A BOTANICAL INVENTORY 0F SANDHILL WOODLOT, WITH EMPHASIS 0N PHENDLOGY AND COMPARATIVE ASPECTS OF THIS AND OTHER CENTRAL MICHIGAN WOODLOTS Thesis for the Degree of M. S. MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY DARLENE MARIE VALASEK 1 9 72 IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII 3 1293 01405 74 LIBRARY Michigan State University HOAE & “sou us III-‘9". eeeeeeeeee PLACE III RETURN BOX to roman this checkout from your rocord. To AVOID FINES Mom on or bdon dd. duo. HM ——._.‘__._,____ ~ ABSTRACT A BOTANICAL INVENTORY OF SANDHILL WOODLOT, WITH EMPHASIS ON PHENOLOGY AND COMPARATIVE ASPECTS OF THIS AND OTHER CENTRAL MICHIGAN WOODLOTS. by Darlene Marie Valasek Sandhill Woodlot, Ingham County, Michigan is a Maple— Beech association within the Water Quality Research Area, Michigan State University Campus. A botanical inventory of Sandhill Woodlot was conducted from April through October, 1971. The woody vegetation was analyzed using 350 point- quarter samples along 13 transect lines. Density, basal area, relative dominance, frequency, and importance value were tabulated for encountered species. A phenology study of selected woody and herbaceous species was conducted and results tabulated. A total of 255 species of vascular plants were collected at various stages of development. Each is listed with its distribution, frequency, and flowering time. A BOTANICAL INVENTORY OF SANDHILL WOODLOT, WITH EMPHASIS ON PHENOLOGY AND COMPARATIVE ASPECTS OF THIS AND OTHER CENTRAL MICHIGAN WOODLOTS. By Darlene Marie Valasek A THESIS Submitted to Michigan State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE Department of Botany and Plant Pathology 1972 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my appreciation to my major professor, Dr. John H. Beaman for helping me in the selection of a problem and to my committee members, Dr. Stephen N. Stephenson, Dr. William Tai, and Dr. Clarence Mellinger for their helpful suggestions. I would like to express my deepest and sincerest gratitude to Dr. Stephenson for his guidance, his encouragement, and especially for acting as my committee chairman in Dr. Beaman's absence. I would also like to express my appreciation to Mr. Thomas S. McMullen for his encouragement throughout the thesis preparation and for his assistance with the woody vegetation analysis and to Mrs. Ilona I. Lagoni for her assistance as typist. I am indebted to Dr. William B. Drew and the depart- ment of Botany and Plant Pathology for finacinal assistance that made several aspects of my research possible. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS. LIST OF TABLES. . LIST OF FIGURES . INTRODUCTION ... PHYSICAL SETTING. CLIMATE O O O O O HABITATS. . . . . West-Central East-Central Northeastern Felton Drain East-Central Southwestern Advanced Old TABLE OF Cattail Marsh. . Vernal Pond. . . Vernal Ponds . . Flood Plain. . . Zanthoxylum Thick Poplar Stand . . Field Succession Central Upland Forest . . . . Edges . . . . Northern Dry Upland FOREST STRUCTURE. . . . . . PHENOLOGY . . . . . . . . . DISCUSSION. . . . . . . . . CHECKLIST OF VASCULAR LITERATURE CITED. . . . . . PLANTS. iii Forest. CONTENTS ooooomoooo Page ii iv 10 10 11 ll 12 12 12 13 13 1H 1H 19 20 H0 58 Table II. III. IV. V. VI. VII. VIII. IX. LIST OF TABLES Table of numbers of families, genera, and species found in four local woodlots. Density, basal area, relative dominance, frequency, and importance values of 26 woody species two inches or greater d.b.h. 350-point-quarters in Sandhill Woodlot. encountered at Phenograms Phenograms Phenograms Phenograms Phenograms Phenograms Phenograms Phenograms of of of of of of of of nine nine nine nine nine nine nine nine selected selected selected selected selected selected selected selected iv woody species . . woody species . . herbaceous herbaceous herbaceous herbaceous herbaceous herbaceous species species species species species species Page 17 2Q 26 28 30 32 3M 36 38 Figure 1. TABLE OF FIGURES Physical setting map of Sandhill . . . . Soil map of Sandhill Woodlot . . . . . . T0pographic map of Sandhill Woodlot. . . Key to the woody plants phenograms . . . Key to the herbaceous plants phenograms. Page 22 28 INTRODUCTION Sandhill Woodlot is part of the Water Quality Research Area under the management of the Institute of Water Research, Michigan