Brief Note: Vegetational History of Mentor Marsh
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Copyright © 1981 Ohio Acad. Sci. 0030-0950/81/0003-0105 $2.00/0 BRIEF NOTE VEGETATIONAL HISTORY OF MENTOR MARSH1 NEIL P. BERNSTEIN,2 Department of Biology, John Carroll University, University Heights OH 44118 OHIO J. SCI. 81(3): 105, 1981 During the summer of 1976, a study of habitat selection by red-winged black- birds (Agelaius phoeniceus) was conducted at Mentor Marsh in Mentor, Ohio (Bernstein and McLean 1980). This paper is a summary of the material collected from written records and per- sonal communications concerning the vegetational history of Mentor Marsh plus my observations. A more detailed description and complete bibliography of the material presented can be found in Bernstein (1977). Topography and Geology FIGURE 1. Map of Mentor Marsh. A. Study Mentor Marsh Natural History Land- Area A, B. Study Area B, C. Study Area C, D. Wakerobin Trail, E. Becker Trail, F. Becker mark is located on the lake plains of Pond, G. School Forest, H. Shipman Wildlife north-central Lake County and covers Memorial at Shipman Pond, I. Black Brook. an area of approximately 800 acres. It Insert—Map of Ohio showing the approximate varies from 0.25 to 0.50 miles in width location of Mentor Marsh in Lake County. Stippled area—indicate open bodies of water and is approximately 4.50 miles long. within the marsh. Isajd (1966) states that the marsh is 600 ft above sea level and about 20 to 25 ft above Lake Erie. The angle of marsh in the south-east corner, the decline from the surrounding uplands stream becomes distributary and no to the marsh is usually below 20 degrees main channel can be discerned (see fig. 1). and it is most gentle on the eastern edge. Becker Pond and Shipman Pond are With exception of two natural highlands, the two largest bodies of open water, little change in elevation occurs within about 3 acres each, and several smaller the marsh. areas of open water exist, some seasonally. Three man-made structures presently The size and number of these areas of traverse the marsh (fig. 1). Corduroy open water are dependent upon amount Road allows vehicular traffic, while the of rainfall in any one year. Zimmerman Wakerobin Trail and the sewer Pipeline (1976) and Newhous (1976) point out between Becker Pond and the north that three areas east of Corduroy Road shore of the marsh are footpaths. Roads on the south shore were dynamited in no longer in use are also in evidence. the late 1960's in an attempt to create open water that would attract waterfowl. Black Brook is the only noticeable Mentor Marsh is geologically unusual surface stream, and upon entering the because, unlike northwest Ohio with 1Manuscript received 13 October 1978 and in its many marshes, marshes are not revised form 9 May 1980 (#78-61). common in northeast Ohio. The present 2Present address: Dept. of Ecology and Be- havioral Biology, 108 Zoology, Univ. of Min- marsh was probably formed from a nesota, Minneapolis MN 55455. westward flowing segment of the Grand 105 106 NEIL P. BERNSTEIN Vol. 81 River when, at some unknown time, the the marsh in the School Forest, and river formed a new easterly mouth into the southern border is mostly mixed Lake Erie and the isolated river segment, oaks. The remainder of the marsh, on a bedrock base surrounded by upland central and southeast portions, is a forests, developed into Mentor Marsh cattail-nightshade community. Neither (Aronson 1974, Bernstein 1977). the broad-leaved cattail (Typha latifolia) nor the narrow-leaved cattail (T. angusti- Vegetation of Mentor Marsh folia) was dominant at the time of It is not certain how the marsh Isard's study (1966) and both were appeared to the first settlers, but pub- associated with bittersweet nightshade lished interviews from early settlers to (Solarium dulcamara). This community the area provided clues (Gault 1957). still exists, but it has been almost It appears that the marsh was largely entirely replaced by common reed an open body of water until the early (Phragmites australis). 1800's, but by 1937, a dense swamp had developed in the eastern portion. Plant Succession and Communities By 1951, little herbaceous vegetation In the early 1800's, the marsh was was apparent and the swamp forest largely an open body of water that had covered most of the area. In 1959, a no substantial influx of water other than die-off of the swamp forest began that Black Brook. I assume that succession was witnessed by many area residents first created a marsh, followed by a (Zimmerman 1976) and is evidenced by swamp forest, that was replaced by the aerial photographs that indicate dying present marsh after the die-off. Aldrich trees (Bernstein 1977). It is not known (1943) described the primary successional why the die-off occurred, but leakage stage from marsh to swamp forest in of salt