Natural Area Mapping and Inventory of Soundview Park August 2006 Survey Prepared by the Natural Resources Group Michael R. Bloomberg, Mayor Adrian Benepe, Commissioner Bill Tai, Director Tim Wenskus, Deputy Director Craig Mandel, GIS/ Data Manager Marielle Anzelone, Ecologist April Bisner, Inventory/ Monitoring Technician Joshua Nakash, Inventory/ Monitoring Technician January 12, 2007 Soundview Park Natural Area Mapping & Inventory 174 acres Introduction City of New York Parks & Recreation (DPR) manages one of the most extensive and varied park systems of any city in the world. These 29,000 acres of city park property occupy about 15 percent of New York City’s total area. In addition to flagship parks such as Central Park and Prospect Park, the city’s parklands include over 11,000 acres of natural areas. Until the 1980’s, the Parks Department was primarily concerned with developed landscapes and recreation facilities rather than natural areas. In the absence of a comprehensive management policy, these areas succumbed to invasive species, pollution and erosion. In 1984, Parks established the Natural Resources Group (NRG) with a mandate to acquire, restore and manage natural areas in New York City. The wetlands, forests, meadows, and shorelines under NRG’s jurisdiction provide valuable habitat for hundreds of species, from rare wildflowers to endangered birds of prey. In addition to the goals mentioned above, NRG serves as a clearinghouse for technical research to aid in the protection and restoration of the city's natural resources. This inventory of Soundview Park was conducted as part of NRG’s commitment to improving the natural areas of New York City parks. Soundview Park is located on the Soundview peninsula where the Bronx River opens up to the East River. During the 1890’s the southern 1/3 of the park was open water while the majority of the rest of the park was tidal marsh with a few streams running through it. Beginning in the 1920’s, and ending in the 1960’s, the tidal marsh and parts of the open water were filled with sanitary landfill. In 1937 the city of New York acquired the original 93 acres of tidal marshland that would become Soundview Park. In 1940 an additional 63 acres of park were acquired by condemnation. In 1953, 1967, and 2002 subsequent additions were made to the park. During the 1950’s New York State Parks Commissioner Robert Moses created the lagoons. The lagoons are bordered by rip rap berms that are dominated by desirable salt marsh vegetation such as marsh elder, switchgrass, smooth cordgrass, spike grass, as well as invasive Phragmites. Efforts have been made by local community groups to restore the smooth cordgrass at the north east end of the lagoon. During the Pelham Lagoon Salt Marsh Restoration in 2000, excavated fill from Orchard Beach was transported to Soundview Park. The fill was placed in the pattern of a circular berm on the south side of the park. The berm is predominantly covered with mugwort, sweet clover, goldenrod, and Phragmites. A natural gas pipeline owned by Con Edison runs underground from the shoreline to Rosedale Avenue and Bronx River Avenue. Marker posts line pathways that connect the bike lane to the basketball courts and the berm. The developed portion of the park includes several ballfields, a running track, soccer court and basketball court. One mile of Greenway, which was completed in 2000 runs along the south side of the park and into the developed areas of the park. There are two locations along the Greenway that are equipped with benches overlooking the Bronx River. The Soundview Park Composting Site is within the park’s boundaries and is located near the Randall Avenue entrance. The composting site is run by the Department of Sanitation and only accepts leaves and small brush. In exchange for the use of this land the facility will provide enough compost to remediate a minimum of 12 acres of parkland. 2 To facilitate the protection, management and restoration of Soundview Park, NRG completed an inventory of the area using entitation, a process of identifying and describing ecologically distinct plant communities. Using aerial photographs and field reconnaissance, Parks staff delineated distinct ecological entities, known as entitation units, based on cover type, understory structure, species composition, and topography. Evidence of historical use, current use, environmental disturbance, and additional notes were also recorded for each unit. Entitation of Soundview Park resulted in a map and database that can be used to locate valuable and threatened areas. They also serve as a baseline for measuring change over time. Entitation Entitation is a type of plant community inventory well suited to the patchy environments often found in urban areas. Originally designed for European landscapes, the system was revised by NRG in 1985 for use in urban parkland. NRG has used entitation widely and successfully to facilitate acquisition and restoration decisions. Put simply, entitation is a process of breaking up a park into manageable parts called “entities” or “entitation units.” Entitation units are defined using a weighted list of criteria. The first level of distinction is based on cover type (e.g. closed forest, vineland, scrub), followed by canopy species composition, understory type (e.g. herbs, vines, shrubs), and understory species composition. Additional factors, such as topography and soil condition (e.g. wet, moist, dry) are also taken into account. To prepare for fieldwork, mapping technicians examine aerial photographs and delineate areas of similar cover. The mapping staff use the aerial information to create a strategy for covering land area. In the field, boundaries are identified as described above. For each unit, staff record the data listed above, as well as current uses, environmental disturbances, historical indicators, community stability, and comments. In Soundview Park, workers identified 210 vegetation units. Of approximately 174 park acres entitated, 73 were classified as forest or woodland, 28 as scrub, 84 as herbaceous community, 3 as vineland, 16 as intertidal, and 6 as scarcely vegetated. 3 4 5 6 7 8 Soundview Park Entitation Unit Descriptions, Surveyed August 2006 Unit: 1 Acreage: 3.432 Mgmt. Concern: Yes Site Species Height Exotic Historical Uses Disturbance Scarcely vegetated Landfill Sports Level Dry Comments: This unit includes all paved recreational areas throughout the park, including basketball courts, playgrounds and a soccer court. The following species occur in some of these units: willow oaks and pin oaks in planter boxes, CSG, path rush, and mugwort. MC: There is standing water in the soccer court, which may attract mosquitoes. Unit: 2 Acreage: 1.37 Mgmt. Concern: No Site Species Height Exotic Historical Uses Disturbance Scarcely Vegetated Parking lot Deciduous Hemicryptophytes Level Dry Comments: This unit is a gravel filled lot with scattered plants growing up through it. The area may have been a parking lot in the past. This unit is bordered by areas of denser vegetation and Metcalfe Avenue. The species present in this unit include: Ailanthus, cottonwood, mugwort, bindweed, goldenrod, path rush, sweet white clover, and rough-fruited cinquefoil. City of New York, Parks and Recreation, Natural Resources 9 Soundview Park Entitation Unit Descriptions, Surveyed August 2006 Unit: 3 Acreage: 7.336 Mgmt. Concern: No Site Species Height Exotic Historical Uses Disturbance Scarcely vegetated Mugwort <5' yes Other Composting area Level Dry Comments: Soundview Park Composting Site. Fenced in composting area located on top of a steep hill with some mugwort growing along fence. Unit: 4 Acreage: 0.294 Mgmt. Concern: No Site Species Height Exotic Historical Uses Disturbance Scarcely vegetated Planetree, London 5'-30' yes Foot traffic Deciduous Oak, willow 5'-30' no Level Dry/Moist Comments: This unit is a paved area with street trees and a planter strip that contains ornamentals. Benches are located within the unit. Other species present include: redbud, witchhazel, pin oak, yew, Ailanthus, little leaf linden, lamb's quarters and dandelion. City of New York, Parks and Recreation, Natural Resources 10 Soundview Park Entitation Unit Descriptions, Surveyed August 2006 Unit: 5 Acreage: 0.03 Mgmt. Concern: Yes Site Species Height Exotic Historical Uses Disturbance Herbaceous Landfill Garden Deciduous Hemicryptophytes Slope Dry/Moist Comments: This unit is a planted bed, presumably made by neighboring homeowner. Statues and ornamental plantings are located within the unit. A bed of cedar chips has been laid down. The unit is bordered by large rocks and is located on Leland Avenue near the O'Brien Street entrance of the park. Species present include: Rhododendron, garlic mustard, and English holly. MC: possible encroachment. Unit: 6 Acreage: 17.053 Mgmt. Concern: No Site Species Height Exotic Historical Uses Disturbance Herbaceous Cool season grass <5' yes Landfill Sports Trash Deciduous Hemicryptophytes Level Dry/Moist Comments: This unit consists of all the managed sports fields throughout the park, including baseball fields and running track. This includes both infields and outfields. A manhole and a fire hydrant are located in the NE baseball field. A blue metal arch, a manhole, a hedgerow of sugar maples, and two weeping willows are located in the SE baseball field. Other species present in the NW baseball field include: white mulberry, Ailanthus, hackberry, black cherry, cottonwood, London planetree, poison ivy, mugwort, porcelain-berry, and path rush. City of New York, Parks and Recreation, Natural Resources 11 Soundview Park Entitation Unit Descriptions, Surveyed August 2006 Unit: 7 Acreage: 39.083 Mgmt. Concern: Yes Site Species Height Exotic Historical Uses Disturbance Herbaceous Cool season grass <5' yes Landfill Campfire/ party Trash Deciduous Cottonwood, Eastern >30' & 5-30' no Picnic Dirt bike Hemicryptophytes Zelkova, Japanese 5'-30' yes Foot traffic Level Norway maple 5'-30' yes Dry/Moist Locust, honey 5'-30' yes Comments: Managed Lawns. This unit consists of all managed lawns including the bike trail and its surrounding lawn.