Long Island Botanical Society newsletter

2006·1.1 MB·English

by  Long Island Botanical Society

Long
Island
Botanical Society
Vol. 16 No. 3 The Quarterly Newsletter Summer2006
Ecological Communities of Long Island, New York: Part
1
Gregory Edinger
.
Introduction
In recognition ofthe Long Island Botanical Soci-
ety’s 20th Anniversaryitwas thought that an article pre-
senting a briefhistory and the current status ofecologi-
cal community classification on Long Island would
nicely complement recent articles in the LIBS Newslet-
ter that focused on botany and rare plant discoveries
(for example, Zaremba 2006).
Compared to traditional species taxonomy, ecol-
ogy and the classification of natural communities are
relatively new to the realm of natural sciences. Natural
communities have been described from Long Island for
nearly as long as plant species. The earliest reports of
natural communities on Long Island can be traced back
to the European settlement and exploration of New
York (Denton 1670). The eventual distribution ofinter-
acting plants and animals on Long Island can be traced
PhotobySteve Young
even further back in its geologic history driven by the Coastal plain pond at Linus Pond.
glacial advance and retreat. Long Island’s geologic his-
tory, its proximity to the ocean, and its position within Historical Background
the temperate climate have combined to support the Early accounts of the vegetation of Long Island
vegetation we observe today. Throw in a few hurri- can be found intermixed with the other more frequent
canes, wild fires, floods, and human activity, and these topics ofbotany and natural history of the region. One
dynamic forces result in the plant associations observed of the earliest descriptions of natural communities on
through time. Long Island was written by Winslow C. Watson (1860)
Natural community classifications have proven whose opening sentence reads: “The subject of the
to be important conservation tools throughout the waste lands of Long Island has, for several years, en-
world because (1) communities provide important eco- gaged my earnest attention.” The balance ofhis article
system functions that are worth conserving (e.g., offers evidence that attempts to convince readers that
groundwater recharge, flood water retention, provide “The Hempstead Plain” and “The Bush Plain” contain
wildlife habitat, etc.); (2) they serve as coarse filters to soils and climate suitable for successful agriculture. He
protect common and rare species (i.e., many species was trying to dispel the widely held beliefthat the soils
may be protectedbyprotectingthe natural communities of Long Island were unproductive. Watson provides a
in which they live); and (3) they can be used as surro- goodwordpicture ofwhatpresent day ecologists would
gates in areas where little is known about ecological call Hempstead Plains grassland and pitch pine-scrub
processes and species distribution (Grossman et al. oak barrens (Reschke 1990, Edinger etal. 2002). He also
1998). The conservation of high quality examples of provides the earliest assessment of—the size of these
the natural communities on Long Island assures the natural areas: The Hempstead Plain 64 square miles
protection ofmost ofthe species that make up the bio- (Denton 1670) reduced to 12,000 acres in 1860; The
logical diversity ofthis part ofthe state. (Continuedonpage23)
Page 22 Long Island Botanical Society Vol. 16 No. 3
Long Island Society. News
Botanical Society
To celebrate LIBS’s 20thAnniversary, 18 LIBS members are enjoying a botani-
Founded: 1986
Incorporated: 1989 cal field trip to Newfoundland (July 5-15). We look forward to a report oftheir
adventurein the nextissue oftheLIBS Newsletter.
The Long Island Botanical Society is Andy Greller will represent LIBS in the Nassau Citizens for Clean Water and
dedicated to the promotion of field
Open Space, a group that also includes The Nature Conservancy, the North
botany and a greater understanding of
the plants that grow wild on Long Is- ShoreLandAlliance, andthe Pine Barrens Society.
land,NewYork.
Rich Kellywrote the lead article for the recent edition ofthe SOFO Naturalist:
Visitthe Society’s Web site “Tipulariadiscolorand OtherThings I Can’tFind on the SouthFork.”
www.libotanical.org
Karen Blumer is working on ahandbook for site restorations andwould like to
Executive Board know ofotherpeoplewho are restoringplaces withnativeplants.
President
Eric Lamont Elsa l’Hommedieu wrote from California that she is just now going out in her
Vice President camper to explore the American River Valley, the Feather River, and Yuba
Skip Blanchard River where she expects to see “some good stuff.” She sent greetings to the
membership. Elsais 85 andtravels alone inher camper to anywhere the flowers
Treasurer
are!
CarolJohnston
RecordingSecretary Graduate student Kelly O’Donnell is looking for a local botanist to help her
Barbara Conolly identifyAmaranthusand Chenopodiumin the field for a few days as she begins her
CorrespondingSecretary summerproject.
John Potente
Marilyn Jordan asks that new finds of invasive species be reported to her at
Committee Chairpersons mjordan@tnc org.
.
Local Flora
Steven Clemants John Potente will present a talk on carnivorous plants of Long Island on
September 13 at 7 p.m. at the Islip Public Library as part of the Seatuck
FieldTrips
Environmental Association’s CelebratingNature lecture series. Call Seatuck at
Skip Blanchard
631-581-6908 formore information.
Programs
Rich Kelly Amessage fromTom Rawinski, USFS:
Membership European gray willow Salixcinerea) is everywhere! Well, maybe not every-
(
Lois Lindberg where, but it’s probably in every county in New England and New York. I
Conservation know it is extant in 19 New England counties and three New York counties.
Andrew Greller This horseis already out ofthe barn!
European gray willow has been a remarkably successful stealth invader
Education
MaryLauraLamont (because few ofus botanists wanted to, or could, key it out). Most notably, itis
the prevalent willow sharing coastal plain pond shore habitats with state and
Hospitahty globally rare plant species. Anyone managing wetlands should learn to identify
Jane Blanchard
theplant.
