Coastal Plain Pond. Summary. Protection Not listed in New York State, not listed federally. Rarity G3G4, S2

Transcription

1 Coastal Plain Pond Sandy Pond East System Subsystem Lacustrine Natural Lakes And Ponds Photo credits: Stephen M. Young Did you know? Coastal plain ponds contain an interesting group of species known as bladderworts. Most of the bladderwort plant lies underwater or in the wet soil with only a flowering stem rising above. These species are carnivorous and are common in these nutrient poor ponds. They trap small insects and even microscopic organisms in sophisticated bladder traps. When an insect brushes up against tiny hairs on the bladder it triggers the trap to snap shut. This process takes only thousandths of a second (Lloyd, F.E. 1942). Summary Protection Not listed in New York State, not listed federally. Rarity G3G4, S2 A global rarity rank of G3G4 means: Vulnerable globally, or Apparently Secure -- At moderate risk of extinction, with relatively few populations or locations in the world, few individuals, and/or restricted range; or uncommon but not rare globally; may be rare in some parts of its range; possibly some cause for long-term concern due to declines or other factors. More information is needed to assign a single conservation status. A state rarity rank of S2 means: Typically 6 to 20 occurrences, few remaining individuals, acres, or miles of stream, or factors demonstrably make it very vulnerable in New York State. Conservation Status in New York There are few documented sites for coastal plain ponds in New York. Many more exist as evidenced by the the corresponding documentation for coastal plain pond shores (nearly 60 documented). With that said, these ponds have a restricted range in New York and are found only in the coastal plain region. In addition to having a limited range, the ponds are threatened by introductions of exotic species, alterations to hydrology and water quality, commercial and residential development, recreational overuse, and by herbicide use. NYNHP Conservation Guide - Coastal Plain Pond

2 Short-term Trends Coastal plain ponds are probably continuing to see a slow decline in abundance. Changes in hydrology such as an increased demand for fresh water caused by a steady increase in development will continue to lower the water table and result in a drying up of some of the ponds. There are about 27 acres currently mapped and probably less than 200 acres extant. The historical acreage of these ponds is unknown but was probably less than 500 acres. Old maps of Long Island show more and larger ponds in the early 1900s (South Fork Natural History Society 1993). Long-term Trends The historical acreage of coastal plain ponds is unknown although it was estimated to be less than 500 acres. There are hand drawn maps of some ponds on Long Island from as early as the 1700s. Many of these ponds are gone or have been significantly reduced in size (South Fork Natural History Society Newsletter 1993). Larger occurrences of this natural community (>12.5 acres) are protected under NY State wetland laws. Conservation and Management Threats The ponds are threatened by the introduction of grass carp, alterations to hydrology or water quality, and herbicide use intended to clear aquatic "weeds" from ponds for swimming and boating. Off-road vehicles, trampling of pond shore vegetation and the presence and introduction of non-native plants and animals (including from fish stocking and bait) are also potential threats to the quality of the pond community. The most significant threat to the hydrology of these ponds comes from an increase in commercial and residential development causing an increase in the demand for fresh water. This can cause a drawdown of the water table and a drying up or decrease in size of these ponds. Conservation Strategies and Management Practices Probably the most critical issues regarding management for coastal plain ponds are the maintenance of a natural hydrologic regime and good water quality. Water supplies for new development and ditching, draining or impoundment activities should be looked at closely. Storm water run-off, herbicide and pesticide use should also be considered in any management program. Where practical, establish and maintain a natural wetland buffer to reduce storm-water, pollution, and nutrient run-off, while simultaneously capturing sediments before they reach the wetland. Buffer width should take into account the erodibility of the surrounding soils, slope steepness, and current land use. Wetlands protected under Article 24 are known as New York State "regulated" wetlands. The regulated area includes the wetlands themselves, as well as a protective buffer or "adjacent area" extending 100 feet landward of the wetland boundary (NYS DEC 1995). If possible, minimize the number and size of impervious surfaces in the surrounding landscape. Avoid habitat alteration within the wetland and surrounding landscape. For example, roads and trails should be routed around wetlands, and ideally not pass through the buffer area. If the wetland must be crossed, then bridges and boardwalks are preferred over filling. Restore ponds that have been unnaturally disturbed (e.g., remove obsolete impoundments and ditches in order to restore the natural hydrology). Prevent the spread of NYNHP Conservation Guide - Coastal Plain Pond 2