State University. The area is the site of a wastewater and nutrient recycling project involv— ing both aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. The terrestrial ecosystem constitutes an area of approximately 300 acres representing a broad array of soil types as well as vegeta— tion types. Sandhill Woodlot constitutes about an acres of the terrestrial ecosystem. Sandhill Woodlot is a Maple—Beech association dominated by Acer saccharum, Fraxinus americana, Fagus grandifolia, Prunus serotina, and Ulmus spp. The spring flora is richest in the moister portions of the woods where aquatic and semi-aquatic plants are common. The edges and areas of advanced old field succession contain an abundance of Compositae in the late summer and fall. The canopy is dense throughout most of the woods. The forest floor is almost entirely shaded after full leaf expansion. Secondary growth consists of saplings of the major woody species. Acer saccharum saplings are the most abundant. Dead trees and decaying logs are common throughout the woods. Ulmus americana constitutes a major portion of the dead trees due to the affect of the Dutch Elm Disease. Most of the living elms are saplings which have grown since the initial Dutch Elm Disease epidemic in the 1960's. The decaying logs provide excellent habitats for a wide variety of fungi and mosses. The woodlot also supports an interesting fauna including several white-tailed deer. The cattail marsh in the central portion of the woods provides a habitat for many aquatic invertebrates. PHYSICAL SETTING Sandhill Woodlot (fig. 1) is located in the south— central one—third of Section 6, T3N, le of the Michigan Meridian, Ingham County, on the Michigan State University Campus, immediately north of Sandhill Road and just south of I-96. It is bordered on the east in part and on the west by old fields. The southern one-half of the eastern edge is bordered by Felton Drain, a drainage ditch running north and south through the Water Quality Research Area. The Woodlot, which was purchased by Michigan State University from the Lott and Wieland families in the early 1960's, is located on three major soil types (fig. 2). The drained portions are either Spinks loamy sand or Miami loam. The imperfectly drained portions are Conover Figure l.--Physical setting map of Sandhill Woodlot [ 0 ° s III ... II I t. :3“=?.=‘=- "‘ =.=‘ --=. ’I I \\ 1 \\ \ 1r, \\ \i 1 \X 1 II: .§\ :. n , II a II: \\ II \ 1 “e ' 2 3‘ 1 ‘ ““e I (i. \ I 'II ‘ < 1| 4 I \ ‘t A- I " K\‘. I: 3 ‘ i, I I: \ $113 I <1 ‘ OLD FILDS ‘ V II “1| II " A .1 :r .1 :5 4. \ 5 II I ' I :=::===::=--=::---- IT 8 ('3 [1” I ' # I I/ II II ’ ’I r" u - II n I u @ II 3's... II II x. .. a II l, / I " .. its 1....” r I. 7 n , ’ I II I I ,' .. ’/ .5’ .4» ' ‘ I" {I ". /., i. 8 ;” u II II I: II . I' M. I I O ' - .. w I II. ,/ SANDHILL I' 0 WOODLOT a I' - / Figure 1 0’9 '04) - v a —I— met us: I o 1517‘ ‘ ' q I \“\\.II‘° "um.” : .1 / ’ Tamra? Lune N '3: ”I / {9 menu. nuns H o . a “0% .3 i=3 3° 12 / Q new or um {933$} 0 / -=== mo 0 TRAIL 0101!. N «\I $0 2° noun ('3) nnlooicuumumno o “‘ 0 ° I‘I‘i '3 0% : : “4300". 9 m; o SCALE J L a a “llama mo Figure 2.—-Soil map of Sandhill Woodlot ..... ...... .............. ...... ......... snuomu. WOODLOT 80“ "up Ziggy; spinks IOGMY sand 1 3°," “My loam @Mlami loam Conovor loam WP" sandy loam Brookston loam Flguro z soils. The land surface slopes (generally) toward Felton Drain and Sandhill Road. The topographic map (fig. 3) shows that the highest point in the woodlot is at an elevation of 889.1 feet which slopes downward to an elevation of 850.0 feet at Felton Drain. CLIMATE The average annual precipitation for the East Lansing- Lanaing area for the period l9u0—1969 was 78.u9 cm., with a maximum of 100.9H cm. in 19H? and a minimum of 51.92 cm. in 1962. The greatest monthly rainfall occurs in the spring and summer, and the least in the winter months. For the same period, the average daily temperature was 8.5° C with an average daily minimum of 3.3° C and an average daily maximum of 13.8° C. The highest average daily maximum occurred in July and the lowest average daily minimum occurred in February. (Data from the National Oceanic and AtmOSpheric Administration, Environmental Data Service, State Climatologist, East Lansing.) HABITATS The Woodlot contains a diverse array of habitats. The habitats that are periodically inundated are richer than the upland habitats. The Woodlot can be divided into ten major habitats. Each is listed below with a brief Figure 3.