Zu Proly In a nutshell, here’s how: The branchlets andleafundersides are persistendy
DorothyTitus whitish puberulent (covered with fine hairs). Peel back the bark on a quarter-
Newsletter Editor inch or larger diameter branch and the decorticated wood will show a number
Margaret Conover ofelevatednarrowridges. Formanygoodimages oftheplantgo to Google Im-
NewsletterLayout &Design ages.
William Krol Incidentally, most of the occurrences occupy disturbed sites, such as moist
Webmaster road edges, reservoir shores, excavation bottoms, wet pastures, etc. It grows on
DonaldFlouse upland as well as wetland sites. Please check your special habitats for this spe-
cies and controlitwhere necessary. Andletus allknowwhatyou find.
[email protected]
Thanks.
Tom can [email protected] or603-868-7642.
Long Island Botanical Society Vol. 16 No. 3 Page 23
(Continuedfrompage 21) — before producing any literature, and if all
Bush Plain of “LongIslandbarrens” about 258 to 344 writers made revising the dictionary their
square miles, but the vegetation descriptions are want- chief aim we would not have much litera-
ing and use ambiguous common names (e.g., “low ture. Likewise one does not have to know
shrubbybushes” and “secretarygrass”). all the plants of a region before describing
Almost 40 years later Smith ElyJelliffe published its vegetation, and if all botanists were tax-
TheFloraofLongIsland (Jelliffe 1899) and the introduc- onomists primarily it would be difficult to
tion includes a section on Pine Barren Flora with a list get anyinformation about the aspect ofthe
of“the most important ofthese pine barren plants” us- vegetation in a region one had not visited.
ing scientific names. This is similar to the format cur- (Harper 1917).
rently used by NY Natural Heritage in writing commu-
nity classification descriptions (Reschke 1990, Edinger et This philosophy led to the first ecological study
al 2002). He also provides a short description of the that attempted to apply methods of “Plant Sociology”
vegetation ofthe northernpart ofLongIsland. to the description of the vegetation of Long Island ti-
During die early 1900s a prolific writer and tled, “The plant associations ofcentral Long Island”by
botanist by the name of Roland M. Harper published Llenry S. Conard (1935). Conardpresents detailedinfor-
several articles that documented the structure and com- mation on the geography, geology, climate, soils, and
position of several Long Island natural communities, human activity that influence the observed vegetation
such as Atlantic white cedar swamp (Harper 1907), pine patterns throughout central Long Island. Conard
barrens (Harper 1908a, 1908b), Llempstead Plains grass- adopted the “plant association” as the fundamental unit
land (Harper 1911, 1912, 1915, 1918), and the natural of vegetation. The association is defined by its charac-
vegetation ofwestern LongIsland south ofthe terminal teristic combination of species (i.e., a list of species and
A
moraine (Harper 1917). footnote in the last article their role, function, and position in the community).
provides an interesting explanation of the difference Mostinterestingly,when it came to namingassociations,
between “flora” and “vegetation.” An abridged excerpt Conard followed the custom of attaching the termina-
follows: tion-etum to the rootword ofan important genus ofthe
The relation between flora and vegetation association. This noun is followed by the specific name
is much like that between...dictionaries in the proper case, or by an adjective or another impor-
and literature. Dictionaries are useful and tant genus in the association. For example, black oak
well-nigh indispensable, but one does not dominated forests become the Quercetum velutinae asso-
need to know every word in the dictionary (Continuedonpage24)
Some Terms and Concepts Used in This Study
Associations: 1. a group of ronment and occurring repeatedly in ganisms andtheir environment.
plants of one or more species living the landscape (Reschke 1990, Ed- Ecosystem: an ecological
together under uniform environ- ingeretal 2002). community of various plants, ani-
mental conditions and having a uni- Ecological Systems: recur- mals, and other organisms, interact-
form and distinctive aspect. 2. the ring groups of biological communi- ing with each other and with the
finest level of the hierarchy used in ties that are found in similar physical nonliving resources in their environ-
the National Vegetation Classifica- environments and are influenced by ment, all functioning as a unit. This
tion System (Grossman et al 1998) similar dynamic ecological processes, termis sometimes usedinterchangea-
andthe basicunit forvegetation clas- such as fire or flooding. They are in- bly with community, but generally
sification in North America. It is de- tended to provide a classificationunit the concept of ecosystem is larger in
fined as a plant community type of that is readily mappable, often from scale than that of community (e.g.,
definite floristic composition, uni- remote imagery, and readily identifi- pine barrens ecosystem versus dwarf
form habitat conditions, and uniform able by conservation and resource pine barrens community).
physiognomy. managers in the field, such as North- Habitat: a place or type of
Community: an assemblage ern Atlantic Coastal Plain Pitch Pine placewhere an organism, population,
ofplants and animals interactingwith Barrens (NatureServe). http://www. or community lives. For example,
one another, occupyinga habitat, and natureserve.org/getData/ plant field guides often provide the
often modifying the habitat; a vari- USecologyData.jsp common habitat for each species,
able assemblage of plant and animal Ecology: the study of the in- such as “dry sandywoods” or “moist
populations sharing a common envi- terrelationships between living or- meadows.”
