Torrey Botanical Society

The Vegetation of Little Cedar Bog, Southeastern New York

Author(s): Les M. Lynn
Source: Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club, Vol. 111, No. 1 (Jan. - Mar., 1984), pp. 90-95
Published by: Torrey Botanical Society
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B U L L E T I N O F T H E T O R R E Y B O T A N I C A L C L U B
VOL. 111, No. 1, pp. 90-95 JANUJARY-MARCH,1984

TORREYA

The Vegetationof Little Cedar Bog,

southeasternNew York
Les M. Lynn
Division of Natural Sciences and Math, BergenCommunityCollege, Paramus, NJ 07652
LYNN, L. M. (Bergen Comm. Coll., Paramus, NJ 07652. The Vegetationof Little Cedar
Bog, southeasternNY Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 111: 90-95. 1984.-The vegetationof a bog
surroundingLittle Cedar Pond in southeasternNew York was quantifiedusing phytosocio-
logical methodsin a belt transectand quadrats establishedalong two transects.The bog forest
is a homogeneous stand of southernwhite cedar (Chamaecyparis thyoides).The bog mat is
characterizedby leatherleaf(Chamaedaphne calyculata) as the dominant bog shrubwith sig-
nificantamountsof sheep laurel (Kalmia angustifolia)and dangleberry (Gaylussacia frondosa).
Key words:bog, vegetationanalysis, Chamaecyparisthyoides,Chamaedaphne calyculata,bog
mat community,bog forestcommunity

Plant communitiesof bogs have been
studied in the United States since the be-
ginning of the twentiethcentury(Transeau
1903; Gates 1942; Dansereau and Segadas-
Vianna 1952; Schwintzer and Williams
1974). Many investigationshave attempted
to relate the physical environment,includ-
ing soil and water chemistryto distribu-
tion of communitytypes.The objectivesof
this studyare to identifyand quantifythe
plant communities of a bog mat and bog
forestsurrounding Little Cedar Pond in
southeasternNew Yorkand to providepre-
liminaryinformationforfutureinvestiga-
tions of bogs in this region which, except
for a few studies (Heusser 1949; Niering
1953; Montgomeryand Fairbrothers1963),
has largelybeen ignored.
Study area. Little Cedar Pond (41? 10'
50"N, 740 16' 45"W) is located in Sterling
Forest,a private tractof land in the Hud-
son Highlands of Orange County, New
York (Fig. 1) and at an elevationof 315 m.
The surfacearea of the pond is 13 ha and
is part of a wetlandscomplex thatincludes
an extensiveswamp dominated by south-
ern white cedar (Chamaecyparis thyoides
(L.) BSP). The bog is located northof the
pond and is approximately0.5 ha in area.
The bog mat is well-consolidatedfor the
most part but is best developed along its
Received for publication September29, 1983 and
in revisedformJanuary16, 1984.
90
?9 1984 TorreyBotanical Club
westernside. The bog forestis extensive
northand west of the pond, but thinsout
and disappears completely towards the
south.
The pond occupies a basin which is
surroundedby a seriesof ridges topped by
gentlyrounded hills at elevations of up to
400 m. The basin originally contained a
postglacial lake but is now occupied by
Little Cedar Pond and the surrounding
wetlands.An outlet at the southernend of
the pond drains into the Ramapo River.
The region is within the glaciated sec-
tion of the oak-chestnutforestand con-
tains mixed mesophyticelements (Braun
1967). The forests of southeastern New
York are on an ecotone between the hem-
lock-whitepine-northern hardwoodsof the
Great Lakes regionand oak-chestnutforest
to the south (Braun 1967). A detailed ac-
count of the vegetation,climate and soils
of Sterling Forest has been discussed pre-
viously (Keatinge 1967; Charney1980).
Methods.The plant communitiesof the
bog mat and bog forestsurroundingLittle
Cedar Pond were sampled weekly from
April to September 1979. Aerial photo-
graphs were used to establishthe locations
of quadrats and a belt transect.A total of
15 quadrats werelaid out along two north-
south compass lines (A-A', B-B', Fig. 1).
The quadrats extended from the edge of
the pond, through the bog mat and bog
forest,to the upland community,a dis-
tance of approximately 150 m. Trees at
1984] TORREYA 91

:UPLAND t U

ULND

o 100m \~0 \

ITTLE

Fig. 1. Sketchmap of LittleCedar Pond and surroundingwetlandswithtwo setsof quadrats(A-A' and B-B')
and belt transect(C-C').