3 invasive exotic species into the wetland through appropriate direct management, and by minimizing potential dispersal corridors, such as roads. Development and Mitigation Considerations When considering road construction and other development activities minimize actions that will change what water carries and how water travels to this community, both on the surface and underground. Water traveling over-the-ground as run-off usually carries an abundance of silt, clay, and other particulates during (and often after) a construction project. While still suspended in the water, these particulates make it difficult for aquatic animals to find food; after settling to the bottom of the wetland, these particulates bury small plants and animals and alter the natural functions of the community in many other ways. Thus, road construction and development activities near this community type should strive to minimize particulate-laden run-off into this community. Water traveling on the ground or seeping through the ground also carries dissolved minerals and chemicals. Road salt, for example, is becoming an increasing problem both to natural communities and as a contaminant in household wells. Fertilizers, detergents, and other chemicals that increase the nutrient levels in wetlands cause algae blooms and eventually an oxygen-depleted environment where few animals can live. Herbicides and pesticides often travel far from where they are applied and have lasting effects on the quality of the natural community. So, road construction and other development activities should strive to consider: 1. how water moves through the ground, 2. the types of dissolved substances these development activities may release, and 3. how to minimize the potential for these dissolved substances to reach this natural community. Inventory Needs The inventory needs for coastal plain ponds includes the documentation of additional sites and more intensive surveys of known sites. To better document this natural community, plot data in both deepwater and nearshore areas is needed. In addition, a more comprehensive plant species list is needed. Other sampling that needs to be done for community documentation includes an inventory of animal species especially invertebrates and some type of systematic sampling of water quality. Research Needs Rare Species Research is needed to fill information gaps about these ponds and pond systems, especially to document differences between other types of ponds in the coastal plain area. In addition, research is needed to document variation between coastal plain ponds with regards to elevation, distance from the coast and other variables. Mottled Darner (Aeshna clepsydra) Slender Blue Flag (Iris prismatica) Spatterdock Darner (Rhionaeschna mutata) New England Bluet (Enallagma laterale) Golden Club (Orontium aquaticum) Rambur's Forktail (Ischnura ramburii) Golden-winged Skimmer (Libellula auripennis) NYNHP Conservation Guide - Coastal Plain Pond 3

4 Needham's Skimmer (Libellula needhami) Atlantic White Cedar (Chamaecyparis thyoides) Common Sanddragon (Progomphus obscurus) Water-thread Pondweed (Potamogeton diversifolius) Knotted Spikerush (Eleocharis equisetoides) Salt-marsh Spikerush (Eleocharis uniglumis var. halophila) Featherfoil (Hottonia inflata) Globe-fruited Ludwigia (Ludwigia sphaerocarpa) Small Floating Bladderwort (Utricularia radiata) Mantled Baskettail (Epitheca semiaquea) Southern Sprite (Nehalennia integricollis) Pine Barrens Bluet (Enallagma recurvatum) Little Bluet (Enallagma minusculum) Scarlet Bluet (Enallagma pictum) Blackwater Bluet (Enallagma weewa) Tiger Salamander (Ambystoma tigrinum) Comet Darner (Anax longipes) Persimmon (Diospyros virginiana) Creeping Spikerush (Eleocharis ambigens) Long-tubercled Spikerush (Eleocharis tuberculosa) Banded Sunfish (Enneacanthus obesus) Swamp Darter (Etheostoma fusiforme) Large Calyx Goosefoot (Chenopodium berlandieri var. macrocalycium) Rose Coreopsis (Coreopsis rosea) Comb-leaved Mermaid-weed (Proserpinaca pectinata) Green Parrot's-feather (Myriophyllum pinnatum) Identification Comments A coastal plain pond with seasonally, and annually fluctuating water levels. These are shallow, groundwater-fed ponds that occur in kettle-holes or shallow depressions on Long Island. A group of coastal plain ponds are often hydrologically connected. The pond vegetation may be abundant. Some characteristic plants include water-shield (Brasenia schreberi), white water-lily (Nymphaea odorata), bayonet-rush (Juncus militaris), spikerush (Eleocharis robbinsii), and bladderworts (Utricularia purpurea, U. fibrosa). The Best Time to See Visiting the ponds in mid to late summer would be best. Flowering plants such as bladderworts will be in full flower and water levels will be the lowest for the year exposing the maximum amount of shoreline. Characteristics Most Useful for Identification This is a permanent pond with a widely fluctuating water table. The pond may have abundant floating, emergent and submerged aquatic vegetation including bladderworts and waterlilies. NYNHP Conservation Guide - Coastal Plain Pond 4