Page 24 Long Island Botanical Society Vol. 16 No. 3
(Continuedfrompage 23) ecologist David M. Hunt in the process of describing
ciation, HempsteadPlains grasslands become theAndro- the various “coastal oak-” (e.g., coastal oak-heath forest,
pogonetumHempsteadi association, and red maple swamps coastal oak-hickory forest, etc.) and “maritime” forests,
become either theAceretum rubriassociation or theAcere- aswell as the forested swamps (Edinger etal 2002).
tum Osmundaceum association depending on the setting. In 1979, a milestone in wetland classification was
For better or worse, this system ofnaming associations published by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service: The
using binomial nomenclature was not widely accepted. Classification ofWetlandsandDeepwaterHabitats ofthe United
Although it is interesting to note that Conard’s system States(Cowardin etal 1979). This bookpresents the Sys-
NY
was followed by at least one loyal practitioner (Cain tem and Subsystem hierarchy adopted by the Natu-
1937, Cain andPenfound 1938). ral Heritage Program (Reschke 1990) and still in use to-
A
concise account of the history of describing day (Edinger etal 2002). Cowardin etal (1979) defined
and documenting vegetation types on Long Island can the following Systems: Marine, Estuarine, Riverine,
be found in Irwin M. Brodo’s book TheUchensofHong Lacustrine, Palustrine. A list of these Systems along
A
Island, New York: Vegetational and Floristic Analysis with the Terrestrial System and the Subsystems
NY
(Brodo 1968). In addition to Conard’s 1935 work, (modified by Natural Heritage) is published begin-
Brodo notes others who have contributed to our un- ningonpage 27.
NY
derstanding of Long Island’s vegetation, such as the This brings us to the foundingofthe Natural
north shore oak forests (Harper 1917, Cain 1936), pine Heritage Program in 1985 and its first ecologist, Carol
NY
barrens (Watson 1860, Britton 1880, Harper 1908a, Reschke. The mission of Natural Heritage is to en-
1908b, Clute 1897), maritime heathlands or able and enhance conservation of rare animals, rare
“downs” (Taylor 1923), sand dunes (Brodo 1961), cedar plants, and significant natural communities. The bota-
swamps (Bicknell 1908, Harper 1907, Taylor 1916), red nist and zoologist had a bit of a head start in fulfilling
maple swamps (Cain and Penfound 1938), and the this mission, with published taxonomic keys and species
Hempstead Plains (Hicks 1892, Bryson 1897, Kirby descriptions in hand; however, the ecologist lacked an
1905, Harper 1911, 1912, 1915, 1918, Ferguson 1925, equivalent statewide community classification to help
Cain etal 1937). In addition to the types noted by decide what to inventory. The first edition of Ecological
Brodo (1968) there are numerous site-specific floras Communities ofNew York State (Reshke 1990) was pub-
that were mined for vegetation descriptions, such as lished in 1990 and quickly became the primary source
“The June flora of a Long Island swamp” by Anna for community classification in the state. Its success and
Murray Vail (1895), and various salt marsh studies acceptance by a wide range of users was driven by its
(Conard 1924, Taylor 1938, 1939, Johnson and York lofty goal to be an all-inclusive classification intending
1912, 1915). The pubhshing of site-specific floras and to fulfill a long-standing need. EcologicalCommunities of
vegetation studies continues up until today. Over the New York State remains die only classification in the
NY
years, Natural Heritage has greatly benefited from northeast that includes a comprehensive treatment of
these studies and the steady flow ofnewinformation on cultural communities along with the natural types. This
Long Island’s natural communities from dedicated re- allows users of this classification to describe and map
searchers. Limited space prevents the inclusion of an nearly any ecological community encountered in the
exhaustive list here, but some notable contributors to state. It is impressive to see how much ofthe first edi-
the Long Island portion the state community classifica- tion has remained unchanged in the later versions
tion include Henry Art, Eric E. Lamont, Robert E. 2a- (Edinger etal 2002). This attests to the fact that Ecologi-
remba, Ralph Good, Norma Good, Andrew M. Greller, cal Communities ofNew York State was thoroughly re-
NY
Marilyn J. Jordan, Linda S. Olsvig, and Richard Stalter searched and ahead ofits time. The Natural Fleri-
(Good and Good 1970, Art 1976, Greller 1977, 2001, tage Program was very fortunate to have had a pub-
Greller etal 1978, Olsvig etal 1979, Greller etal 1982, lished classification to buildupon.
Stalter etal 1986, Stalter and Lamont 1987, 2002, La-
mont and Stalter 1991, Zaremba and Lamont 1993,Jor- Gregory J. Edinger is the program ecologist for the
dan etal 2003). New YorkNaturalHeritage Program.
Andrew M. Greller published a classification that
described twelve mature forest types based on an exten- EDITORS Note: Part 2 ofthis article, to be published
sive literature review and field surveys (Greller 1977, in October 2006, will cover the mappingofLongIsland
2001). Andyprovided detailed descriptions with charac- Natural Communities, and the current state ofCommu-
teristic species and a dichotomous key to the types, nity Classification on LongIsland.
which included forested uplands and wetlands. Later
NY
this article was frequently cited by Natural Heritage (Continuedonpage25)
Long Island Botanical Society Vol. 16 No. 3 Page 25
(Continuedfrompage 24) Internet Sources for Natural Community and
Vegetation Classification Information
References
New York Natural Heritage Program
Aft, Henry (1976) Ecological studies ofthe Sunken For-
est, Fire Island National Seashore, NY. US Natl Park http://nynhp.org
Serv. SciMonogr Ser, No. 7. Ecological Communities ofNew YorkState
Bicknell, Eugene P. 1908. The white cedar swamp in (Edinger etal. 2002, Reschke 1990)
http://www.dec.state.ny.us/website/dfwmr/heritage/
western LongIsland. Torreya 8:27-28.
ecology.htm
Britton, N.L. 1880. On the northward extension of the
NatureServe
New Jersey pine barrens flora on Long and Staten Is-
http://www.natureserve.org/
lands. Bulletin ofthe TorreyBotanical Club 7:81-83.
