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
Site is about 0.5 mile E of Bennett. From Bennett, take Rt. 9 north, about 0.2 miles to Camp Laurie. Turn right into Camp Laurie. Proceed to the end of the road, turn left. Sites are 0.4 and 0.2 miles W of the Garden State Parkway.
Soil Description: Soil is sandy loam, pH 3.8 to 4.0, overlying interbedded gravel, sand and clay of the Unnamed Formation at Cape May.
General Soil Description: More gray than A; pH at 15.2 cm = 4.0
Landscape Description: Located in a deciduous forest just to the N of a forested trailer park. A golf course borders to the N and E. The Garden State Parkway lies <0.25 mile E. The surrounding forest is dominated by Liquidambar styraciflua, Acer rubrum and Quercus spp. (Q. falcata, Q. phellos, Q. marilandica), Sassafras, Ilex opaca, and Uvularia. (Small, 0.11-acre, pondshore community in fair condition within two small coastal plain intermittent ponds surrounded by deciduous lowland forest within a campground, adjacent to a golf course.)
Physiographic Province: Outer Coastal Plain
Watershed Code: 02040302080
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
Misc Fields:
Observation Narrative
Community Type: coastal plain pond
General Description: Coastal plain intermittent ponds located within a deciduous lowland forest along the northern edge of a trailer park and campground, just south of a golf course. The surrounding landscape is very gently rolling, underlain by interbedded gravel, sand and clay of the Unnamed Formation at Cape May. Leersia oryzoides - Polygonum caespitosum - Polygonum hydropiper Herbaceous Vegetation (A1) occurs in the central to middle zones of the ponds, which is partially shaded by surrounding trees. An adjacent herbaceous community in pond B is dominated by Impatiens pallida and Rubus allegheniensis, with Decodon verticillatus, Lonicera japonica, Rosa multiflora, Parthenocissus quinquefolia, Carex longii and Boehmeria cylindrica (B1). The surrounding shrub and tree zone of pond B is dominated by Acer rubrum and Toxicodendron radicans, with Leucothoe racemosa, Prunus serotina, Quercus phellos, Liquidambar styraciflua, Nyssa sylvatica, Magnolia virginiana, Viburnum dentatum, Morella pensylvanica, Lonicera japonica, Mitchella repens, Euonymous americanus, Decodon verticillatus, Smilax rotundifolia, Parthenocissus quinquefolia, Woodwardia virginica and Lindera benzoin (B3). The surrounding shrub and tree zone of pond A is dominated by Liquidambar styraciflua, Diospyros virginiana and Vaccinium corymbosum, with Acer rubrum, Smilax rotundifolia, Quercus phellos and Decodon verticillatus (A2). Drainage channels have been cut into the southeastern corner of pond B and runoff from the golf course likely affects nutrient load in both ponds. The ponds both appear smaller than what appears in the 1995/97 aerial photographs, which may be the result of drawdown of the aquifer and subsequent drying out of the ponds, or for pond B, may simply be the result of the drainage ditches.
General Description: Coastal plain intermittent ponds located within a deciduous lowland forest along the northern edge of a trailer park and campground, just south of a golf course. The surrounding landscape is very gently rolling, underlain by interbedded gravel, sand and clay of the Unnamed Formation at Cape May. Leersia oryzoides - Polygonum caespitosum - Polygonum hydropiper Herbaceous Vegetation occurs in the central to middle zones of the ponds, which is partially shaded by surrounding trees. An adjacent herbaceous community in pond B is dominated by Impatiens pallida and Rubus allegheniensis, with Decodon verticillatus, Lonicera japonica, Rosa multiflora, Parthenocissus quinquefolia, Carex longii and Boehmeria cylindrica. The surrounding shrub and tree zone of pond B is dominated by Acer rubrum and Toxicodendron radicans, with Leucothoe racemosa, Prunus serotina, Quercus phellos, Liquidambar styraciflua, Nyssa sylvatica, Magnolia virginiana, Viburnum dentatum, Morella pensylvanica, Lonicera japonica, Mitchella repens, Euonymous americanus, Decodon verticillatus, Smilax rotundifolia, Parthenocissus quinquefolia, Woodwardia virginica and Lindera benzoin. The surrounding shrub and tree zone of pond A is dominated by Liquidambar styraciflua, Diospyros virginiana and Vaccinium corymbosum, with Acer rubrum, Smilax rotundifolia, Quercus phellos and Decodon verticillatus. Drainage channels have been cut into the southeastern corner of pond B and runoff from the golf course likely affects nutrient load in both ponds. The ponds both appear smaller than what appears in the 1995/97 aerial photographs, which may be the result of drawdown of the aquifer and subsequent drying out of the ponds, or for pond B, may simply be the result of the drainage ditches.
Community Description: Fair quality herbaceous pondshore community occurring in the central to upper zones of two coastal plain intermittent ponds. The larger occurrence (pond A) is dominated by Polygonum caespitosum (65%) and an unidentified grass (30%), with Bidens tripartita (2%), Diospyros virginiana saplings (2%) and less than 1% Proserpinaca pectinata, Acer rubrum seedlings, Smilax rotundifolia and Panicum verrucosum. The smaller occurrence (pond B) is dominated by Polygonum punctatum (40%) and the unidentified grass (35%), with Ludwigia palustris (8%), Galium sp. (3%), Polygonum densiflorum (3%), Bidens tripartita (3%), Proserpinaca pectinata (1%) and less than 1% Physalis sp., Abutilon theophrasti, Lobelia cardinalis and Lycopus uniflora. Patchy distribution. Soil is sandy loam, pH 3.8 to 4.0, overlying interbedded gravel, sand and clay of the Unnamed Formation at Cape May. No standing water on survey date. Part sun exposure, gentle slope.
Community Description (field): Herbaceous zone dominated by Polygonum punctatum in the NE corner of the coastal plain pond. Quercus phellos, Cephalanthus and Decodon grow in the edge of this zone. A large patch of grass blends into the Polygonum-dominated area. Bidens and Impatiens grow amonst the shrubs and trees in the edge. Galium, Ludwigia palustris and Polygonum densiflorum are scattered throughout, sometimes forming patches within the Polygonum.
Additional species present but not in plot: Abutilon theophrasti, Lobelia cardinalis, Lycopus uniflorus
NOTE: Although the entire periphery of both ponds were mapped for this occurrence (totaling 0.45 acres), Leersia oryzoides - Polygonum caespitosum - Polygonum hydropiper Herbaceous Vegetation occupies approximately 0.03 acres in the western pond (B) and 0.08 acres in the eastern pond (A).
