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 0.8 miles north northwest of Bullock. From Bullock, travel west-northwest on Mt. Misery Road about 1.5 miles to Butler Place Road, turn right (northeast). Travel 0.7 miles to Broken Arm Road, turn right (south) and continue about 0.4 miles. Site is made up of three ponds. One is on right about 200 feet west of road, one is on right about 100 feet east of road. To reach third pond, continue south an additional 0.2 miles to Y-intersection. Turn sharply left (north) and continue 0.4 miles. Third pond is about 75 feet east of road.
plotless - latitude and longitude coordinates approximate the survey area
Environment Fields:
Landscape Narrative
Soil Description: 2 cm black sand over 8 cm light brown sand (sand of the Cohansey Formation)
Landscape Description: 0.8-acre pondshore community (0.2 plus 0.6 acres) in pristine condition within two coastal plain intermittent ponds in close proximity to one another surrounded by high quality pitch pine – oak forest. The surrounding landscape is relatively flat, underlain by sand substrate of the Cohansey Formation. The South Branch of Mount Misery Brook and Middle Branch headwaters run within a ½ mile of the pond, to the southwest and north, respectively. Rhexia virginica - Panicum verrucosum Herbaceous Vegetation dominates the central zone (B1 and C1) of two of the ponds. The adjacent upper zones are dominated by Carex striata var. brevis and associated species may include Sphagnum sp., Dichanthelium sp. and Triadenum virginicum. A tall shrub zone (B3) surrounds the ponds, dominated by Vaccinium corymbosum, with Sphagnum sp., Chamaedaphne calyculata, Kalmia angustifolia, Carex striata var. brevis, Lyonia mariana, Photinia pyrifolia, Leucothoe racemosa and Smilax rotundifolia. Pitch pine-oak forest surrounds the ponds. Central Railroad passes about 0.8 miles to the southeast. There are cranberry bogs and some clearings for sand or logs within a mile of the site, but the area is primarily forested. Some nearby forest is heavily crisscrossed with a 300-500 feet grid of sand roads, indicating it may be managed for wildlife, but there is no indication of anthropogenic disturbance in the surrounding buffer land other than potential management of fires or logging for wildlife.
Physiographic Province: Outer Coastal Plain
Watershed Code: 02040202030
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
Shrub
Growthform1 Type
Shrubs
Growthform2 Type
Herbs
Growthform3 Type
Moss
Misc Fields:
Observation Narrative
Community Type: coastal plain pond
Community Description: Outer zone of short and tall shrubs with some Carex and dense cover of Sphagnum. Relatively flat with patches of Carex that weave into areas of shrub. Surrounding forest is Pinus rigida with less oak than pond "A". Southern end has a much greater abundance of Acer rubrum.