--T0pographic map of Sandhill Woodlot SANDHILL WOODLO'I’ . Topographic Map Figure 3 10 description and a list of distinctive species. They are listed in decreasing order of wetness. West-Central Cattail Marsh. The pond is of sufficient size to cause a break in the forest canOpy. Acer saccharinum, Populus deltoides, Carpinus caroliniana, Corylus americana and Prunus serotina are among the woody species located at the periphery of the pond. The pond, which is filled throughout the year, contains Lemna minor, L. trisulca, and two aquatic liverworts, Riccia fluitans and Ricciocarpus natans. Cephalanthus occidentalis, Typha latifolia, Iris virginica var. shrevei, Veronica scutellata, Sium suave, Scirpus cyperinus, and several species of Carex grow in or along the edges of the pond. Ferns, especially Adiantum pedatum, Polystichum acrostichoides, and Athyrium asplenoides, are abundant at the periphery of the pond. The pond also contains a wide variety of both vertebrate and invertebrate fauna. As the pond recedes in late summer and fall, a substantial flora of semi—aquatic plants cover the exposed sub- strate. East—central vernal EQDd- The pond, which is filled until early summer, contains Lemna minor and Spirodela polyrhiza in limited quantity. Symplocarpus foetidus, Caltha palustris, Iris virginica var. shrevei, Cardamine douglassii, g. bulbosa, Lilium michiganense, Impatiens ll noli-tangere, Onoclea sensibilis, Laportea canadensis, and Phalaris arundinacea are common. Woody species, dominated by Acer saccharinum, are sparsely distributed in the vicinity of the pond. Very little light reaches the surface of the water due to the dense canOpy cover. After the pond water has disappeared, very little vegetation develops on the exposed sub- strate. Northeastern Vernal ponds. The ponds are filled only in the spring but the soil remains moist throughout the year. The numerous dead trees in this habitat are abundantly covered with mosses and fungi. The dominant tree species are Aggr saccharinum and Fraxinus 22523. Cephalanthus occidentalis is common in several of the ponds. Cardamine douglassii and Arisaema triphyllum are abundant. Laportea canadensis is found in some of the lower areas. Felton Drain flood plain. The poorly drained soils, the low elevation, and the occasional flooding of Felton Drain cause this habitat to remain moist throughout the year. The flora of the habitat reflects an ability to tolerate moisture. The dominant woody Species are Fraxinus nigra, Ulmus rubra, Quercus macrocarpa, Acer saccharinum, and Populus deltoides. 12 Sambucus canadensis, Vitus riparia, Viburnum acerifolium, and V, trilobum are common. Representatives of the Umbelliferae, Sanicula trifoliata, Cryptotaenia canadensis, OsmorEiza claytonii, and Angelica atropurpurea, are the dominant herbaceous components. Mosses, including Sphagnum, and fungi, particularly Calvatia gigantea, are common. East—central Zanthoxylum thicket. The vegetation is dominated by a dense thicket of Zanthoxylum americanum. An occasional tree species projects above this lower canopy. The herbaceous layer is sparse. Phlox divaricata Trillium grandiflorum, and Geranium maculatum are the most common herbs. Southwestern poplar stand. The dominant woody species of this habitat is P0pulus tremuloides. The understory is made up of Cornus alternifolia, Viburnum acerifolium, V. trilobum, and V. prunifolium. The herbaceous layer is very sparse. Advanced old field succession. The woody species of this habitat are dominated by saplings and Rhus typhina. The spring ground cover is dominated by Claytonia virginica, Erythronium americanum, Viola sororia, and V. canadensis. The summer herbs are 13 grasses and old field succeSsional species of the Compositae. Central upland forest. This habitat is the most homogeneous portion of the woods. The woody species are dominated by Acer saccharum, Fraxinus americana, Fagus grandifolia, Prunus serotina, and Ulmus spp. There is an abundance of saplings largely of Acer saccharum. Saplings of Ulmus thomasii are quite common. In late April, the forest floor is a lush carpet of Claytonia virginica, Isopyrum biternatum, Dicentra