Name:
NY Heritage: Sandstone pavement barrens
Reference:
Ecological Communities of New York, 2nd Ed.
Description:
An open canopy woodland that occurs on very shallow soils (dysic lithic borofolist) over sandstone bedrock; this community is best developed where the bedrock is nearly level, thus forming a pavement. The best developed examples are found on Potsdam Sandstone in Clinton County. Large examples often include wetlands, such as perched bogs and inland poor fens.
Fire is the most important ecological process for the maintenance of healthy sandstone pavement barren communities (Stergas and Adams 1989, Hawver 1993). Other disturbances that have influenced these barrens include blow downs, ice storms and subsequent restoration cutting. Physiognomic variants such as exposed bedrock, open heath shrubs, sparse woodland, and closed canopy forest reflect the disturbance history of a given site.
In New York the dominant tree is jack pine (Pinus banksiana). Other associated pines include pitch pine (Pinus rigida), white pine (P. strobus), and red pine (P. resinosa). Other characteristic trees include red maple (Acer rubrum), paper birch (Betula papyrifera), and red oak (Quercus rubra).
The shrublayer is dominated by black huckleberry (Gaylussacia baccata) and blueberry (Vaccinium angustifolium). Other important shrubs are black chokeberry (Aronia melanocarpa), sheep laurel (Kalmia angustifolia), and sweet-fern (Comptonia peregrina).
The groundcover includes many lichens and mosses, which may form a continuous cover in some areas. Characteristic lichens include Cladina rangiferina, C. mitis, C. stellaris, and Cladonia uncialis. Characteristic mosses include Polytrichum juniperinum and Pleurozium schreberi. Herbs grow throughout this groundcover and include bracken fern (Pteridium aquilinum), wintergreen (Gaultheria procumbens), cow-wheat (Melampyrum lineare), poverty-grass (Danthonia spicata), and common hairgrass (Deschampsia flexuosa).
Breeding season bird species showing preference for jack pine barrens in New York include rufous-sided towhee (Pipilo erythrophthalmus), dark-eyed junco (Junco hyemalis), chipping sparrow (Spizella passerina), white-throated sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis), blue-headed vireo (Vireo solitarius), Nashville warbler (Vermivora ruficapilla), and common nighthawk (Chordeiles minor); (Gifford 1994). More information is needed on other characteristic animals.
This community is only known from the northernmost counties of New York, north of the Adirondacks and from southern Quebec; its distribution outside of this range is unknown.
Accession Code:
VB.CC.28699.NYHERITAGESANDS
Plot-observations of this Community Concept:
1
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