Brodo, Irwin M. 1961. A study oflichen ecologyin cen- International Vegetation Classification System
http://www.natureserve.org/explorer/
tral Long Island, New York. Amer. Midland Natur.
65:290-310.
Edinger, GregoryJ., D.J. Evans, S. Gebauer, T.G. How-
Brodo, Irwin M. 1968. The lichens ofLongIsland, New ard, D.M. Hunt, andA.M. Olivero (editors). 2002. Eco-
York: avegetational and floristic analysis. Bulletin Num- logical Communities of New York State. Second Edi-
ber 410. New York State Museum and Science Service. tion. A revised and expanded edition ofCarol Reschke’s
Albany, NY. Ideological Communities ofNew York State. (Draft for re-
view). NewYork Natural Heritage Program, NewYork
Bryson, John. 1897. The Hempstead Plains. American
State Department of Environmental Conservation, Al-
Geol. 20:61-65.
bany, NY.
Cain, StanleyA. 1936. The composition and structure of
Ferguson, William C. 1925. Ferns and flowering plants
an oak woods. Cold Spring Harbor, Long Island, with
ofthe Hempstead Plains, Long Island, New York. Tor-
special attention to sampling methods. Amer. Midland
reya25:109-113.
Natur. 17:725-740.
Cain, Stanley A., M. Nelson and W. McLean 1937. An- Good, Ralph E., and Norma F. Good. 1970. Vegetation
dopogonetum hempsteadi: a Long Island grassland vegeta- oofftLhoensgeaIsclliafnfds,aNndewadjYaocrekn.tuBuplllaentdisn oonf tthheenToorrtrheyshBoor-e
tion type. Amer. MidlandNat. 18:334-350.
tanical Club 97:204-208.
Ctauimn,rubSrti:antlheey Ar.edanmdapWliellsiwamamTp. Pfeornefsotunodf.ce1n9t3r8a.lNLceorneg- Gesrteslloern,LAonndgreIwslMan.d,19N7e7.wAYocrlaks.siBfuilclaetitoinnooffmtahteurTeorfroery-
Island. Amer. MidlandNat. 19:390-416.
Botanical Club 104(4):376-382.
Clute, Willard N. 1897. Some sand-barren plants (ofthe
Shinnecockhills). PlantWorld 1:11-12. Greller, Andrew M. 2001. Outline ofa revised classifica-
tion for mature forests andrelatedwoodyvegetation on
Conard, Henry S. 1924. Second survey ofthe vegetation Long Island, NY. Long Island Botanical Society News-
ofaLongIsland saltmarsh. Ecology 5:379-388. letter 11:16-17, 33-34; 12:10.
Conard, Henry S. 1935. The plant associations of cen- Greller, Andrew M., James M. Mansky, and Robert E.
tralLongIsland. Amer. MidlandNat. 16:433-516. Calhoon. 1982. An oak, hickory-dogwood forest on
central Long Island, New York. Bulletin of the Torrey
Cowardin, L. M., V. Carter, F. C. Golet, and E. T. La-
Botanical Club 109(2):219-225.
Roe. 1979. Classification of wetlands and deepwater
habitats ofthe United States. Office ofBiological Ser- Greller, Andrew M., Robert E. Calhoon, andJames M.
vices, Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Dept, of Interior, Mansky. 1978. Grace Forest, a mixed mesophytic stand
Washington, D.C. on LongIsland, NewYork. Bot. Gaz. 139(4):482-489.
A
Denton, Daniel. 1670. brief description of New- Grossman D.H., D. Faber-Langendoen, A.S. Weakley,
York: formerly called New-Netherlands. Printed for M. Anderson, P. Bourgeron, R. Crawford, K. Goodin,
John Hancock, at the first Shop in Popes-Head-Alley in S. Landaal, K. Metzler, K.D. Patterson, M. Pyne, M.
Comhil at the three Bibles, and William Bradley at the Reid, and L. Sneddon. 1998. International classification
three Bibles in the Minories, London, England.
(Continuedonpage26)
Page 26 Long Island Botanical Society Vol. 16 No. 3
(Continuedfrompage 25) Olsvig, L. S., J. F. Cryan, and R. H. Whittaker. 1979.
of ecological communities: terrestrial vegetation of the Vegetational gradients ofthe pine plains and barrens of
United States. Volume I, The NationalVegetation Clas- LongIsland, NewYork. pp. 265-282, in: Forman, R. T.
sification System: development, status, and applications. Pine Barrens: Ecosystem and Landscape. Academic
The Nature Conservancy: Arlington,VA. Press, NewYork. 601 pp.
Harper, Roland M. 1907. A Long Island cedar swamp. Reschke, Carol. 1990. Ecological Communities ofNew
Torreya 7:198-201. York State. New York State Department of Environ-
mental Conservation, New York Natural Heritage Pro-
Harper, Roland M. 1908a. Notes on the pine-barrens of
gram. Latham, NY.
Long Island (Abstract ofapaper readbefore the Torrey
Botanical Club December 10, 1907). Torreya 8:33-34. Stalter, Richard and Eric E. Lamont. 1987. Vegetation
ofHempstead Plains, Mitchell Field, Long Island, New
Harper, Roland M. 1908b. The pine barrens ofBabylon
York. Bulletin ofthe Torrey Botanical Club 114(3):330-
and Islip. Torreya 8:1-8.
335.
Harper, Roland M. 1911. The Hempstead Plains. A
Stalter, Richard., Eric E. Lamont, and James Northup.
natural prairie on Long Island. Bui. Amer. Geogr. Soc. 1986. Vegetation of Fire Island, New York. Bulletin of
43:351-360.
the TorreyBotanical Club 113(3):298-306.
