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What are the Coastal Plain Plants?
 The Atlantic Coastal Plain Flora
(ACPF) is a group of 90 species of taxonomically
unrelated wetland plants that inhabit lake and river shores, bogs, fens,
and estuaries. Some of these plants occur no where else in
Canada, except Nova Scotia (NS). Eleven of these plants are
"Species at Risk" which means that without conservation and recovery
efforts they are at risk of going extinct. These 11 plants are
legally protected under federal and provincial legislation.
View a complete list of species.
 These
plants are small, slow-growing, and adapted to living in areas where many
other plants cannot survive. The conditions where they grow are low
in nutrients, and subject to disturbance by wind,
waves, and changing water levels. They do not compete well with other
more aggressive plants and therefore can not
establish in undisturbed, fertile areas. An example of a habitat
where Coastal Plain Flora could thrive is an exposed, gently
sloping, sandy or gravel lake shores.
What
is the Atlantic Coastal Plain?
The Atlantic
Coastal Plain was formed at the end of the last glacial period (10,000
to 14,000 years ago) when the sea level was as much as 100 m lower than
present day. There was a land bridge between Nova Scotia and
Massachusetts and plants likely migrated northwards to southwestern Nova
Scotia.
 See
photo left from the National Geographic Data Centre - NOAA which shows
what the outline of eastern North America might have looked with a drop
in sea level of 110m. As the glaciers melted and the sea level rose the
land bridge was submerged and Nova Scotia separated from New England.
The
Atlantic Coastal Plain exists in southwestern Nova Scotia, around the
Great Lakes and extends down the coastline of the USA. There is
also a Pacific Coastal Plain.
 The
distribution of Atlantic Coastal Plain Flora extends down the eastern coast of the USA
with isolated populations in Nova Scotia and the Great Lakes in Ontario.
These isolated populations can be called disjunct populations.
Some of world's largest and least disturbed populations
of Atlantic Coastal Plain Flora (ACPF) are located here in NS where they
are at the northern limit of their range.
 Within
NS the ACPF are
concentrated in the southwestern portion of the province with the
majority of the Red and Yellow ranked species (see
species status page for explanation of
rankings). There is another concentration of species in
southeastern Cape Breton Island and a few locations within the
northern-central region of the province.
What are the
threats the ACPF?
Human activities are probably the greatest threat to the ACPF. There are negative impacts from activities such as all-terrain vehicle
use, shoreline enhancement
(dock building, beach clearing), peat mining, cranberry production, drainage of land for agriculture and
development. Hydro-electric dams eliminate natural fluctuations
in water levels. Logging operations, agriculture, and waterfront
residence can cause runoff which increases nutrient levels negatively
affecting
the flora. There are ways that all of us can help, visit our
How Can You Help?
page for more information.
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