160 Unusual Things to See in Ontario ~ Alvar Communities

An alvar is a biological environment based on a limestone plain with thin or no soil and, as a result, sparse grassland vegetation. Often flooded in the spring, and affected by drought in midsummer, alvars support a distinctive group of prairie-like plants. Most alvars occur either in northern Europe or around the Great Lakes in North America. This stressed habitat supports a community of rare plants and animals, including species more commonly found on prairie grasslands. Lichen and mosses are common species. Trees and bushes are absent or severely stunted.

In North America, alvars provide habitat for birds such as bobolinks, eastern meadowlarks, upland sandpipers, eastern towhees, brown thrashers and loggerhead shrikes whose habitat is declining elsewhere. Rare plants include Kalm's lobelia, Pringle's aster, juniper sedge, lakeside daisy, ram's-head lady's-slipper, and dwarf lake iris. Also associated with alvars are rare butterflies and snails.

Alvars in Ontario include:

The rare Charitable Research Reserve – Cambridge, Ontario

Pelee Island, Ontario – Stone Road Alvar Nature Reserve

Belanger Bay Alvar, Manitoulin Island, Ontario

Quarry Bay Nature Reserve, Manitoulin Island, Ontario

Bruce Alvar Nature Reserve, Bruce Peninsula, Ontario

Baptise Harbour Nature Reserve, Bruce Peninsula, Ontario

Misery Bay Provincial Park, Manitoulin Island, Ontario

Carden Plain Alvar, City of Kawartha Lakes, Ontario, including Carden Alvar Provincial Park

Burnt Lands Alvar, Almonte, Ontario

Balsam Lake Indian Point Provincial Park, Ontario

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