A glimpse into Manitoba’s deep past

Manitoba’s Marble Ridge Alvar has been identified as a Key Biodiversity Area (KBA) in recognition of its extremely rare and unique ecosystems.

• What: Identification of Marble Ridge Alvar as a nationally and globally important Key Biodiversity Area (KBA).
• Where: Alvar complex covering 25 km² west of Lake Winnipeg, roughly 200 km north of Winnipeg.
• Why: Alvars are considered endangered ecosystems in Manitoba yet the Marble Ridge Alvar remains unprotected. It is a highly diverse site with numerous rare species and represents an incredible 64% of the entire global extent of this rare ecosystem.
• When: Acceptance of this site as a KBA took place this month after a scientific assessment of the area’s ecological importance by Wildlife Conservation Society Canada scientists and others.

The Marble Ridge Alvar KBA

Manitoba’s Marble Ridge Alvar has been identified as a Key Biodiversity Area (KBA) in recognition of its extremely rare and unique ecosystems that thrive on the exposed rock and other habitats of this area to the west of Lake Winnipeg. It is the first KBA designated on the basis of a unique ecosystem type in Canada.

Alvars are areas where terrain scraped down to bare rock during the last ice age has remained largely unchanged for hundreds of thousands of years. At the Marble Ridge site, a limestone ridge undulates along a north-south axis with shifts in cover from exposed rock barrens to grasslands, savanna, shrubland and wetland.

Manitoba has officially recognized alvars as an endangered ecosystem type requiring protection under its innovative Endangered Species and Ecosystems Act, but currently there is no formal protection in place for the roughly 25 km² area identified as a KBA, which represents 64% of the entire extent of this ecosystem on the planet.

KBA designation is a tool to draw attention to the many natural attributes of this site and to the need for better protection of its varied – and globally important -- ecological elements.

Many interesting and rare plants grow in the harsh conditions of the alvar, taking advantage of small pockets of soil and moisture found in crevices, fissures and depressions. These plants have to be tough to survive both spring flooding and summer drought in an unforgiving and highly exposed landscape.

The variations found within the complex – from flat rock alvars and short inland cliffs to shrublands and savanna (treed grasslands) – creates a huge variety of different micro-habitats that attract grassland birds and other creatures.

To become a KBA, a site must meet strict scientific criteria. These include a site's importance for rare or threatened species or ecosystems, seasonal concentrations of migratory animals, or being among the best examples of intact and healthy ecosystems.

Quotes:

• "Our government is committed to conserving Manitoba’s ecosystems to halt biodiversity loss and protect species at risk to preserve a thriving environment for future generations of Manitobans,” said Economic Development, Investment, Trade and Natural Resources Minister Jamie Moses. “Designating Marble Ridge Alvar as a Key Biodiversity Area will draw more attention to this endangered ecosystem and help protect a number of Manitoba’s rare species.”
• “Alvars may not look remarkable at first glance, but up close you will find an incredible diversity of life. These habitats are critical not only for the specialist mosses and ferns that have adapted to the extreme conditions, but for the wildlife that depend on them, the genetic diversity they support, and benefits they provide to people, such their role in recharging our aquifers. These rare and special places are irreplaceable, and we are pleased to see them receive this recognition for their important role on the landscape.” – Rebekah Neufeld, Conservation Science and Planning Manager, Nature Conservancy of Canada.
• “These sorts of rare and often isolated ecosystem types are both very vulnerable to climate change but also a reservoir for species that are highly adapted to things like drought, which will be more common in future. KBA status focuses attention on the unique characteristics of a place that can easily seem very understated to the casual observer.” – Lucy Poley, KBA Canada Ecosystems Criteria Coordinator, WCS Canada

About KBA Canada

• Canada has one of the world’s first comprehensive national programs to identify KBAs and was the first country to adapt the Global KBA Standard to a national context.
• The KBA Canada initiative was launched in 2019 to help Canada meet protected area targets and other targets agreed to in the Convention on Biological Diversity.
• This work is led by the KBA Canada Coalition, a collaborative initiative involving non-governmental organizations, governments, Indigenous partners, academic institutions, experts and knowledge-holders that are engaged in the work of identifying, delineating and reviewing KBAs.
• The KBA Canada initiative is jointly coordinated by Birds Canada, NatureServe Canada, and WCS Canada.