What Happens During an Ecological Landscaping Site Assessment?

An ecological landscaping site assessment is a visit to the property to record the conditions that decide what will grow and what work makes sense. It covers the soil, the light and moisture, how exposed the site is, the plants already growing there, including any invasive ones, and limits such as buried utilities, power lines and protected areas near water.

What Can a Soil Test Show?

A soil test measures what a visit cannot see, and PEI's public laboratory offers testing. PEI Analytical Laboratories' standard soil package reports pH, organic matter, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium and aluminum, and a separate soluble salt test is available for sites near the coast or a salted road.

The province's sampling instructions call for soil cores from 10 to 20 places across the area, taken 15 to 20 cm deep, with about 500 grams sent for analysis. Samples can be dropped off at the laboratory in Charlottetown or at an Access PEI location, and results usually take four to five working days. The instructions are written for farm fields, and the current fee should be checked when submitting.

Most PEI soils fall in the acidic range, according to the province's guide to reading a soil test report.

Why Do the Plants Already Growing There Matter?

The plants already growing on a property are a record of what its conditions support. The PEI Invasive Species Council's checklist for restoring natural areas says identifying the current plant community helps determine site conditions, and a PEI agroforestry fact sheet makes the same point about trees, noting that the species already present and healthy point to what is suited to the site.

The same survey is the first chance to spot invasive plants. The council's checklist includes invasive species management as part of the plan where it is needed, so a planting does not go into ground that will be overrun.

What Limits Should Be Checked Before Planting?

Buried lines and overhead wires set hard limits on where trees and shrubs can go. Maritime Electric says to call before digging anywhere on PEI, asks for a locate request 5 to 10 business days ahead and marks its service line free of charge, though lines running from the meter to a building are the owner's responsibility. Telephone and some federal lines are registered separately with Info-Excavation.

Overhead lines have to be judged against a tree's full-grown size, not its size at planting. Maritime Electric advises planting tall species such as oaks and maples at least 7.6 metres (25 feet) back from power lines, and about 4.5 metres back for pines and spruce.

Streams, ponds, wetlands and the shore add a legal limit as well. Land within 15 metres of a watercourse or wetland is a protected buffer zone in PEI, and most work there other than planting with hand tools needs a provincial permit, so an assessment should note where that line falls.

Does Red Earth Offer Site Assessments?

Red Earth Restoration offers site assessments as part of its native landscaping and restoration work on PEI. What a visit covers depends on the property and the project, so a project enquiry with the location, the size of the area and a few photos is the place to start.

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