c.apaden$isi3ii 



bunchberry 



45 



35 



35 



— 



— 



45 



45 







Dicarnum spp. 



broom moss 



100 



85 



65 



— 



— 



95 



100 



G 



4 



Sphagnum spp. 



sphagnum moss 



80 



35 



50 





— 



75 



80 



H 



9 



Clintonia borealis 



bluebead-lily 



25 



19 



18 



17 



12 



20 









(Ait.) Raf. 























Aralia nudicaulis L. 



sarsaparilla 



22 



16 



15 



10 



4 



12 









^nliH^nn tiinn^^ Ait 



miinh nnlHpnrnH 





36 



38 







45 



43 



1 



6 



Empetrum nigrum L. 



black crowberry 



55 



40 



35 







15 



36 



J 



6 



Myrica pensylvanica Loisel. 



bayberry 



27 



15 



16 







18 



31 



K 



4 



Picea rubens Sarg. 



red spruce 



70 



66 



65 







62 



74 



L,M 



9 



Cladina spp. 



reindeer lichen 



77 



73 



72 







76 



77 



0,P 



12 



Cladina spp. 



reindeer lichen 



72 



73 



72 







72 









Dicranum spp. 



broom mosses 



14 



11 



14 



10 



NA 



14 





Q 



5 



Vaccinium augustifolium Ait. 



lowbush blueberry 



71 



28 



20 



41 



42 



71 





Q,R 



9 



Myrica pensylvanica Loisel. 



bayberry 



52 



22 



21 



21 



21 



28 





R,S 



9 



Juniperus horizontalis Moench. 



horizontal juniper 



68 



59 



45 



44 



39 



50 





Trail Descriptions 



The impact of recreation pres- 

 sure is influenced by both biotic and 

 physical site-specific factors (Burden 

 and Randerson 1971). With this in 

 mind, brief site descriptions of each 

 simulated trail have been included. 



Trail E: Twinflower site 



Trail E is located on a level site 

 near the top of the major central dome 

 of granite on Hurricane Island. The 

 overstory red spruce is 10 to 15 m 

 high and the canopy is approximately 

 50 percent closed. The study plots 

 are dominated by sprav\/ling mats of 

 twinflower in a sphagnum and pleuro- 

 carpous moss (predominantly Di- 

 cranum spp.) matrix. 



Trail F: Bunchberry, Dicranum site 



Trail F is also near the top of the 

 central island dome, but slopes so 

 that some drainage flows through the 

 trail. The overstory red spruce is 7 to 

 10 m high and canopy closure is ap- 

 proximately 30 to 40 percent. The 

 vegetation is dominated by dense 

 mats of pleurocarpous mosses and 

 bunchberry. 



Trail G: Sphagnum moss site 



Trail G is located on a moderate 

 west-facing slope on the mid-slope of 

 the central island dome and runs 

 parallel to a wide terrace of granite. 

 The canopy of the surrounding red 

 spruce stand is approximately 90 

 percent closed. 



Understory vegetation consists 

 almost entirely of sphagnum moss 

 with scattered lowbush blueberry 

 plants and red spruce seedlings. The 

 occurrence of sphagnum moss ap- 

 pears to be influenced by downslope 

 drainage and runoff, part of which 

 moves laterally along the granite 

 terrace. 



Trails H-1, H-2, H-3: Rough goldenrod, 

 bluebead-lily and sarsaparilla site 



These trails are located on a level 

 site 20 to 25 m from the western shore- 

 line of Hurricane Island. The site is 

 underlain by 0.5- to 1.0-m deep pockets 

 of glacial till. The overstory consists 

 of white spruce 12 to 18 m high with 

 a canopy approximately 70 percent 

 closed. 



Trail H-1: Rough goldenrod is 

 the dominant species found in as- 

 sociation with Canada mayflower 

 (Maianthemum canadense) and star- 

 flower {Trientalis borealis). Trail H-2: 

 Bluebead-lily is the dominant species 

 in association with Canada may- 

 flower, sarsaparilla, and twinflower. 

 Trail H-3: Sarsaparilla and bluebead- 

 lily were found growing in association 

 with Canada mayflower and starflower. 



Trail I: Black crowberry, bayberry site 



Trail I is located 10 to 15 m from 

 the edge of the western shoreline. It 

 is adjacent to an inland white spruce 

 forest, which shades the site in the 

 morning. The spreading mat of black 

 crowberry and bayberry is growing on 

 a granite outcrop with moderate ex- 

 posure to salt and wind stress. Or- 

 ganic material in the soil ranged 

 between 2 and 8 cm deep. 



Trail J: Bayberry site 



Trail J is located just above 

 the high tide line in a 1- to 2-m-wide 

 gravelly depression between two 

 granite outcrops on the western shore 



3 