5 Elevation Range Known examples of this community have been found at elevations between 4 feet and 75 feet. Similar Ecological Communities Oligotrophic pond: Coastal plain ponds are oligotrophic but their water is typically darkly stained. Water levels in coastal plain ponds also vary much more widely than oligotrophic ponds. Eutrophic pond: Eutrophic ponds are nutrient rich and typically contain algae. They are very murky with low transparency. Coastal plain ponds have darkly stained water but lack the algae seen in eutrophic ponds. Bog lake/pond: Bog lakes occur in small kettleholes, have darkly stained water, and are nutrient poor. Unlike coastal plain ponds,however, they are surrounded or fringed by a floating mat of vegetation. Their water levels also usually do not fluctuate. These ponds do not occur on the coastal plain. Coastal salt pond: Coastal salt ponds are formed when sandspits close off a bay or lagoon. The water is usually brackish. Occassionally the sandspit is broken by a hurricane and the pond becomes saline again. Coastal plain ponds are always fresh water and occur further from the ocean. Pine barrens vernal pond: A seasonally fluctuating, groundwater-fed pond and associated wetland that typically occur in pine barrens. Examples are primarily known from inland pine barrens settings, such as the Albany Pine Bush, but may also occur on the coastal plain. This community forms in low kettlehole depressions or in swales between forested dunes. Vernal pool: This is an aquatic community of one or more associated intermittently to ephemerally ponded, small, shallow depressions typically within an upland forest. Characteristic Species Herbs Water-shield (Brasenia schreberi) Robbins Spikerush (Eleocharis robbinsii) Seven-angle Pipewort (Eriocaulon aquaticum) Golden Hedge-hyssop (Gratiola aurea) Bayonet Rush (Juncus militaris) Brown-fruited Rush (Juncus pelocarpus) Low Water-milfoil (Myriophyllum humile) Slender Naiad (Najas flexilis) American White Waterlily (Nymphaea odorata) Floating-heart (Nymphoides cordata) Oakes Pondweed (Potamogeton oakesianus) Eastern Purple Bladderwort (Utricularia purpurea) Striped Bladderwort (Utricularia striata) NYNHP Conservation Guide - Coastal Plain Pond 5

6 Nonvascular Sphagnum cuspidatum Sphagnum lescurii Sphagnum macrophyllum Sphagnum torreyanum Herbs Nonvascular This figure helps visualize the structure and "look" or "feel" of a typical coastal plain pond. Each bar represents the amount of "coverage" for all the species growing at that height. Because layers overlap (shrubs may grow under trees, for example), the shaded regions can add up to more than 100%. International Vegetation Classification System Associations This New York natural community encompasses all or part of the concept of the following International Vegetation Classification (IVC) natural community associations. These are often described at finer resolution than New York's natural communities. The IVC is developed and maintained by NatureServe. American White Water-lily - Robbins' Spikerush Aquatic Vegetation (CEGL006086) NatureServe Ecological System Associations This New York natural community falls into the following ecological system(s). Ecological systems are often described at a coarser resolution than New York's natural communities and tend to represent clusters of associations found in similar environments. The ecological systems project is developed and maintained by NatureServe. Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain Pond (CES ) Additional Resources Links Calverton Ponds Preserve (TNC) erves/long-island-calverton-ponds-preserve.xml Friends of the Long Pond Greenbelt NYNHP Conservation Guide - Coastal Plain Pond 6