least 10 cm diameterbreasthigh (dbh) were
sampled in 10 X 10 m quadrats placed 10
m apart on one side of each line. Nested
within these were 4 X 4 m quadrats for
sampling shrubs and tree saplings less
than 10 cm dbh, and 1 X 1 quadrats for
sampling the herbaceous species and the
treeseedlings.A belt transect(C-C', Fig. 1)
followed a northeast-southwest compass
bearingfromtheupland communitynorth-
east of the pond, through the bog forest
and bog mat, and back through the bog
92 BULLETIN OF THE TORREY BOTANICAL CLUB [Vol .. 111

Table 1. Density,relativedensity,dominance, relativedominance, frequencyand relativefrequencyof arbo-

real species in the bog forest.All values except those fordensityare percentages.

Density Relative Relative Relative

TransectA-A' (trees/1O0
M2) Density Dominance Frequency Frequency

Species
Chamaecyparisthyoides 19.8 93.0 97.0 100.0 56.6
Acer rubrum 1.4 6.4 3.0 60.0 33.3
Picea mariana 0.2 1.0 0.02 20.0 11.1
TransectB-B'

Species
Chamaecyparisthyoides 11.4 90.0 95.1 100.0 60.0
Acer rubrum 0.4 2.8 1.1 16.7 10.0
Picea mariana 0.4 2.8 2.6 16.7 10.0
Larix laricina 0.2 1.4 0.3 16.7 10.0
Tsuga canadensis 0.4 2.8 0.9 16.7 10.0

forestto the upland communityalong the ers) in the vegetationwere recordedas fol-
northwestern borderof the wetlandssystem lows: for trees,diametersfor each species
a distance of approximately 180 m. By greater than 10 cm dbh; for shrubs and
means of sixty 1 X 3 m increments,this stems less than 10 cm dbh; and for herbs,
transectprovided continuous sample data. cover was estimatedby assigning a phyto-
Both the quadrat and transectmethodsin- sociological cover class value foreach spe-
sured a wide and even distributionof sam- cies (Braun-Blanquet 1965).
ples in a systematicmanner. The data on dbh were used to deter-
Species and theirstructuralcharacteris- mine density,relative density,frequency,
tics in synusiae (tree,shrub and herb lay- relativefrequency,dominance and relative

Chamaedaphne __ -
calyculata

Clethr ___ - _

Decodon
verticillatus

Gaylusoacla ___
frondoa

Iaevogata -? - -

Kalmia _ __ ________________-_-_-_-_-_-_-
angustitolla

K. pollfolla?-- - -

Lucotho __ - - --- -

ligustirna _ _ _ __ _

Nemopanthus _ - - - -
mucronata

Rhododendron
maximum w_

R. viscosum ~ -

Vaccinium
atrococcum x
V. corymbosum

V. oycoccus?L =1

0 5 10 1s 20 25 30 20 40 40 50 50 so

BOG FOREST - BOG MAT | BOG FOREST

r
Puosnt Co_e: * 10%, 10240%. 2550%, W75%, 1 100%

Fig. 2. Cover values (%) forshrubsalong the belt transect(C-C', Fig. 1).
1984] TORREYA 93

Table 2. Cover values for plants found in quadrats along Transect A-A': 5 = 75-100%, 4 = 50-75%,
3 = 25-50%,2 = 5-25%, 1 = <5%, + = few,with small cover, solitarywith small cover.

Species 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Acerrubrum
Betula lutea
B. populifolia 1
Chamaecyparisthyoides + 5
Larix laricina
Picea mariana
Pinus strobus 1
Tsuga canadensis +
Chamaedaphne calyculata 2 2 3
Clethraalnifolia + 2 1
Decodon verticillatus +
Gaylussaciafrondosa 2 1 1
Ilex laevigata
Kalmia angustifolia 1 1 +
K. polifolia
Leucothoe racemosa
Lyonia ligustrina
Nemopanthusmucronata
Rhododendronmaximum 2 3 1
Vacciniumatrococcumx 2 + 1 2 3 3 2 3
V. corymbosum
V. oxycoccus +
Calla palustris
Drosera intermedia +
D. rotundifolia
Dryopteristhelypteris
Eriophorumvirginicum
Iris versicolor
Osmunda cinnamomea + + 3
0. regalis +
Peltandravirginica
Rhynchosporaalba
Sarraceniapurpurea
Spiraea latifolia
Woodwardiavirginica
Sphagnaceae 5 5 5 3 3 3 1
Hepaticae

