Kohler Environmental Center Ecological Community Classification and Mapping New York Natural Heritage Program The NY Natural Heritage Program is a partnership between the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) and the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry. New York Natural Heritage Program 625 Broadway, 5th Floor Albany, NY 12233-4757 (518) 402-8935 Fax (518) 402-8925 www.nynhp.org Kohler Environmental Center Ecological Community Classification and Mapping Gregory J. Edinger A report prepared by the New York Natural Heritage Program 625 Broadway, 5th Floor Albany, NY 12233-4757 www.nynhp.org for Choate Rosemary Hall 333 Christian Street. Wallingford, CT 06492 January 2014 Please cite this report as follows: Edinger, G.J. 2014. Kohler Environmental Center Ecological Community Classification and Mapping. New York Natural Heritage Program, Albany, NY. Cover photos: top left: shallow emergent marsh (CEGL006446) at point A06; top right: red maple-hardwood swamp (CEGL006406) at point C03; bottom: coastal oak-beech forest (CEGL006377) at point C02. New York Natural Heritage Program Table of Contents INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................................... 3 Purpose and Study Area Overview ............................................................................................................. 3 Study Area Physical Setting and Environment .......................................................................................... 3 Ecoregions .................................................................................................................................................. 4 Geology ....................................................................................................................................................... 6 Soils .............................................................................................................................................................. 6 METHODS ........................................................................................................................................................ 7 Preliminary Map ............................................................................................................................................. 7 Field Methodology ......................................................................................................................................... 8 Classification ................................................................................................................................................... 8 Final Map ........................................................................................................................................................ 9 Condition Assessment .................................................................................................................................. 9 Final Products .............................................................................................................................................. 10 RESULTS ......................................................................................................................................................... 10 Ecological Communities Overview .......................................................................................................... 10 National Vegetation Associations ......................................................................................................... 12 Lacustrine Associations ...................................................................................................................... 12 Palustrine Associations ....................................................................................................................... 12 Terrestrial Forest Associations .......................................................................................................... 13 Successional Associations .................................................................................................................. 13 Planted Forests .................................................................................................................................... 14 Connecticut Vegetation Types ............................................................................................................... 17 New York Ecological Communities ..................................................................................................... 19 Natural Communities .......................................................................................................................... 19 Cultural Communities ......................................................................................................................... 19 Preliminary Statistical Analysis ................................................................................................................... 22 Non-metric Multidimensional Scaling Results .................................................................................... 22 Cluster Analysis Results .......................................................................................................................... 23 Condition Assessment ............................................................................................................................ 23 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ......................................................................................................................... 27 REFERENCES................................................................................................................................................ 28 1 New York Natural Heritage Program APPENDIX A ................................................................................................................................................. 30 National Vegetation Classification Associations of Kohler Environmental Center .......................... 30 APPENDIX B ................................................................................................................................................. 31 Kohler Environmental Center 2013 Observation Point Plant List ...................................................... 31 APPENDIX C ................................................................................................................................................. 37 Kohler Environmental Center Study Area PC-ORD Result Graphs .................................................. 37 LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. The Study Area of the Kohler Environmental Center. ............................................................... 4 Figure 2. The Nature Conservancy Ecoregions in southern Connecticut.. .............................................. 5 Figure 3. Soil Types within the study area ...................................................................................................... 7 Figure 4. New York Natural Heritage Program Observation Points ....................................................... 11 Figure 5. National Vegetation Classification Associations ........................................................................ 15 Figure 6. Connecticut Vegetation Types ...................................................................................................... 18 Figure 7. New York Natural Heritage Program Ecological Communities .............................................. 20 LIST OF TABLES Table 1. National Vegetation Classification Associations at Kohler Environmental Center ............... 16 Table 2. Connecticut Vegetation Types at Kohler Environmental Center. ............................................ 17 Table 3. New York Ecological Communities at Kohler Environmental Center. .................................. 21 Table 4. Non-native plant species tally and sum of the percent cover. ................................................... 25 2 New York Natural Heritage Program INTRODUCTION Purpose and Study Area Overview In the spring of 2013, with support from Choate Rosemary Hall, the NY Natural Heritage Program initiated a study to create a complete vegetation association and ecological community map of the lands associated with the Kohler Environmental Center in Wallingford, CT. The New York Natural Heritage Program has over two decades of experience producing ecological community maps for public land managers and private conservation organizations. We have produced such maps for various state lands (e.g., NYS DEC Wildlife Management Areas and OPRHP State Parks) and multi-owner conservation areas (e.g., Wilton Wildlife Preserve and Park in Saratoga County, NY and the Great Swamp in eastern NY). However, it has been our involvement in the National Park Service (NPS) Vegetation Mapping Program that is most responsible for elevating our mapping capabilities to our current high standards. Since 2003 we have produced wall- to-wall vegetation association maps using the National Vegetation Classification (NVC) for six NPS sites and two Nation Wildlife Refuges in New York totaling 44,584 ha (110,169 acres). These vegetation association maps meet rigorous Federal Geographic Data Committee standards for vegetation classification and metadata, and national standards for spatial accuracy and data transfer. We employed the NPS vegetation mapping standards to produce the Kohler Environmental Center vegetation