Abstract
Coastal oak meadows are fragmented across an increasingly urbanized landscape in Greater Victoria with implications for common camas (qʷɫəɫ/KȽO,EL/Camassia quamash) fitness. Common camas, frequently present in coastal oak meadows, is an ecologically important cultural keystone species that forms the foundation of one of the most important Indigenous food systems in the region. Previous research has examined how the pressures associated with urbanization shape plant community composition and structure, but how these pressures influence individual plant fitness remains unclear. To improve our understanding, we assessed environmental conditions and common camas growth and reproductive traits across an urban-rural gradient in Greater Victoria. We found that urbanization on this landscape alters several key environmental variables (namely increased trampling and soil compaction, and decreased soil depth, canopy cover, and soil phosphorus) and that common camas appears to be responding to these altered conditions with a reduction in growth and reproductive trait values. By targeting the identified pressures, management can work towards supporting more successful urban camas populations into the future.
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Data availability
The field data collected that support the findings of this study are available in Figshare with the following identifier: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.25436956.v1.
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Acknowledgements
We extend our gratitude to the lək̓ʷəŋən, W̱SÁNEĆ, and MÁLEXEȽ Nations on whose traditional territory the field sites were located. A special thank you to the municipalities that granted data collection permits (Capital Regional District, City of Victoria, City of Langford, and District of Saanich). This research was made possible with funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada and the University of Victoria.
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This study was funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada and the University of Victoria.
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All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Data collection and analysis were performed by E.R. The first draft of the manuscript was written by E.R. All authors commented on subsequent versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
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The author team is composed of settlers writing from the traditional territories of the lək̓ʷəŋən (Songhees and Esquimalt) and W̱SÁNEĆ Nations. We acknowledge that this research has taken place on a landscape where, for millennia, Indigenous peoples learned and applied extensive ecological knowledge to steward the coastal oak meadows we work in today. This is a responsibility and relationship that continues to this day.
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Rolleman, E., Lantz, T., Mathews, D. et al. Common camas (Camassia quamash) response across an urban–rural gradient in coastal oak meadows in Greater Victoria, Canada. Urban Ecosyst (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11252-024-01533-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11252-024-01533-1