dominance for the arboreal species in the
bog forest.Nomenclaturefor the vascular
plants follows Fernald (1950) exceptforan
apparent hybrid of highbush blueberry
which is denoted as Vaccinium atrococ-
cum X V. corymbosum.
Results and Discussion. Tree data
(Table 1) show that southernwhite cedar
has a frequencyof 100% in both sets of
quadrats and a relativedensityof over 90%;
it is by farthedominant species in the bog
forest.A few matureindividuals of cedar,
black spruce (Picea mariana), and white
pine (Pinus strobus) occur on the bog mat
and a small population of larch (Larix lari-
cina) is presentat the easternedge of the
mat. The bog mat contains saplings of
cedar, black spruce, red maple (Acer rub-
rum), larch and gray birch (Betula
populifolia).
Few species dominate the shrub layer
on the bog mat (Fig. 2). Leatherleaf(Cha-
maedaphne calyculata) is the major shrub
with cover values of up to 75% in some
areas. Sheep laurel (Kalmia angustifolia)is
also well representedwith values of over
25%in mostareas and reaching75%toward
the eastern edge of the mat. Dangleberry
(Gaylussacia frondosa) is a major compo-
nent, particularly at the western edge.
Highbush blueberry is also important.
Cranberry(Vaccinium oxycoccus)is found
in greatabundance on the mat. Because it
is a repent species, it is not,in the same
synusia as the other shrubs but, instead,
94 BULLETIN OF THE TORREY BOTANICAL CLUB [VOL. 111

Table 3. Cover values for plants found in quadrats along Transect B-B': 5 = 75-100%, 4 = 50-75%,
3 25-50%,2 = 5-25%, 1 = <5%, + few,with small cover, = solitarywith small cover.

Species 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Acer rubrum 1 + + +
Betula lutea
B. populifolia
Chamaecyparisthyoides 1 1 2
Larix laricina 1 2 2 1
Picea mariana
Pinus strobus
Tsuga canadensis
Alnus serrulata
Chamaedaphne calyculata 3 2 4
Clethraalnifolia
Decodon verticillatus + 2
Gaylussacia frondosa 1 +
Ilex laevigata +
Kalmia angustifolia 1 1 +
K. polifolia
Leucothoe racemosa
Lyonia ligustrina
Nemopanthus mucronata +
Rhododendronmaximum 2
R. viscosum 2 2 2
Vacciniumatrococcumx + + + 2 2 3 2
V. corymbosum
V. oxycoccus + 1 +
Calla palustris
Drosera intermedia
D. rotundifolia
Dryopteristhelypteris
Eriophorumvirginicum +
Hypericumvirginicum
Iris versicolor
Osmunda cinnamomea
0. regalis
Peltandravirginica
Rhynchosporaalba
Sarraceniapurpurea +
Spiraea latifolia
Sphagnaceae 5 5 5 3 3 2
Hepaticae

dominates the herb layer. Other shrubs
found on the mat are swamp loosestrife
(Decodon verticillatus), swamp azalea
(Rhododendron viscosum) and bog laurel
(Kalmia polifolia) (Tables 2 and 3).
The understoryof the bog forest is
composed of up to 75% highbush blue-
berry.Other species with significantcover
values in the bog forestare swamp azalea,
sweet pepperbush (Clethra alnifolia),
smooth winterberry(Ilex laevigata) and
swamp loosestrife.At the edge of the up-
land-bog forest,great laurel (Rhododen-
dron maximum) is the primaryunderstory
species. Minor components of the under-
story are maleberry (Lyonia ligustrina),
bog holly (Nemopanthus mucronata) and
fetterbush (Leucothoe racemosa). Leather-
leaf appears to be absent from the bog
forest.
Herbs are not abundant in either the
bog mat or bog forest.However, Sphag-
num formsthebog mat matrixthroughout
the area. Herbaceous species include calla
(Calla palustris), sundew (Drosera rotundi-
folia and D. intermedia), sedge (Rhyn-
chospora alba and Eriophorum virgini-
cum), pitcher plant (Sarracenia purpurea),
arrow arum (Peltandra virginica), marsh
fern(Dryopteris thelypteris),Virginia chain
fern (Woodwardia virginica), and marsh
St. John's wort (Hypericum virginicum).
1984] TORREYA 95

In the bog forest,in addition to Sphag- growth in bogs (Moizuk and Livingston
num, are calla, marshfern,sundew (D. ro- 1966).
tundifolia), pitcher plant, and also blue
flag (Iris versicolor), cinnamon fernand
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