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The Thousand Islands – Frontenac Arch region or the Frontenac Axis is an exposed strip of Precambrian rock in Canada and the United States that links the Canadian Shield from Algonquin Park with the Adirondack Mountain region in New York, an extension of the Laurentian Mountains of Québec. The Algonquin to Adirondacks region, which includes the Frontenac Axis or Arch, is a critical linkage for biodiversity and resilience, and one with important conservation potential. The axis separates the St. Lawrence Lowlands and the Great Lakes Lowlands. It has many distinctive plant and animal species. It is one of four ecoregions of the Mixedwood Plains.

The Thousand Islands in the Saint Lawrence River have a distinctive flora and fauna and are a part of the biological corridor.

Geology

The bedrock is mostly gneiss, granite, and marble, more than a billion years old. The Frontenac terrain is the youngest of the Ontario portions of the arch, dated at 1.2 billion years old. These rocks were once part of a large mountain chain of the ancient supercontinent of Rodinia. There is also a meteor crater near Holleford, where the shield meets the limestone plains of southeastern Ontario.

Ecology

The area is distinctive for having tree species typically found further south, and reaching their northern limits. One example is pitch pine (Pinus rigida). Shallow soils and recurring fire have also produced unusual fire barren communities. These provide habitat for rare plants, such as bear oak (Quercus ilicifolia) and deerberry (Vaccinium stamineum), as well as rare animals, such as the five-lined skink (Plestiodon fasciatus) and gray rat snake (Pantherophis spiloides). There is high bird diversity, including the cerulean warbler, considered nationally endangered owing to the destruction of forests. Although the most important factor producing the fauna and flora is likely the bed rock, the moderating effect of the Great Lakes may also be factor. Also, some northern species extend their range south, drawn by the rugged granite landscapes of the Canadian Shield.

The basic ecosystem type of the area is temperate deciduous forest. The area has a long history of logging, which has depleted these forests of larger trees. Settlement tends to have occurred in the areas of deeper soil, and fire has particularly influenced the uplands. Reference to the forest descriptions of early surveyors has documented decline in species such as hemlock, which were preferentially removed for leather tanning. Criteria for restoring these forests have been established, and include increased tree size, spring ephemeral abundance, and coarse woody debris. Pollen cores from Lanark County provide information about longer term trends in forest cover.

There is a wide array of wetlands, ranging from larger marshes along the St. Lawrence river, to smaller marshes and bogs along water courses, and large numbers of beaver ponds. The cycles in vegetation in beaver ponds contribute to further wetland diversity; depending upon the amount of beaver activity, there may be open water, marsh, wet meadows or shrub thickets. Some lakes in the area, such as Bob's Lake, also support uncommon species of turtles, such as the map turtles and Blanding's turtles. Where there is marble bedrock, or other sources of calcium, fens may arise. These often have unusual calcium dependent wetland plants.

A southern portion of this region was designated a Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO in 2002, the Frontenac Arch Biosphere Reserve. Within this biosphere reserve is the relatively small St. Lawrence Islands National Park. Although it is small, it has many Frontenac Arch species mentioned above, including deerberry, Blanding's turtle, and five-lined skinks. Further north, there is still a large gap in the ecological link to Algonquin Park. In this gap are smaller parks such as Frontenac Provincial Park and Bon Echo Provincial Park.

References

1. ^ Keddy, Cathy (November 1995). "The conservation potential of the Frontenac Axis: Linking Algonquin Park to Adirondacks" (PDF). The Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society - Ottawa Valley Chapter: 72. Retrieved 2023-10-16.
2. Eyles, Nick. Ontario Rocks. 2002. Three Billion Years of Environmental Change. Fitzhenry and Whiteside, Markham, Ontario. Chapter 9.
3. Eyles, Nick. Ontario Rocks. 2002. Three Billion Years of Environmental Change. Fitzhenry and Whiteside, Markham, Ontario. Figure 9.2A
4. Keddy, P.A. 2008. Earth, Water, Fire. An Ecological Profile of Lanark County. General Store Publishing House, Refrew, Ontario. p. 61-63.
5. Beschel, R.E., P.J. Webber and R. Trippet. 1962. Woodland transects of the Frontenac Axis region, Ontario. Ecology 43:386-396.
6. Catling, Paul M and Vivian R. Brownell. 1999. The flora and ecology of southern Ontario granite barrens. Pages 392-405 in Anderson, R.C., J.S. Fralish, and J.M. Baskin (eds). Savannas, Barrens, and Rock Outcrop Plant Communities of North America. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
7. Keddy, Cathy J. 1995. The Conservation Potential of the Frontenac Axis: Linking Algonquin Park to the Adirondacks. Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society, Ottawa, Ontario. 59p.
8. Keddy, Cathy J. 1993. Forest History of Eastern Ontario. A report prepared for the Eastern Ontario Forest Group, Kemptville, Ontario.
9. Keddy, P.A. and C.G. Drummond. 1996. Ecological properties for the evaluation, management, and restoration of temperate deciduous forest ecosystems. Ecological Applications 6: 748-762.
10. Keddy, P.A. 2008. Earth, Water, Fire: An Ecological Profile of Lanark County. General Store Publishing House, Renfrew, Ontario.p. 51-52.
11. Keddy, P.A. 2008. Earth, Water, Fire: An Ecological Profile of Lanark County. General Store Publishing House, Renfrew, Ontario. Fig. 2
12. Plants of Lanark County, Ontario--2013 Edition David J. White
13. Frontenac Arch Biosphere Reserve
14. Thousand Islands National Park
15. Species at Risk in the 1000 Islands Ecosystem