Harper, Roland M. 1912. The Hempstead plains of
Stalter, Richard and Eric E. Lamont. 2002. Vascular
LongIsland. Torreya 12:277. flora ofJamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, Long Island, New
Harper, Roland M. 1915. Hempstead Plains. New Inter. York. Journal of the Torrey Botanical Society 129
Encyc. 2nd ed. 11:133. (4):346-358.
Harper, Roland M. 1917. The natural vegetation of Taylor, Norman. 1916. A white cedar swamp at
western Long Island, south of the terminal moraine. Merrick, Long Island, and its significance. Mem. N.Y.
Torreya 17:1-13. Bot. Gard. 6:79-88.
Harper, Roland M. 1918. The vegetation ofthe Hemp- Taylor, Norman. 1923. The vegetation of Long Island.
stead Plains. Mem. TorreyBot. Club 17:262-286. Brooklyn Bot. Gard. Mem. 2:1-107.
Hicks, Henry. 1892. The vegetation of Hempstead Taylor, Norman. 1938. A preliminary report on the salt
Plains. Unpublished manuscript at Cornell University marsh vegetation of Long Island. N.Y. State Mus. Bui.
andat the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. 316:21-84.
Jelhffe, Smith Ely. 1899. The flora ofLong Island. The Taylor, Norman. 1939. Salt tolerance ofLongIsland salt
NewEraPrintingCompany, Lancaster, PA. marsh plants. New York State Museum Circ. 23:1-42
Figs. 1-19 (November).
Johnson, Duncan S. and H. H. York. 1912. The relation
A
of plants to tide levels. study of the distribution of Thompson, John E. 1997. Ecological communities of
marine plants at Cold Spring Harbor. John Hopkins the Montauk Peninsula, Suffolk, County, New York.
Univ. Circ. 1912:116 (February). The Nature Conservancy, Long Island Chapter, Cold
SpringHarbor, NY.
Johnson, Duncan S. and H. H. York. 1915. The relation
ofplants to tide levels. Carnegie Inst. Pub. 206:113-121. Vail, Anna Murray. 1895. The June flora of a Long Is-
land swamp. Gard. For. 8:282-283.
Jordan, Marilyn W.A. Patterson III, and A.W. Win-
J.,
disch. 2003. Conceptual ecological models for the Long Watson, Winslow C. 1860. The plains of Long Island.
Island pitch pine barrens: implications for managing C. Van Benthuysen,Albany, NY.
rare plant communities. Forest Ecology and Manage-
Zaremba, Robert E. 2006. Continuing botanical tradi-
ment 185:151-168.
tions on LongIsland: 1984-1985. Long Island Botanical
Kirby, James. 1905. Some plants of the Hempstead SocietyNewsletter 16(2):16-19.
plains. Amer. Bot. 7:110.
Zaremba, Robert E. and Eric E. Lamont. 1993. The
Lamont, Eric E. and Richard Stalter. 1991. The vascular status of the Coastal Plain pondshore community in
flora of Orient Beach State Park, Long Island, New New York. Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club 120
York. Bulletin ofthe Torrey Botanical Club 118(4):459- (2):180-187.
468.
.
Long Island Botanical Society Vol. 16 No. 3 Page 27
An Annotated List ofthe Ecological Communities of Long Island, NewYork
The following listis a subset ofthe com- C.ESTUARINE CULTURAL C.FORESTEDMINERALSOIL
munities described by NY Natural Heri- 1. Estuarine submergedstructure WETLANDS
tage (Edinger etal 2002) that are known 2. Estuarinewaterchestnutbed 1. Floodplainforest-?
or suspected to occur on Long Island. 3. Estuarinechannel/artificialimpound- 2. Redmaple-hardwood swamp-1
Culturalcommunities areincluded,butare ment 3. Redmaple-blackgumswamp-8
not tracked by NY Natural Heritage. 4. Estuarineditch 4. Redmaple-sweetgumswamp— 1
About 87 (50%) of the 174 natural com- 5. Estuarineimpoundmentmarsh 5. Vernalpool-0
munities described by NY Natural Heri- 6. Estuarinereedgrassmarsh 6. Hemlock-hardwoodswamp-?
tage occur on Long Island. Out of the 7. Estuarine dredge spoil shore D. FORESTEDPEATLANDS
1,709 natural community element occur- 8. Estuarineriprap/artificialshore 1 CoastalplainAtlanticwhite cedar
rences currently documented by NY RIVERINE SYSTEM swamp—4
Natural Heritage, 247 (14%) are on Long AII.I.NATURALSTREAMS E. PALUSTRINECULTURAL
I0#sl==andinbtd.nehaufesmNirenbeYiaetasrerNleoayoftnfouJocrLucanooulecnrcHsg1ue,rorIr2isne0lt0naLa6ncgod.eensoBgciicnoItsutilrhcaresnednNd,caYbetuas-t 2B3451......MCISCRnopoaItarnresiVfsrtniEhmagnilReht-Iptedle0aNarndiiEtwvnaesCsrttteUr—rreLea?saTmtmU—r—eR0a0AmL—0 2345761....... DMRIRPIueerimmrevenpppdedeoolgrguuertsennaeplsodddosisoeepldsoddmreiwsaalemstirtwarwnsleireafhatdsemnlhmdapmunadcrkslhand
NaturalHeritageBiotics databaseas 1. Riverine submerged structure 8.Waterrechargebasin
2. Riverinewaterchestnutbed
?= uoonfncJeLurontneaig1n,Iis2fl0at0nh6id.s.communityoccurs 23..ACcaindailfied stream VAI..OTPEERNREUSPTLRAINADLSSYSTEM
4.Ditch/artificialintermittentstream 1. Sandbeach-0
MARINE SYSTEM 5. Industrialeffluentstream 2.Maritimebeach—7
A2B2I311........MMMMMMMMaaaaaAAArrrrriiiiiRRRnnnnnIIIeeeeeNNNiirednneEoEEettlceeegkrpIrCSrttywaNUUiisaiddTsBtLnaatlelETmTergmRrefUrtucaTDiadRoddvIfAaAmelolDLmlaLw-A/tussnL—4ai-n1td0yb—ea0ch-0 A23BI41.....V..EOCOLNolulLAaiitAsggArCTtoooCUattpUlrrSUhRooipTSpplcAhhRaTiiLpiIRccnoNLInppdEidoAoNmnnKi-CEddcEUt0S--iSLcY4?TAlSaUNkTReDEA-MPL0ONDS 35467891.......0.MMMMHRMiaaaaaeSvrrrrrumeciiiiiprctttttsseiiiiiitsmmmmmdseeeeeeeiaohgbdssdnlrehuaauaarnnPlfstuldefshab/sflil—lgeana-arrnsn1nnad8ddvgm-er-—ela8sa35bsdalroanw-d-?-?1
CL.Marine submergedartificialstructure/ 21.. LLaaccuussttrriinneewsautbemrerchgeesdtnsuttrubcetudre 11. Successionalblueberryheath-?
