THE VEGETATION OF LITTLE BEACH ISLAND, NEW JERSEY
RICHARD STALTER
ST. JOHN'S UNIVERSITY
The vegetation of Ll.ttle Beach Island, Brigantine National WildlifE:! Refuge,
New Jersey, was extensively studied from May 3, 1989 to November 6, 1989.
Ninety six specific and subspecific taxa of vascular plants have been identified.
Largest families are the Asteraceae (13 species) and Poaceae (12 species) .
Endangered taxa include Honkenya (Arenaria) peploides Sesuvium maritimum and
Plantago maritima. Major plant communities on the island include the dune
community dominated by Ammophila breviligulata,. the salt marsh community
vegetated by Spartina alterniflora, ~. patens, Limonium sp. · Salicornia spp. ,
. i:. ' Plantago maritima, Bassia hirsuta and additional species, and an immature maritime .- ' forest community dominated by Prunus serotina. 'I' I a pepeeet gf the taxa aJ'P.
- nm naaoe to etffi 'P!ldttd l!Jta~s.
Key Words: Ll.t~e Beach Island, New Jersey; maritime vegetation 2 Prof. R. Stalter
INTRODUCTION
Little Beach Island, New Jersey, is comprised of approximately 283 ha, is
located in southern New Jersey just north of Atlantic City at 39° 28 N, 74° 34r ~ W. Human habitation of the island during the 20th Century was limited to a fishing
village and Coast Guard Station. The village was abandoned around 1940, the
Coast Guard Station was decommissioned in 1942, and the vegetation was left to its
own devices.
Little Beach Island is among the most pristine coastal islands in maritime New
. Jersey. Since this island has been uninhabited for nearly fifty years, and rarely
visited, it may serve as a bench mark to measure the effect of man's impact on .
barrier islands in southern New Jersey. The present study describes the flora of
Little ·. Beach Island as ··the vegetation of 'this island has .not been previously
described.:- ; .
Coastal storms eroq.e the protective primary dunes and deposit sand on the
inland salt marsh~s, especially on the southern portion of the island. After storm
disturbances, the dunes are rebuilt by natural processes and are colonized and
"stabilizedn by Ammophila breviligulata~ Beach erosion is_espec:ially severe <:>n the
eastern and southern portion the island.
Climate
The nearest weather station to Little Beach Island, is Atlantic City.
January is the coldest month with a mean of O. 4 C while July is the warmest month
averaging 21. 7 C. Rainfall is 1155 mm/yr, and is evenly distributed throughout
the year. November is the driest month with 75.9 mm of rain; August is wettest
month averaging 124 mm. The average length of the growing season is 215 days, 3 Prof. R. Stalter
with the shortest frost free duration being 170 days and the longest duration being
233 days. Hurricanes, northeasters and summer droughts have been recorded
periodically (U.S. D.A. 1977). The most recent storm, Hurricane Gloria,
( September 1985) did extensive damage to the primary dune system especially on
the eastern and southern portion of the island. The large inland dunes
experienced little erosion during Gloria~
Methods
- The vegetation of Little Beach Island was sampled once every three weeks
beginning May 3, 1989, terminating on November 6, 1989. Herbari.um voucher
specimens of each taxon were prepared and deposited at Brigantine National
· Wildlife Refuge.. The species checklist-contains im inventory of the vascular plants_ , 1
of Little Beach Island including native taxa, naturalized and adventive weeds. All
non native species are marked by·an asterisk. The checklist is divided into four
categories: Pteridophyta, Pfuophyta, Magnoliophyta: Magnoliopsida, and
Magnoliophyta: Li.liopsida. Nomenclature follows that of Gleason and Cronquist
(1963) and t_he concept of families follows that of Cronquist (1981).
Results . 31/ -~ T.he current vascular flora of Little Beach Island consists of ~ families, ~ fO ,, TI .. genera and MIi specie~wbich -=MQ are native (Table 1). The Poaceae with 12 genera and 12 species Asteraceae with 13 genera and 13 species are the largest - ,-. · · 3'1 "31 familie Together they comprise * of all genera and M of all species. --....1/ 0th r'/ ge families are the Chenopodiaceae ( 9 species) and Rosaceae ( 6 species). 4 Prof. R. Stalter
DISCUSSION
Beach and Swale Cmmnnnity
The vegetation of Little Beach Island can be classified into three general
plant communities: beach and swale community, salt marsh, and immature maritime
forest.
