NJ Natural Heritage Program, NJDEP Division of Parks and Forestry, Office of Natural Lands Management, 22 S. Clinton Ave, Plaza Bldg 4, Fl. 4, PO Box 404 Trenton, NJ, 08625-0404
GPS readings for other 3 plot corners: 1-SE) 41.07779, -74.81165; 2-SW) 41.07777, -74.8117; 3-NW) 41.07779, -74.81171
Shape
Rectangular
Area
10
m²
Permanence
permanent plot
Layout Narrative
Plot is 2 x 5m, located at 29-31m, on the NE side of the transect.
Environment Fields:
Elevation
150
m
Slope Aspect
315
º
Slope Gradient
3
º
Landscape Narrative
General Landscape Description: Surrounding landscape was historically farmed, particularly the area on the W, which is now a scrubby successional forest. The area to the E is a rich calcareous forest on Dolomite outsrops, with park trails. This pond is hydrolically connected to Frog Pond.
Soil Texture: Mineral - silty clay
Average pH of Mineral Soil: 6.5 (meter), 6.6 (blue) and 6.8/.9 (red).
Representativeness
fair-other areas have additional species/dominance shifts
Overall Taxon Cover Values are Automatically Calculated?
no
Plot Quality Fields:
Plot Validation Level
(1) occurrence plot: sufficient for determining type occurrence
Overall Plot Vegetation Fields:
Dominant Stratum
Herb
Growthform1 Type
Herbs
Growthform2 Type
Other/unknown
Growthform3 Type
Shrubs
Growthform1 Cover
95
%
Growthform2 Cover
18
%
Growthform3 Cover
0.5
%
Misc Fields:
Observation Narrative
Community Type: calcareous sinkhole pond
General Description: This community occurs in solution sinkholes on Allentown Dolomite with surficial deposits of glacial till/bedrock complex. Very rarely it will also occur on glacial outwash (kettles). Soils are shallow silt loam, silty clay loam, silty clay, or rarely silt marl, overlaying clay or bedrock. It may also occur, very rarely, on marly muck over peat. Small dolomite rocks are often present on the soil surface. The soils are periodically inundated and are categorized as somewhat poorly drained, poorly drained or very poorly drained. This pondshore community is seasonally flooded. The hydroperiod ranges from 4-14 weeks, averaging 8-10 weeks, with seasonal water level fluctuations as great as eighteen (18) feet in elevation. Slope is flat, gentle or moderate. Aspect is flat, north, northwest, northeast, south or southeast. A vegetation gradient often exists within this community type. The upper shore or narrow terrace of a pond may be dominated by Panicum longifolium, Carex pellita and Panicum lanuginosum var. tennesseense with scattered Aster racemosus and Boltonia asteroides var. asteroides. This graminoid and forb mix grades into a wide zone of the typical Boltonia-Aster-Mentha forb-dominated type mid-slope. Downslope it grades into the Panicum capillare - Cyperus strigosus graminoid zone with scattered Boltonia, Aster or Mentha. The zonation and species dominance vary temporally and spatially with changes in groundwater hydrology. This community is most often associated with the Platanus occidentalis – Fraxinus pennsylvanica – Ulmus americana / Cornus sericea floodplain terrace forest community, the Panicum capillare - Cyperus strigosus community and the Chara non-vascular aquatic community.
Other associated species present but not in plot: Asclepias incarnata, Alisma subcordatum, Penthorum sedoides, Panicum capillaris, Phalaris arundinacea, Carex viridula, Eleocharis acicularis, Lythrum salicaria, Osmunda regalis, Cephalanthus occidentalis, Eleocharis obtusa, Eleocharis palustris.