12. Successionalnorthernsandplaingrass-
reef 3.Acidifiedlake land-0
2.Marine dredge spoilshore 4. Culturaleutrophiclake 13. Successionaloldfield—0
3.Marineriprap/artificialshore 5. Farmpond/artificialpond 14. Successionalshrubland—0
6. Reservoir/artificialimpoundment BARRENSANDWOODLANDS
ESTUARINE SYSTEM B.
A23BI451....I....TFBFSEEiarrrSdlSaeeatcssTTlwkhhaUUiwwrtsiaaAAehvttrRReeerstIrIrui—bNdNtstaiuE0lEidbdactalISirldceNUaraeTlBqekueETa—akqRItu4-iTaDctI0AibDcLeAdbeL-d0—0 VA7891....0..AIQPrnWuSOtdAaeiuEPfrwsLiTrtaEcUrygiLNiaeSaplAlToMtpNcrnoRIoeodDINoalSltNEimneERgnAtSpLpoYonSSndOTdIELM 2345C11.......DMMPPSFiiuaawttcOrraccciiRrhhettsfEiippsmmiiSpieennioTeennpp--eEaiosoltsDpcactlrrkhaeuU-oibdphnaPiesocknaLea—etfdAkhoad1rNbrwueaDosnwrtoeoSrd-eowlndo4salona-ddnl3d-an—9d0-4
234576891111........02.1..HLBSCBBBS.aaorrrrBiFFollaaaaarrrgttwsccccaeehptkkkkscsssaiiiiakhhhsalssssiranwwllhhhhsutnaasthbattemiimtlmneeiniat—ea-tdrrtnraeparte2lrst4teorsdtiirhmdnhiddtouadaaid—nwlla-rdlaa-ms7s—ll9mhaw7ussr2ad-whsfmaoh2llrpaee—st——s1-?—130 23B24576811...........MDPPSSICSCsOaooiinwheheaaarlnnPadreslsaeeilguEptetntlebbbsaadioNaaellmmsw—nrrmeeppwrrPoeell5eenaarmfEaanncdrgmeiissaAneneroplsvnTgsppwchet—ehoaLowrrn-roanmn0Autetraad0boNelmrfurssaDspeshirwhnoSonlsanrt-—ahmeedkr06ep—--dsu—060hn0oa4lre—? 234568791111........2301...MMMCCCCC.oooooaaaPAAOaaaaarrrippassssstiiikpptttttc-tttaaaaaaahtiiilllllllummmaapleeeccoooooiiaahhaaanpbhrkkkiikkeoee----aa--tldlehhhrnnoblaoceieacyeuleoohcakeerlfaaktdefcoyffkkohlaohroo--rrrferrffpheyfoseeoofiisortssrrfotncretteeor—esek-ssre—st-ottesft1r-2sto3——1yt-r—2e1f2-65so2tr7e-st0—0
13. Freshwaterintertidalmudflats-0 3. Sealevelfen—6
4.Highbushblueberrybogthicket—4 (Continuedonpage28)
Page 28 Long Island Botanical Society Vol. 16 No. 3
(Continuedfrompage27) 11.Mowedlawnwithtrees 28.Dredge spoils
14. Hemlock-northernhardwood 12.Mowedlawn 29.Mine spoils
forest-0 13.Mowedroadside/pathway 30. Landfill/dump
15. Successionalnorthernhardwoods—0 14.Herbicide-sprayedroadside/pathway 31.Junkyard
16. Successionalsouthernhardwoods-0 15. Unpavedroad/path 32. Urbanvacantlot
17. Successionalmaritime forest—2 16. Railroad 33. Urbanstructureexterior
D. TERRESTRIALCULTURAL 17. Pavedroad/path 34. Ruralstructureexterior
1. Cropland/rowcrops 18. Roadcutcliff/slope 35. Interiorofbarn/agriculturalbuilding
2. Cropland/fieldcrops 19. Riprap/erosioncontrolroadside 36. Interiorofnonagricultura!building
3. Pastureland 20. Rockquarry VII. SUBTERRANEANSYSTEM
4. Flower/herbgarden 21. Gravelmine A. NATURALCAVES
5. Orchard 22. Sandmine SUBTERRANEANCULTURAL
B.