Mari.time Beach and Swale Commmrl.ty
Drift and areas of occasional overwash are present on the northern portion
of the island. . This· area is sparsely vegetated by annual plant species most
_notably Salsola kali, Cakile edentula, Sesuvium maritimum, Atriplex arenariai and
Euphorbia polygonifolia_. Characteristic perennials include Honkenya peploides
' . ssp. robusta and Solid.ago sempervirens. Slightly higher rarely flooded .portions
of the beach are vegetated by the same species and by Ammopb:ila breviligulata·: ,
Panicuin :amarum ·and Solid.ago sempervirens:. -
The ocean and bay bordering dune~ at Little Beach Island are currently undergoing severe erosion. These dunes are currently populated by Ammophila breviligulata., .. · Lechea_ maritima, and Solidago seinpervirens. The sheltered landward side of these dunes is' generally vegetated by th,e same species along with
Toxicodendron radicans,Myrica pensylvanica and Prunus serotina. On sheitered inland dunes in the northeast portion of the island Hudsonia tomentosa,
Andropogon scoparius, Lechia maritima, Polygonella articulata, Toxicodendron radicans, Myrj.ca pensylvanica and Prunus _ serotina thrive. The community supporting Hudsonia is an extremely small conu:µunity covering only a few hectares. 5 Prof. R. Stalter
Maritime Forest Community
The maritime forest at Little Beach Island consists of an almost pure stand
of Purunus serotina, which reaches its best development on the large inland stable
dunes. Prunus serotina, the dominant tree on the secondary dunes at Little Beach
Island, has been recognized as a successional species at Island Beach State Park,
New Jersey (Martin 1959) at Sandy Hook, New Jersey (Stalter 1980) and at Fire
Island, New York. (Art 1976, Schulte 1965 ~ and Stalter et al 1987). The trees near
the summit of the dunes are generally short and pruned by salt spray; those
occupying the sheltered sides of the dunes where salt spray deposition is minimal
are taller, some as large as 10 meters tall. The dune soils are well drained and
consist of fine sand with a slight accumulation or organic matter. There' are
occasional·individuals of Amelanchier canadensis and Juniperus virginiana~ ·; Ilex ·, '
opaca is extremely: rare; ·.·· only 7 individuals were observed on ·the whole island
during the growing season of 1989.
llex opaca is the dominant ~e at the Bayside Holly Forest, Sandy Hook,
New Jers_ey (Stalter 198 ) and at the Sunken Forest Fire Island New York (Art
1976, Stalte~ et al 1987) . The scarcity of American Holly at Little Beach Island may be due to the young age · of the large stable inland sand dunes as Stalter
(1980) concluded that it might take llex opaca over 100 years to become established on the acreting western portion of Fire Island, New York; hundreds of years passed before _!. opaca became the dominant tree at the Sunken Forest, Fire
Island, New York. 6 Prof. R. Stalter
Salt Marsh Community
The salt marsh community at Little Beach Island occurs along the sheltered
inland portions of the island. The vegetation of the low salt marsh is dominated
by Spartina alterniflora. The higher infrequently flooded salt marsh is populated
by Disticblis spicata, Spartina patens, Salicornia virginica, ~ europaea, Spartina
alterniflora, Plantago maritima, Aster _tenuifolius, and Limonium caroUniannm~ At
the upper marsh boundary, Iva_ frutescens is generally dominant. Baccharis
halimifolia forms the interface between salt marsh and upland vegetation.
- The rarest plants observed at Little .Beach Island are Planta.go maritima
Sesuvi.m maritimum and Honkenya peploides. Their rankings on the 1989 Heritage
Program list, are Sesuvium maritimum - S2 (endangered in the state) Hon.ken.ya -
peploides ·· - S2 ( end · the state) · Plantago · maritinia -.- Sl ( critically
---'--r==;.L...;.. is the -dominant plant in the overwash portions_ Millions of Plantago_mari :tima_occupy the upper infrequently flooded salt marsh in the southwest portion of the island.