into Black Brook from surrounding northeastern Ohio as the Cephalanthus- salt mining operations or a fluctuating Alnus associes. At the time, the sere water table are possible explanations. consisted of buttonbush (Cephalanthus Isard (1966) divided the vegetation occidentalis) or speckled alder (Alnus into 5 communities: the cattail-night- rugosa). In my study, C. occidentalis shade (Typha-Solanutn) community, the was extremely rare, but A. rugosa was mixed-oak (Quercus) swamp forest, the common and it was often seen in the maple-ash-elm (A cer-Fraxinus- Ulmus) same habitat with common buckthorn swamp forest, the beech-maple (Fagus- (Rhamnus calhartica). Aldrich termed Acer) forest, and the buttonbush-willow the climax swamp forest community the (Cephalanthus-Salix) community. The Acer-Ulmus-Fraxinus associes. Of the buttonbush-willow community at Ship- characteristic primary dominants, red man Pond is no longer present due to maple (Acer rubrum), American elm flooding created by a beaver {Castor (Ulmus americana), and white ash canadensis) dam at the northeast corner (Fraxinus americana) are currently of the pond. Killed were the buttonbush common, but swamp white oak (Quercus (Cephalanthus occidentalis), swamp loose- bicolor), silver maple (Acer saccharinum), strife (Decodon verticillatus), and the black ash (Fraxinus nigra), and pin surrounding blackwillow (Salix nigra) oak (Quercis palustris) are less common as described by Aldrich (1943). (At the in Mentor Marsh. This is in agreement time of Aldrich's study, Shipman Pond with Isard's (1966) vegetation survey was referred to as Norton's Pond.) although Q. bicolor and F. nigra were The mixed-oak swamp forest, which then more common. is located on the extreme eastern edge Two secondary successional communi- of the marsh bordering on Heisley Road, ties were listed by Aldrich (1943): the is now largely dead trees as is the Cornus-Rosa-Spiraea associes and the majority of the maple-elm-ash swamp Salix-Populus-Quercus associes. Of the forest once present on the eastern edge first, red-osier dogwood (Cornus stoloni- of the marsh and in localized areas. fera), swamp rose (Rosa Carolina), and Beech-maple forest presently covers most elderberry (Sambucus canadensis) are of the uplands on the northern border of indicator plants that were found along Ohio J. Sci. VEGETATIONAL HISTORY OF MENTOR MARSH 107 Becker Trail. Narrow-leaved meadow- In Holland, where P. australis is used sweet (Spiraea alba) was not observed in land reclamation projects on land in my study or those of Isard (1966, that was formerly ocean bottom, it is 1967). The Salix-Populus-Quercus com- useful in removing salt from soil and munity is characteristic of the serai creating suitable substrate for terrestrial stage leading to the Quercus-Carya forest. plants (Newhous 1976). In such a Of typical species in this community, recently disturbed area, the invasion cottonwood (Populus deltoides) was com- and growth of P. austalis in a land mon along Becker Trail; Q. bicolor was reclamation project took place spontane- not common, but it was found in small ously and resulted in dense vegetation groups in the open marsh; Q. bicolor was within a few years. Perhaps this is common, but was found in small num- similar to the situation that occurred bers on Wakerobin Trail and in the in Mentor Marsh after the die-off dis- northeast corner of the marsh. Since turbed the natural succession in the area. these plants are typical of secondary Typha latifolia is usually found in succession, they may be an indication deeper water than T. angustifolia, and of a return to the swamp forest or they Phragmites australis is found in the driest may be remnants that survived the die- habitat (Sears 1916). I believe that this off of the first swamp forest. Isard is the sequence of biotic succession (1966) reported presence of poison sumac within the marsh. Studies by Keefe (Rhus vernix) that may have been (1974) and Jones (1975) indicate that associated with the swamp forest, and salt concentration is greatest where Newhous (personal communication 1976) Black Brook enters the marsh and that also encountered the plant while clearing salt concentration gradually decreases to vegetation to build Wakerobin Trail in the west. The most uniform stands of the 1920's. I found none in my study. P. australis are in the southeastern Mentor Marsh is presently covered by portion of the marsh where salt concen- herbaceous marsh vegetation over much tration is the highest. Therefore, P. of its area. Typha latifolia and T. australis would be expected to have a angustijolia were originally the two greater salt tolerance than the Typha dominant types of marsh vegetation species. This is, indeed, the case after the die-off. P. auslralis has rapidly (Penfound and Hathaway 1938, Rechav multiplied so that it is now the dominant 1967, van der Toorn 1972).