6.Vineyard 23. Brushyclearedland
7. Hardwoodplantation 24. Artificialbeach 1.Mine/artificialcavecommunity
2. Sewer
8. Pineplantation 25. Riprap/artificiallake shore
9. Spruce/firplantation 26. Dredge spoillake shore 3. Tunnel
10. Coniferplantation 27. Construction/roadmaintenance spoils 4. Basement/buildingfoundation
A Swamp Forest Complex with Siberian Elm at the Southern End
of Willow Lake, Flushing Meadows Park, Queens County
Andrew Greller, Eric Morgan and Jon Sperling
Flushing Meadows Park (FMP) was the site of
the iconic 1939 World’s Fair. As such, the area was
transformed by Robert Moses, then NYC Parks Com-
missioner, from a smoldering ash dump (the inspiration
for “The Valley ofAshes” in TheGreatGatsby) to a land-
scaped park that included two artificial lakes, Meadow
(north) and Willow (south). He built a complex of
roadways and streets, so that the Park was bounded on
the south and west by Grand Central Parkway, on the
north by Horace HardingBoulevard, and by Park Drive
East. Nevertheless, before the area was so transformed
there was a rich and rare (for Long Island) natural flora
and vegetation, ranging from brackish marshes at the
mouth of Flushing Creek through freshwater marshes
to swamp forest and streams at the south end.
Monachino (1938) reported 318 plants from the
World’s Fair site. Ferguson (1924) noted an American
elm swamp forest atTrain’s Meadow inwhat is now the Fig. 1. Aerial map ofFlushing Meadow Park, Queens.
area fromJackson Heights to LaGuardia Airport, and a
few miles from FMP. XJlmus americana was fisted as able to gain admission to the grounds. We found a for-
m
dominant; Quercusbicolor and Fleerrubrum were fisted as est approximately 20 tall coveringa few acres. By far
common, andFraxinusPennsylvaniaas occasional. the largest portion ofthe wooded area (Fig. 1 map sec-
It was with great interest, therefore, that one of tion I) was occupied by Siberian elms (XJlmuspumila).
us (AMG) determined the presence of an elm forest at Beneath the elms was a uniform understory (< 3m) of
the southern tip ofWillow Lake, the limit ofFMP (Fig. shrub honeysuckle (Toniceramaackii). The floor of this
1, map; Fig. 2, photo). InApril, the trees can be identi- exotic forest was devoid of plant fife. Trash was scat-
fied as elms by the abundance of winged fruits that tered throughout the area.
clothe the upper branches and paint them a chartreuse Further exploration of the forest revealed a dif-
color. That swamp forest is inaccessible to the public ference in substrate composition. The soil beneath the
because it is within the fortified fences of a NYC De- Siberian elm/shrub honeysuckle forest appeared to
partment of Transportation rail yard, for the mainte- have been dumped there as fill. Itwas the yellowish soil
nance of subway cars. One ofus (EM) is an employee common in the ground moraine of northern Queens
of NYC Natural Resources Group, so we easily were (Continuedonpage29)
Long Island Botanical Society Vol. 16 No. 3 Page 29
(Continuedfrompage 28)
(Haven Loam, formerly known as “Miami Stony
Loam”). Small boulders of diverse provenance were
evidence of its origin as till. Walking west southwest,
we came to a drop-off of a foot or so, where the soil
was uniformly fine-textured, suggesting an alluvial ori-
gin. This low, apparently unfilled area, had most ofthe
largest trees. Here, in this relatively small section (Fig.
1, map section III) we found large specimens of five
species of oak: Quercus bicolor, Q.palustris, Q.phellos, Q.
rubra and Q. velutina also American elm, Ulmus ameri-
, ;
cana. All ofthese species are characteristic ofnortheast-
ern swamp forests, with the exception of black oak.
Smaller trees in section III were: Uquidambarstyraciflua,
Prunusserotina, Comusmas and PJoamnus cf.frangula. We
,
found anumber ofred oak saplings in this section. Wil-
lLoowngoaIksl(aQ.ndphetloldosa)y,isanlotthokungohwnit firsopmremsaetnutreinstaalnldssiozne Fig. 2. Ulmispumila swamp forestPfhortoombsyouAtnhd.rewM. Greller
classes in southern Staten Island (AMG, personal obser- parking lot. Ailanthus and Morns alba were the only
vation). While it is possible that the willow oak speci- other abundant trees here. The bryoflora of the area
men was planted by Robert Moses when he constructed was depauperate, yet one ofus (JS) uncovered from un-
the parkway system for the 1939 World’s Fair, that spe- der the leaflitter an interesting moss, Phascum cuspidatum
cies has been reported historically for Queens County Hedw. (Pottiaceae). This bryophyte features a stemless
(Jelliffe 1899). sporophyte.
We then walked the length ofsection III, moving
west, and reached another filled area. Here the ground References
was higher, approximately two or three feet above sec- Ferguson, W.C. 1924. Contributions to the flora of
tion III. We designated this smallest unit, II (Fig. 1, LongIsland, N.Y., secondpaper.
map section II). The substrate contained chunks ofas-
Bulletin ofthe TorreyBotanical Club 51:177-201.
phalt. The soil matrix was unrecognizable but probably
derived in part from till and perhaps from alluvium re- Jelliffe, S.E. 1899. TheFlora ofLongIsland. Lancaster
moved from an adjacent water-filled depression (sump (privatelyprinted), xvi+163 pp.
or pond). Section II was dominated by some medium-
sized red oaks that appearto have beenplantedin arow Monachino, J. 1938. Trip of July 9 (1938) to the
NYC DOT World’s Fairregion. Torreya 38:156-157.
along the fence of the access road to the
LIBS Online
Donald House
Several years ago Eric Lamont, no doubt under ure it out, but this is far from actually doing it. I told
the delusion that my dabbling in digital photography him my concerns. He said that we would get someone
and use of PowerPoint meant I was a “techie,” ap- else to build it and that I need only maintain it. I said
proachedme about maintainingthe LongIslandBotani- that I would think aboutit andlet him know at the next
cal Society’s Web site. Actually, LIBS alreadyhad aWeb meeting. Before the end ofthe night, I toldhim I would
site, which was on a server at SUNY Stony Brook. do it. As luck would have it, shortly after accepting
However, our contact had moved from the area and it Eric’s invitation, my employer decided they needed a
had become neglected. We didn’t even have access to it webmaster and chose to train me, apparently under the
anymore, hence the need to make a new start. Although same delusion that I was a “techie.”