The vegetation of Little Beach Island is similar to that. found on other barrier islands in New Jersey especially in the salt marsh and dune communities -
(Martin 1959, Stalter 1981) . Species diversity here is not as- great as that reported by Martin (1959) at Island Beach State Park, N .J., Sandy Hook (Stalter
1980) Cape May Point State Park (Sutton et al 1990) or on Fire Island, New York
(Stalter et al 1987), although there is a greater percentage of natiye taxa here than at the aforementioned areas·. The high percentage. of.native species at Little
Beach Island is probably the result of its isolation with respect to ma.n's activities. Table 1. A statistical summary of the vascular flora of Little Beach Island, New Jersey
Fteridophytes Conifers Dicots Monocots Total Fam1 ~ 0 7 ~ zc ~ ·-'-, y Genera C) 2., S'_'-/ ______11 _ 73 C) -z_ Species _.,...... ,----· - 5SJ ,q lf O a 2- t./ (__ •···--~·-- Native species -- - v /; f :,~ Introduced species C, 0 (j i../ j I
/ -7 > _, · --
LI __, ~' i .... 1- .-f [
,_ -i_.- ..,..---··
l ------~ .,-- '"-· u C , )-- - / , i_.,,... J ·1
7 3 _) 7 Prof. R . Stalter
Checklist. The flora of Little Beach Island, Atlantic County, New Jersey. The
vasular plant taxa have been arranged as follows: Gymnosperms Dicots and
Monocots. Within each category, farniJies and lower taxa are arranged
alphabetically. Nomenclature generally follows Gleason and Cronquist (1963) and
the concept of families follows that af Cronquist (1981). Rare (R) and state
endangered (E) species are included in Snyder (1989). Alien species (i.e.,
species not native to the United States at the time af European settlement) are
indicated by an asterisk (*).
PINOPHYTA ( GYMNOSPERMAE)
CUPRESSACEAE Juniperus virginiana
PINACEAE Pinus rigida
ANGIOSPERMAE - DICOTYLEDONEAE
AIZOACEAE Sesuvium maritimum (E.)
ANACARDIACEAE Rhus copallina Toxicodendron radicans
APOCYNACEAE Apocynum cannabinum
AQUIFOLIACEAE Ilex opaca
ASTERACEAE -- Achillea millefolium* Ambrosia artemisiifolia Aster patens Baccharis halimifolia Conyza carradensis Erigerion sp. Eupatorium hyssopifolium Gnaphalium obtusifolium Iva frutescens Lactuca canadensis Solidago sempervirens -- Taraxacum officinale* .- Xanthium strumarium*
_,., 8 Prof. R. Stalter
BRASSICACEAE Cakile edentula Lepidiu.m virginicu.m
CAPRIFOLIACEAE ..-- Lonicera japonica* Sambucus canadensis
CARYOPHYLLACEAE Honkenya peploides (E) Spergularia mariana Stellaria media*
CHENOPODIACEAE Atriplex arenaria A. patula var. hastata Bassia hirsuta Chenopodium album* C. ambrosiodes* Salicornia bigelovii S. virginica Salsola kali* Suaeda linearis
CISTACEAE Hudsonia tomentosa Lechea maritima
CONVOLVULACEAE Convolvulus sepium ( =Calystegia s . )
EUPHORBIACEAE Euphorbia polygonifolia ( =Chamaesyce p. )
FABACEAE - Trifoliu.m arvense*
GENTIANACEAE Sabatia stellaris
LAMIACEAE Teucrium canadense
MYRICACEA Myrica pensylvanica
ONAGRACEAE Oenothera biennis
PHYTOLACCACEAE Phytolacca americana
PLANTAGINACEAE Plantago mari.tima ssp. juncoides ( E. )
I cf :1.. ' 9 Prof. R. Stalter
PLUMBAGINACEAE Limonium carolinianum.
