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Red Oak with 3 Trunks
Data Analysis
Vernal Pool Vegetation
Vernal ponds are determined by their physical
features and their fauna. There is no specificity of the plants that are found
along vernal pools; particularly in the northeast part of the United States. The
plant community that is found around a specific pond may include plants found in
local wetlands and floodplains; in addition to plants which have a larger range.
The distance the wetland vegetation is from the shore of the vernal pool can be
as short as 3 ft or as large as 65 ft. This is depended upon the topography and
hydrology of the land, as well as the tolerance of different plants to prolonged
soil saturation.
Common vegetation found around vernal pools includes ferns, mosses, herbaceous
annuals, perennials, shrubs and trees. Shrubs are usually the dominate form of
vegetation. The form of vegetation that surrounds a vernal pool is especially
important because it contributes a large part to that particular habitats food
chain and what lives in the vernal pool.
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Classification of vernal pools using vegetation is determined by looking at long lived plant species.
· Mixed canopy pools – the amount of canopy cover from trees may range from dense, partial or open. The amount of sun allowed in influences the amount of other vegetation found around and in the pools. This is usually the case for most small natural vernal pools.
· Red Maple Swamp Pools – swamp areas or isolated depression whose vegetation mainly consists of Red Maple trees. When these pools dry up other plants such as ferns and shrubs may begin to grow depending on the amount of canopy cover there is.
· Coniferous Swamp Pools – isolated depressions surrounded by conifers including white cedar, hemlock and spruce. The amount of ground cover from ferns and shrubs is dependent upon the canopy cover.
· Shrub Swamp Pools – vegetation largely consists of shrubs. Depending upon the canopy cover there may also be ferns, mosses and herbaceous plants.
When looking at the plants that are around a vernal pool, there is collection of both obligate and facultative plants. Obligate wetland plants are plants which almost always are found in wetlands. (Greater than 99% estimated probability) While, facultative wetland plants are usually found in wetlands, however, they can also be found growing in non-wetlands. (Between 67-99% probability of being found in a wetlands)
Things that can have an effect on what plants grow around a vernal pool:
The amount of canopy cover
The flooding potential of the pool
If the pool dries up or is there
year round
Soil:
amount and length of saturation along with
composition (mineral verse organic)
Vegetation around the pools may be found in a very precise circle around the pool. Or it could blend in with the surrounding vegetation.
Sampling Methods
Globe Protocol:
http://www.globe.gov/fsl/html/templ.cgi?
measpage&lang=en&nav=1
Biometry
Protocol
Land Cover Sample Site
Aims & Methods of Vegetation
Ecology: Terrestrial
Community Structure
Farm Forest Line: Tree Basal Area
equation
Literature Cited
Colburn, E.A. Vernal Pools: Natural History and Conservation. McDonald and Woodward Publishing Company, 2004.
Dieter, Mueller-Dombois & Heinz Ellenberg. Aims and Methods of Vegetation Ecology. John Wiley & Sons Inc., 1974 (Chapter 6: Measuring Species Quantities)
Redington, Charles B. Plants in Wetlands. Redington Field Guides.1994.
Tree Basal Area. Farm Forest Line. 2002-06. Accessed April 6, 2006. <http://www.farmforestline.com.au/pages/6.3_tree_basal.html>