7 References Boone, D.D. (undated). Rare vascular plants that may be found in coastal plain ponds. Maryland Natural Heritage Program, Annapolis, MD. Briggs, N Habitat use by the lateral bluet damselfly, Enallagma laterale, and the barrens bluet damselfly, Enallagma recurvatum, on seven coastal plain ponds in southern Rhode Island: implications for monitoring and preserve design. Unpublished report to the Nature Conservancy, March 19, pp. Edinger, G. J., D. J. Evans, S. Gebauer, T. G. Howard, D. M. Hunt, and A. M. Olivero (editors) Ecological Communities of New York State. Second Edition. A revised and expanded edition of Carol Reschke s Ecological Communities of New York State. New York Natural Heritage Program, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, Albany, NY. Edinger, Gregory J., D.J. Evans, Shane Gebauer, Timothy G. Howard, David M. Hunt, and Adele M. Olivero (editors) Ecological Communities of New York State. Second Edition. A revised and expanded edition of Carol Reschke's Ecological Communities of New York State. (Draft for review). New York Natural Heritage Program, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. Albany, NY. 136 pp. Enser, R.W. Observations concerning two types of coastal plain ponds in Rhode Island. unpublished report for Rhode Island Natural Heritage Program, Providence. Kartesz, J.T A synonymized checklist and atlas with biological attributes for the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. First edition. In: Kartesz, J.T., and C.A. Meacham. Synthesis of the North American Flora, Version 1.0. North Carolina Botanical Garden, Chapel Hill, N.C. Keys, Jr.,J.; Carpenter, C.; Hooks, S.; Koenig, F.; McNab, W.H.; Russell, W.;Smith, M.L Ecological units of the eastern United States - first approximation (cd-rom), Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. GIS coverage in ARCINFO format, selected imagery, and map unit tables. Klockner, Wayne More on coastal plain Ponds. Eastern Region Science and Stewardship Newsletter 2:1-3. Lloyd, F.E The Carnivorous Plants Series: New series of plant science books. Volume 9. Chronica Botanica Company. Waltham, MA. 352 pp. Lundgren, J. A The distribution and occurrence of the vegetation of a coastal plain pond shore in Plymouth, MA from 1986 to Unpubl. report submitted to Massachusetts Natural Heritage Program. Boston, MA 11 pp. Draft. Lundgren, J.A Distribution and phenology of pondshore vegetation at a coastal plain pond in Plymouth, Massachusetts. M.S. thesis. University of Massachusetts, Amherst. 80 pp. McAvoy, W., and K. Clancy Community classification and mapping criteria for Category I interdunal swales and coastal plain pond wetlands in Delaware. Final Report submitted to the Division of Water Resources in the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control. 47 pp. McHorney, Richard and Christopher Neill Alterations of water levels in a Massachusetts coastal plain pond subject to municipal ground-water withdrawals. Wetlands 27(2) Muenscher, W.C Aquatic vegetation of Long Island waters. In: A biological survey of the fresh waters of Long Island. Suppl. to the 28th Ann. Rep., New York State Conservation NYNHP Conservation Guide - Coastal Plain Pond 7

8 Department, Albany, NY. pp NatureServe NatureServe Central Databases. Arlington, Virginia. USA Primack, Mark and Henry Woolsey Treasures of our natural heritage: Coastal plain ponds of southeastern Massachusetts. The Wildlands Trust of Southeastern Massachusetts. Plymouth, MA. Reschke, Carol Ecological communities of New York State. New York Natural Heritage Program, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. Latham, NY. 96 pp. plus xi. Schneider, R Examination of the role of hydrology and geochemistry in maintaining rare plant communites of coastal plain ponds. report to the Nature Conservancy. DC. Sneddon, L. A Descriptions of coastal plain pondshore proposed community elements. Unpublished. The Nature Conservancy, Boston, MA. Sneddon, L. A., M. Anderson, and J. Lundgren Classification of coastal plain pondshore communities of the Cape Cod National Seashore using the U.S. National Vegetation Classification. Unpublished report to the Cape Cod National Seashore. The Nature Conservancy, Boston, MA. Sneddon, L. A., and M. G. Anderson A classification scheme for Coastal Plain pondshore and related vegetation from Maine to Virginia. Supplement to Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America 77 (Abstract). Sorrie, Bruce Comments on New England coastal plain ponds. Eastern Region Science and Stewardship Newsletter 2:3-5. South Fork Natural History Society South Fork natural history newsletter: Special issue - The Long Pond Greenbelt. South Fork Natural History Newsletter 5 (1). Amagansett, NY Theall, O An investigation into the hydrology of massachusetts' coastal plain ponds. unpublished report for Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife. Theall, Otto An investigation into the hydrology of Massachusetts' coastal plain pond. Unpublished study by Massachusetts Natural Heritage and Program, Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife. Zaremba, R. E., and E. E. Lamont The status of the Coastal Plain pondshore community in New York. Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club 120: Zaremba, Robert E Notes on EO rank changes or ID changes for 17 coastal plain pond shore sites, faxed February 25, New York Natural Heritage Program 625 Broadway, 5th Floor, Albany, NY Phone: (518) acris@nynhp.org This project is made possible with funding from: - New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Hudson River Estuary Program - Division of Lands & Forests, Department of Environmental Conservation - New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation Information for this guide was last updated on Apr 30, 2018 This guide was authored by Gregory J. Edinger NYNHP Conservation Guide - Coastal Plain Pond 8