canadensis, D. cucullaria, and Erythronium americanum. Dentaria laciniata, Erigenia bulbosa, Sanguinaria canadensis, and Carex plantaginea are common. Growing in the abundant litter is the fungus Sarcosypha coccinea. Flowering slightly later is Trillium grandiflorum which occurs in abundance. Common in the late spring and summer are Geranium maculatum, Osmorjdza_ claytonii, Phlox divaricata, Viola canadensis,_V. Sororia, V. pubescens var. eriocarpa, Sanicula trifoliata, Hydrophyllum virginianum and Geum canadensis. Edge .' The edges of the woods serve as an ecotone between the forest and the old fields and contain species common to both. Most of the old field succession- 1% a1 species found in this habitat fall into one of two families, the Compositae or the Gramineae. 10. Northern dry upland forest. This is the driest habitat of the woods and the most sparsely populated. The dominant trees are Fagus grandifolia and Acer saccharum which are represented by large trees and very few saplings. The understory is poorly developed. Most of the herbaceous species are grasses and Hydrophyllum virginiana. Epifagus virginiana, Liriodendron tulipifera, and Eaggx trifolius are unique to this habitat. The northwestern corner was disturbed by the formation of a road and a rock pile. The introduction of some old field successional species as Arctium miggs and Cirsium vulgare has resulted. FOREST STRUCTURE Flanders (1971) in his study of colonial species of spring ephemerals calculated coefficients of similarity for five local woodlots (Hudson, Toumey, Sandhill, Baker, and Bear Lake). The structure of Sandhill was most similar to that of Baker although Sandhill was less diverse. Toumey was much less diverse than Sandhill. An analysis of woody vegetation and an enumeration of vascular species found in Sanford Natural Area was conducted by Beaman (1970). Schneider (1966) conducted a 100% inventory of Toumey 15 Woodlot over a 20 year period. Table I is a summary of the number of vascular plant families, genera, and species found in these woodlots. Data for Bear Lake and Hudson Woodlots was not available. TABLE I. Woodlot Families Genera Species BakerA 76 176 260 Sandhill 73 175 255 SanfordB 87 221 ans TourneyC 27 30 --- A Totals from an incomplete checklist compiled by Warren D. Stevens. B Species no longer found in Sanford subtracted from total reported. C Recorded for 1960. In late September and early October, 1971, the occurrence and distribution of tree species in Sandhill Woodlot was analyzed using the point-quarter method (Cottam and Curtis, 1956). Data for individuals two inches or greater d.b.h. were recorded at 350 randomly distributed points along thirteen regularly spaced transect lines (of. fig. 1). The transect lines were spaced at 200 yard intervals starting 100 yards from the northern and southern boundaries. The 350 points were randomly spaced along the 16 thirteen transect lines starting at the western end of each successive line. The points fell no closer than 10 feet and no further than 100 feet apart which resulted in considerable overlap of individual point sample spheres along some portions of the transect lines. The data is summarized in Table II. Relative density, relative domin- ance, and relative frequency were summed to obtain the importance value for each species. Sandhill is a younger woodlot than Sanford or Toumey, a virgin stand. Small portions are still in ad- vanced old field succession. The trees, on the average, have a smaller d.b.h. One of the largest trees in Sandhill is a Fagus grandifolia with a d.b.h. of 36 inches. Other large trees include a 30-inch Acer saccharinum, a 2H—inch Acer saccharinum, a 21-inch Quercus rubra var. borealis, an 18-inch Fraxinus americana, a 15-inch Prunus serotina, a l2-inch Qgercus alba, a 10.5-inch Tilia americana, and an 8.5-inch Ulmus rubra. Most trees averaged about 6 inches d.b.h. Acer saccharum is unquestionably the dominant tree in both Sanford and Toumey. The densities of all other species are considerably lower than that of Acer saccharum. This species is also dominant in Sandhill Woodlot, but is closely followed by several other important Species. The densities of most Sanford species and the dominant Toumey species are greater than those of Sandhill. 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