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Newfoundland: The Limestone Barrens

Jen Toews
Jul 15, 2019
2 min read

Harebells (Campanula rotundifolia) at Table Point Ecological Reserve

Limestone barrens are rare throughout the world. They make up only 0.01% of the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, and are found only along the west coast of the province. In NL, limestone barrens cover about the same areas as the town of Stephenville--about 40 km2, spread out along 400 km of coast from north to south.

Much of western Newfoundland has limestone bedrock, but most of the bedrock is covered with a thick layer of forest and wetlands. At only a few places along the coast--where climatic conditions are most extreme--is the limestone still bare, and that is where the rarest plants live.

Many of Newfoundland and Labrador's rarest plants grow on limestone barrens--about 115 species. Among those are 29 species that grow nowhere else in the province, and three species that grow nowhere else in the world. People visit from around the world to see these rare species in their native habitat.

Rare plants survive on the limestone because the difficult soil conditions and extreme weather along the coast are too harsh for faster-growing species such as shrubs and trees. Summers on the barrens are short, cool, and wet. Winters are bitter and extremely windy, and the barrens blow clear of snow. In early and late winter, large ice crystals form in the wet limestone gravel, churning small plants out of the soil. This is a very difficult place for plants to grow. Very little soil develops on the exposed limestone, and only hardy, slow-growing plants--many usually found in the Arctic--can survive on the open gravel and rock.

-- Quoted from "Restoring Newfoundland and Labrador's Limestone Barrens: From Junk Pile to Wildflower Garden"

Below are a few scenes from Table Point Ecological Reserve and Port au Choix National Historic Site, two sites along the northwest coast of Newfoundland where barrens exist.

Table Point Ecological Reserve