v t e Protected areas of Ontario
CRHP Central County of Brant Eastern Essex County Greater Sudbury Golden Horseshoe Kingston Middlesex County Niagara RM Northern Ottawa Perth County Peel RM Southwestern Toronto Waterloo RM Wellington County York RM
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Provincial parks and affiliated areas Northern Ontario Agassiz Peatlands Blue Jay Creek Caliper Lake Daisy Lake Uplands Fairbank Goose Island Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother Mnidoo Mnissing Quetico Sandpoint Island Spruce Islands Algoma District Algoma Headwaters Aubinadong River Aubinadong-Nushatogaini Rivers Aubrey Falls Batchawana Bay Batchawana River Blind River Goulais River Lake Superior Little White River Matinenda Michipicoten Mississagi Montreal River Nagagamisis Nimoosh North Channel inshore Obatanga Pancake Bay Pichogen River Mixed Forest Pokei Lake/White River Wetlands Potholes River Aux Sabels Sandy Islands Cochrane District Abitibi-De-Troyes Dana-Jousey Lakes Esker Lakes Fushimi Lake Greenwater Groundhog River Waterway Kesagami Kettle Lakes Lake Abitibi Islands Little Abitibi Little Current River Mattagami River Beach and Aeolian Deposit René Brunelle Tidewater Wildgoose Outwash Deposit Kenora District Aaron Albany River Beekahncheekahmeeng Deebahncheekayweehn Eenahohnahnuhn Blue Lake Bonheur River Kame Nature Reserve Eagle-Dogtooth East English River Fawn River Kahnahmaykoosayseekahk Lake of the Woods Lola Lake Minnitaki Kames Ojibway Opasquia Otoskwin–Attawapiskat River Pahngwahshahshk Ohweemushkeeg Pakwash Pipestone River Polar Bear Rushing River Sahkeesuhkuh Weesuhkaheegahn Sandbar Lake Severn River Sioux Narrows Turtle River–White Otter Lake Weeskayjahk Ohtahzhoganeeng West English River Winisk River Winnange Lake Woodland Caribou Nipissing District Alexander Lake Forest Algonquin Amable du Fond River Finlayson Point Jocko Rivers Kenny Forest Manitou Islands Marten River Mattawa River Opeongo River Samuel de Champlain Temagami River Upper Madawaska River West Sandy Island Widdifield Forest Parry Sound District French River Grundy Lake Killbear Magnetawan River Mikisew Noganosh Lake Oastler Lake Restoule South Bay Sturgeon Bay The Massasauga Sudbury District Biscotasi Lake Chapleau-Nemegosenda River Chiniguchi Waterway Chutes Five Mile Lake Grassy River-Mond Lake Lowlands and Ferris Lake Uplands Halfway Lake Ivanhoe Lake Killarney Killarney Lakelands and Headwaters La Cloche La Motte Lake MacMurchy Township End Moraine Mashkinonje Missinaibi Mississagi River Obabika River Rushbrook Solace Spanish River Sturgeon River The Shoals Wakami Lake Wanapitei Wenebegon River Windy Lake Woman River Forest Thunder Bay District Arrow Lake Black Sturgeon River Brightsand River Gravel River Gull River Kakabeka Falls Kashabowie Kopka River La Verendrye Lake Nipigon MacLeod Michipicoten Island Nakina Moraine Neys Obonga-Ottertooth Ogoki River Ouimet Canyon Pan Lake Fen Pigeon River Porphyry Island Pukaskwa River Rainbow Falls Ruby Lake Sedgman Lake Silver Falls Slate Islands Sleeping Giant St. Raphael Steel River Wabakimi White Lake Whitesand Timiskaming District Englehart River Fine Sand Plain and Waterway Gem Lake Maple Bedrock Kap-Kig-Iwan Lady Evelyn-Smoothwater Larder River Waterway Makobe-Grays River W.J.B. Greenwood West Montreal River Eastern Ontario Alexander Stewart Barron River Bell Bay Bissett Creek Bon Echo Bonnechere Bonnechere River Burnt Lands Carson Lake Centennial Lake Charleston Lake Driftwood Fitzroy Foy Frontenac Grant's Creek Lower Madawaska River Matawatchan Murphys Point Ottawa River Petawawa Terrace Puzzle Lake Rideau River Sharbot Lake Silver Lake Voyageur Westmeath Central Ontario Arrowhead Awenda Balsam Lake Bass Lake Beattie Pinery Big East River Bigwind Lake Boyne Valley Devil's Glen Dividing Lake Earl Rowe Egan Chutes Emily Gibson River Hardy Lake Hockley Valley Indian Point J. Albert Bauer Kawartha Highlands Lake on the Mountain Lake St. Peter Mara Mark S. Burnham McRae Point Mono Cliffs North Beach Oxtongue River-Ragged Falls Petroglyphs Quackenbush Queen Elizabeth II Wildlands Sandbanks Silent Lake Six Mile Lake Springwater Wasaga Beach Waubaushene Beaches Wolf Island Golden Horseshoe Bronte Creek Darlington Forks of the Credit Sibbald Point Short Hills Uxbridge Southwestern Ontario Black Creek Clear Creek Forest Craigleith Inverhuron James N. Allan John E. Pearce Komoka Lion's Head Long Point MacGregor Point Pinery Point Farms Port Bruce Port Burwell Pretty River Valley Rock Point Rondeau Sauble Falls Selkirk Trillium Woods Turkey Point Wheatley Conservation reserves Bennet Lake Esker Kame Complex Torrance Barrens White Bear Forest more... Former parks Ipperwash Serpent Mounds
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Related Departments and Agencies Conservation Ontario Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks Ministry of Heritage, Sport, Tourism and Culture Industries Niagara Parks Commission Ontario Parks St. Lawrence Parks Commission
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