POLYGONACEAE Polygonum sp. -- Rum.ex acetosella* _ R. crispus*
ROSACEAE Amelanchier canadensis Prunus serotina Rosa palustris Pc •••••er Rubus allegheniensis R. flagellaris
RUBIACEAE Galium aparine
SCROPHULARIACEAE Llnaria vulgaris* Verbascum thapsus*
SOLANACEAE Solanum nigrum
VITACEAE Parthenocissus quinquefolia
ANGIOSPERMAE - MONOCOTYLEDONEAE
CYPERACEAE Carex silicea Cyperus strigosus Scirpus americanus S. robustus
JUNCACEAE Juncus gerardi
LILIACEAE Smilax rotundifolia , --_ ,_/ ,., ~ J,_';, J I ,_;:f /" -
I C/ I I ; r./ 10 Prof. R . Stalter
POACEAE A.mmopbila breviligulata Andropogon scoparius Cenchrus tribuloides ____ Digitaria sangninaUs* Distichlis spicata Eragrostis spectabilis Panicum virgatum Phragmites australis Spartina alterniflora S. patens S. patens var. monogyna Triplasis pupurea
RUPPIACEAE Ruppia maritima
ZOSTERACEAE Zostera marina var. stenophylla
/
3 / l.-- 11.,, 11 Prof. R. Stalter
Literature Cited
Art, H.W. 1976. Ecological studies of the Sunken Forest, Fire Island National Seashore New York, National Park Service Scientific Monograph Series Number 7, 1976, Washington, D. C.
Cronquist, A. 1981. An integrated system of classification of flowering plants, New York: Columbia University Press, New York. 1261 pp.
Gleason, H.A. and A. Cronquist. 1963. Manual of Vascular Plants of Northeastern United States and Adjacent Canada. Willard Grant Press, Boston. 810 pp.
Martin, W.E. 1959. The vegetation of Island Beach State Park, New Jersey. Ecol. Monogr. 29: 1-46.
Schulte, E. 1965. A study of the plants in the Sunken Forest, Fire Island, New York. Unpublished Master's thesis. C. W. Post College, Long Island, New York.
Snyder, D. B. 1989. Special plants of New Jersey. Internal report prepared for N. J. Natural Heritage Program.
______., 1984/Rev. 185. ·New Jersey's Threatened Plant Species. Internal report prepared for N. J. Department of Environmental Protection.
______., and V.E. Vivian. '1981. Rare and Endangered Vascular Plant Species in New Jersey. The Conservation and Environmental Studies Center, Inc. in cooperation with the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
We wish to thank David Beall, Refuge Manager, for granting us permission to collect and Identify the vascular plans at Little Beach Island; for providing me with information on the history of the island and for access to the Ranger office;
Bob Lamoy, Barbara Hudac and Mark Steffen, for providing R. Stalter with boat transportation to and from Little Beach Island; Robert C. Meyer for assistance in identifying grasses; Arthur Conquist for assistance in identifying questionable species; Chris Bae and Donato Tramontozzi for assistance in preparing herbarium specimens; and to St. Jobnts University for purchasing herbarium supplies. Station No. to be Credited Permit Number UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 63289 r u.s. 52510 1 FISHAWILDLIFE SERVICE FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE Date
idwia v.p Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge 7/10/89 Period of Use (inclusive) ~ ~~~,,, ,T: SPECIAL USE PERM IT From April 25 19 89 To October 30 19 90 Permittee Name Permittee Address
Richard Stalter PhD. St. John's Univ~rsity Prof. of .Biology Grand Central and Utopin Parkways Jamaica, N-Y lll--139
Purpose (specify in detail privilege requested, or units of products involved)
1. To collect and identify the vegetation of Little .Beach Island.
Description (specify unit numbers; metes and bounds, or other recognizable designations)
The study will be con \·iilcllife ti,e3earch Study 52510-39 Amount of fee $ No n e if not a fixed payment, specify rate and unit of charge: IX] Payment Exempt - Justification: Research Study D Full Payment D Partial Payment - Balance of payments to be made as follows: Record of Payments :\/ i\ Special Conditions ~e£ Attucl,ed List This permit is issued by the U S Fish and Wildlife Service and accepted by the undersigned. sub1ected to the terms. covenants. obligations. and reservations. expressed or implied herein. and to the conditions and requirements appearing on lhe reverse side Permittee Signature Issuing Officer Signature and Title I I.,..., [ I I k .i r,, I ' ... Primt.r,r ARst:. t,.i..:i.1ta2f-:r Form 3· 1 383 (Rev 6/85) - - SPECIAL USE PERMIT 63289 Richard Stalter, PhD July 10, 1989 SPECIAL CONDITIONS 1. This permit shall be valid only for activities outlined in the project proposal. 2. Collection of plant material will be limited to no more than 6 plants of each species. 3. No rare and/or endangered plants may be collected. 4. AT least one week notice will be given to arrange boat transportation. Permittee must confirm arrangements one day prior to the arranged date. 5. Status reports and/or results shall be submitted to the refuge manager as they become available, but no later than December 15 of each year.