I was coming under the increasing conviction that I I met with Eric and Skip Blanchard several
should make a contribution to LIBS, I was uncertain as months later. Eric and Skip choseJenn Blanchard, Skip
to whether or not I could do this. I knew almost noth- Blanchard’s niece, who was trained in Web site con-
ing about HTML. I would peek at the source code of struction, to build the site. She would do the initial
Web pages once in awhile andbelieved that I could fig- (Continuedonpage30)
—
Long Island Botanical Society Vol. 16 No. 3 Page 30
(Continuedfrompage 29) complete information from the monthly meeting min-
maintenance and, as I became proficient in HTML, I utes) well in advance of the Newsletter. Last fall we
would take over. An archaeological investigation ofmy planned a trip after the Newsletter came out. I was able
e-mail folder leads me to believe that I took over main- to post it on the site two weeks beforehand. Meeting
tenance ofthe LIBS site some timein October 2004. changes and cancellations have also been posted. The
For those who have not visited the site, the Web links page has a collection oflinks to botanical sites and
address is www.libotanical.org. The main page has our sites of authorities that administrate local natural areas.
statement of purpose, news, and, of course, a menu Plans are underwayto put an archive ofpast newsletters
linkingto the rest ofthe site. The site contains a sample online.
from the FloraAtlasofFongIsland (which may one day I invite members to visit the site and explore its
be available online), membership and contact informa- features. Suggestions from members are always wel-
tion. The two pages Iuse most frequently are the “Field come. The links page in particular can be expanded.
Trips” and “Programs” pages. Ever the slob, I am al- Send all suggestions to [email protected].
ways mislaying my hardcopy of the LIBS Newsletter.
All the information about our field trips and programs Donald House, an amateur botanist, has been a
are here, often before the Newsletter comes out. I try to memberofLIBS since 1993. He has an M.A. in Music
post field trips and programs (for which we have in- from Long Island University.
Plant Sightings
Barbara Connolly noted, on April 11, that skunk cabbage also at the edge of the shagbark hickory site near Ridge.
Symplocarpusfoetidus) in Shu Swamp is thriving. Marsh Andy Greller reported that he had found it at Caumsett
(
marigold Calthapalustris) is in full bloom while trout lily and thatitis in the Flora ofCaumsett.
(
(Frythronium americanum) and spring beauty (Claytonia vir-
ginica) are justbeginning. Barbara Conolly announced that the Siberian geranium
(Geranium sibericum) is alive andwell in the Coffin Woods
Andy Greller reported that he has found pipsissewa Preserve along with the goatsbeard Aruncusdioicus) and
(
(Chimaphila umbellata) scattered under an acre of pine the Galax urceolata (beetleweed). The latter was support-
trees at the Iselin Preserve in Matinecock, Nassau ing 14 blooms.
County. He also discovered four patches of May-apple,
Podophyllumpedatum, growing vigorously. Three are circu- Garlic mustard 'Alliariapetiolata has been in the news
( )
lar patches in a field being maintained by once-a-year lately. Eric Lamont reported that this plant is now ap-
mowing. The other patch is in a woodland ravine near a pearing in a woodland in Riverhead for the first time.
fence. Podophyllumis not considerednative to LongI. MarilynJordan urges all to pull up garlic mustard wher-
everthey see it.
Rich Kelly found lycopodium clavatum (running clubmoss)
atthe MuttontownPreserve, north ofthe glacialkame. Andy Greller reports that at Fox Hollow Preserve in
Syosset, he found an entire hillside of dead and dying
Carol Johnston reported European dogtooth violet, mountainlaurels (Kalmia latifolid)\
Urythronium dens-canis, in Coffin Woods recently. Since
there is a persistent group of about 30 plants, it will be In May andJune, experts from the Peconic Estuary Pro-
addedto the Atlas. gram, The Nature Conservancy, and the NewYork State
Department ofEnvironmental Conservation joined local
OnMay 9,JohnPotente announced thatElsaL'Homme- residents, fishermen, and canoeists to hand-pull water
dieu’s Platanthera lacera (ragged fringed orchid) is just primrose Hudwigiapeploides a newly discovered invasive
emerging fromthe groundinhis yardin Smithtown. plant that( is threatening t),he Peconic River ecosystem.
Native to South America, water primrose was first seen
Ray Welch notes that the Calycanthusfloridus (sweet- inPeconic Lake on the Peconic Riverin 2003. Since that
shrub) that he found at Blydenburgh Park doesn’t look point, ithas spreadthree miles downstreamto Grangebel
planted. Itwillbe addedto theAtlas. Park in downtown Riverhead. Mysteriously, it has been
found in only one other location on Long Island
Skip Blanchardhas found avetch new to NewYorkwith ProspectParkinBrooklyn.
paired purple flowers, Vicia lathyroides(spring vetch), on
SmithtownBypass, at the edge ofMt. PleasantRoad, and