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290 - Ft Dix (stops a-g)
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» Citation URL: http://vegbank.org/cite/urn:lsid:vegbank.org/vegbranch:observation:413-{481CE470-9B41-4BF9-8EEC-8A50D01B22E5}
» Citing info |
| Plot ID Fields: | |
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Author Plot Code  |
290 - Ft Dix (stops a-g)
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| Author Observation Code |
290 - Ft Dix (stops a-g)
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| Original Data Location |
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
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| Location Fields: |
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| Confidentiality Status |
10 km radius (nearest 0.1 degree)
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| Latitude |
40
º
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| Longitude |
-74.5
º
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| Author Location |
Fort Dix
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| State or Province |
New Jersey
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| Country |
United States
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| Named Places |
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| Layout Fields: | |
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| Shape |
Plotless
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| Permanence |
not permanent
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| Layout Narrative |
plotless - latitude and longitude coordinates are taken from the center of the survey area
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| Environment Fields: | |
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| Landscape Narrative |
General Soil / Geology Description: Most of Fort Dix is underlain by the Kirkwood Sand Formation, with limited higher elevation areas underlain by the Cohansey Sand especially in the eastern part of the base, or capped by reworked Beacon Hill gravel near Brown Mills and some eastern hills. Very limited areas are underlain by glauconite containing marls of the Manasquan and Vincentown formations, as at lower elevations near tributaries of Crosswick Creek. Scattered surficial deposits and soils with small amounts of glauconite mixed with sandy deposits also occur in the western portions of the base. Soils in the central and eastern portions of Fort Dix include large areas of Lakewood, Evesboro, Lakehurst, Atsion, and Berryland sand soils and Manahawkin muck soils, developing on both Kirkwood and Cohansey Sand Formations along a gradient of increasing water table influence. Scattered areas of Downer loamy sand or Sassafras fine sandy loam soils occur on reworked Beacon Hill/Bridgton materials overlying these sandy formations. Limited areas of Nixonton and Pasquotank fine sandy loam soils found near Taylor Mountain are derived from the lower Kirkwood Formation or reworked materials from it. In the western portions of Fort Dix, glauconitic soils derived from reworked marl formations mixed with other sediments include Adelphia and Shrewsberry fine sandy loams and truncated sandy clay loams, with moderate amounts of glauconite, as well as Freehold and Holmdel loamy sand soils, with low amounts of glauconite.
General Landscape Description: Fort Dix is located in Ocean and Burlington Counties between 39o 57' and 40o 03' north latitude and between 74o 25' and 74o 40' west longitude. The entire base falls within the outer coastal plain physiographic province of southern New Jersey (based on the underlying Tertiary geology), although western portions of the base are underlain or influenced by Tertiary marls, producing influences on soils and vegetation for an affinity to nearby inner coastal plain areas with Cretaceous marls. The headwaters of two major drainages flow from within Fort Dix, the North Branch Rancocas Creek (including Hartshorn Mill Stream, Gaunts Brook, Goodwater Run, Jacks Run, Bowkers Run, Larkins Run, Newbold Run), and Crosswick Creek (including South Run and Jumping Brook). Sandy hills along the east side of Fort Dix form the drainage divide between these watersheds and those of the Toms River draining eastward.
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| Methods Fields: | |
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| Observation Start Date |
13-Oct-1994
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| Observation End Date |
13-Oct-1994
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| Project |
NJ Mark Wong
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| Cover Method |
Braun-Blanquet
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| Stratum Method |
National Park Service
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| Overall Taxon Cover Values are Automatically Calculated? |
no
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| Plot Quality Fields: | |
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| Plot Validation Level |
(1) occurrence plot: sufficient for determining type occurrence
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| Overall Plot Vegetation Fields: | |
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| Dominant Stratum |
Herb
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| Growthform1 Type |
Herbs
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| Growthform2 Type |
Shrubs
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| Growthform3 Type |
Moss
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| Misc Fields: | |
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| Observation Narrative |
Community Type: pitch pine-pineland reed grass hydric savanna
General Community Description: Known from only a few well developed occurrences in the New Jersey Pine Barrens, the rare pitch pine-pineland reed grass savanna (PPL-4) community achieves the worlds largest occurrence at Fort Dix (perhaps totaling over 300 acres). This community, as well as associated pitch pine lowland types, are primary habitats for a number of rare lepidoptera such as Federal Candidate species Agrotis buchholzi, Spartiniphaga carterae and Crambus daeckellus and a new species of Richia or Loxagrotis. The Fort Dix occurrence is actually composed of 20 or more proximal but discrete patches ranging from 1-15 acres, with a few reaching 60-100+ acres in size. Nearly all are associated with other pitch pine lowland communities, mostly pitch pine-huckleberry-sheep laurel subhydric barrens in adjacent, slightly less saturated landscape positions. In more typical and natural(?) occurrences within Fort Dix, and most outside the base, this community is characterized by a 1-50 percent cover of Pinus rigida, a dense stratum of Calamovilfa brevipilis with 50-100 percent cover, and occasional patches or scattered individual shrubs typically including Gaylussacia dumosa, Gaylussacia baccata, Kalmia angustifolia, Ilex glabra, Vaccinium corymbosum, Chamaedaphne calyculata or Myrica sp. Other herbs can sometimes include Sphagnum spp., Andropogon glomeratus, Gentiana autumnalis, Muhlenbergia torreyana, and Amphicarpum purshii.
Community Description: This is a pitch pine-pineland reedgrass savanna, frequently burned and nearly treeless; probably the world's largest occurrence of Calamovilfa brevipilis; widely scattered deep bomb craters filled with water; stops a-e within this large patch with similar species composition and near treeless structure; stops f and g have 5-10% Pinus rigida creating savanna structure but otherwise similar composition.
Management: Preliminary analysis of historical aerial photography suggests most of the Fort Dix patches of pitch pine-reedgrass savanna predate the base's activation of this part of the impact area (circa 1940), although the frequent fire regime generated within the impact area since then has at different locations either perpetuated, modified or perhaps in limited areas expanded this community. In sites with a more frequent or severe fire history and perhaps a wetter hydrologic regime, these factors may interact to suppress woody invasion, creating nearly treeless "grasslands" with fewer shrubs, while associated herbs often remain common. Although less typical or natural(?), these Calamovilfa brevipilis monocultures may provide as good or even better habitat for the rare lepidoptera dependent on Calamovilfa brevipilis plants and flowers as a food source, including Spartiniphaga carterae and Richia sp. Such frequent fires do appear to decrease total plant species diversity however, and the effect on total faunal diversity is unknown.
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