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 ~1.1 miles SE of Hunters Mill and Head of River. From Head of River, follow Rt. 49 south to Rt. 548. Turn right (west) and continue ~0.5 miles to a parking area on the right, just across from a pond (cranberry bogs) on the left. Follow sand trail N and W ~1 mile. Site is on left, ~500' S of the trail. The site is also accessible from the north from Route 49 by the 1st or 2nd sand road east of Hunters Mill.
Note: The site is supposedly accessible from sand roads to the N (off of Rt. 49) but, at the time, the one that was tried was cut too deeply by the Tuckahoe River.
plotless - latitude and longitude coordinates approximate the survey area
Environment Fields:
Elevation
7.9
m
Elevation Range
0.61
m
Slope Gradient
1.5
º
Landscape Narrative
Soil Description: Sand soil of the Cohansey Formation overlain by 2” of organic material, pH = 3.8 at 20.3 cm. Exposed muck and/or sand substrate ranges from 35-60%. Moist, 1-2” cracks in sand surface of the long narrow patch (A1) indicated relatively recent water on survey date in the most central zone of the pond.
Average Soil Texture: mineral - sandy loam
Landscape Description: Site is located in Peaslee WMA and is surrounded by a mixed deciduous-evergreen forest. This is a portion of a 1.7-acre pondshore community in pristine condition within a large, 3.7-acre, floristically diverse coastal plain intermittent pond. Site is about 1000' S of the Tuckahoe River. A sand road lies ~400' N of the pond but access to this road is limited under Peaslee WMA management. A field is managed for wildlife about 800' to the E and slightly N. Roads that cut through the area E to W, exist about 1500' to the N and 2000' to the S. The surrounding forest is characterized by Quercus spp. with an understory if primarily ericaceous shrubs. This coastal plain intermittent pond is found within pine-oak forest with a heath understory. Surrounding landscape is relatively flat, underlain by sand substrate of the Cohansey Formation. A tributary about 6000’ south of the pond flows east to the Tuckahoe River. Eleocharis (olivacea, microcarpa, robbinsii) - Xyris (difformis var. difformis, smalliana) Herbaceous Vegetation dominates the central zone of the pond. The adjacent upper pondshore (A4) is sparsely vegetated (about 40% cover), dominated by Carex striata var. brevis, with Saccharum giganteum, Dichanthelium sabulorum var. thinium, Cladium mariscoides, Scleria reticularis and Drosera intermedia. The pond is surrounded by two distinct zones of forested wetland. The first zone (A5) is dominated by Acer rubrum, with an understory of Sphagnum sp. and Carex striata var. brevis, with scattered Leucothoe racemosa, Clethra alnifolia, Panicum verrucosum and Dichanthelium sabulorum var. thinium. The second surrounding zone (A6) is also dominated by Acer rubrum, with Liquidambar styraciflua, Nyssa sylvatica and Pinus rigida, and an understory dominated by Vaccinium corymbosum, with Leucothoe racemosa, Clethra alnifolia, Sphagnum sp. and Smilax rotundifolia. There is an abrupt increase in Smilax rotundifolia at the outer edge of this zone, along a somewhat discernable rim. Other than a few fields planted for wildlife, cranberry bogs to the south, two east-west paved roads with a few homes, and a few sand roads, the surrounding area is forested, with no anthropogenic disturbance aside from forest management.
Physiographic Province: Outer Coastal Plain
Watershed Code: 02040302070
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
Community Description: Excellent quality herbaceous pondshore community occurring in the central to middle zones of a coastal plain intermittent pond. Community occurrence is complex mosaic of species, with small patches dominated by one species and scattered distribution of others. Most (nine tenths) of the occurrence is characterized by Cladium mariscoides (10%) scattered throughout, with patches dominated by Scleria reticularis (10%), Eriocaulon aquaticum (8%), and Xyris spp. (X. smalliana and X. difformis var. difformis, 3%), and scattered Proserpinaca pectinata (3%), Rhynchospora inundata (1%), Rhexia sp. (less than 1%) and Dichanthelium sabulorum var. thinium (less than 1%) (A3). Two patches within the Cladium zone illustrate the mosaic distribution of species. A long narrow (20 x 80-100’) patch in the center of the pond (A1) is dominated by Eleocharis microcarpa (40%) and Scleria reticularis (10%), with scattered Gratiola aurea (1%) and less than 1% Rhexia sp., Proserpinaca pectinata and Dichanthelium sabulorum var. thinium. Another patch (A2) (approximately 20 x 30’) is dominated by Xyris spp. (X. smalliana and X. difformis var. difformis, 25%), Eleocharis microcarpa (15%) and Eriocaulon aquaticum (12%), with scattered Scleria reticularis (8%), Cladium mariscoides (5%), Proserpinaca pectinata (2%), Dichanthelium sabulorum var. thinium (1%) and Rhexia sp. (1%). Sand soil of the Cohansey Formation overlain in some areas by up to 2” of muck, pH3.8. Exposed muck and/or sand substrate ranges from 35-60%. Moist, 1-2” cracks in sand surface of the long narrow patch indicated relatively recent water on survey date in the most central zone of the pond. Full sun exposure. Very gentle slope of 0-3%.
Community Description (field): This is a large area which surrounds patches of Eleocharis and Xyris (A1 and A2). Within, large patches are dominated by individual species but there is no clear zonation. Cladium mariscoides is found as scattered patches throughout much of the area. Eriocaulon aquaticum and Scleria reticularis form patches as well.
Note: Although the whole pond, 3.7 acres, was mapped for this occurrence, Eleocharis (olivacea, microcarpa, robbinsii) - Xyris (difformis var. difformis, smalliana) Herbaceous Vegetation occupies approximately 1.7 acres of the pond.
Fauna: blue jay, turkey vulture, dragonflies
