|
Habitat & Management Practices |
|
Grasslands
More than 1,000 acres of the Refuge are grassland and old fields. Cooperative farmers hay and graze approximately 500 acres of cool season grasslands, which are dominated by orchard grass (Dactylis glomerata), timothy (Phleum pratense), Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis), smooth brome (Bromus inermis), and reed canarygrass (Phalaris arundinacea).
Refuge staff planted a diverse mix of warm season grasses on 55 acres. These grasses include big bluestem (Andropogon gerardii), little bluestem (Schizachyruim scoparium), Indian grass (Sorghastrum nutans), and switchgrass (Panicum virgatum). Most fields are in the old-field stage of succession and are composed of a wide diversity of broadleaf plants, including goldenrods (Solidago spp.), asters (Aster spp.), common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca), Canada thistle (Cirsium arvense), wild bergamot (Monarda fistulosa), ox-eye daisy (Chrysanthemum leucanthemum), and common mullein (Verbascum thapsus).
<top of page>
|
Upland Forests
| Credit: Michele Talmadge/USFWS |
| |
|
Approximately 1,600 acres of the Refuge are deciduous hardwood forest. The most frequently seen common tree species include: white oak (Quercus alba), chestnut oak (Q. prinus), red oak (Q. rubra), black oak (Q. velutina), pignut hickory (Carya glabra), shagbark hickory (C. ovata), red maple (Acer rubrum), sugar maple (A. saccharum), white ash (Fraxinus americana), tulip poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera), black cherry (Prunus serotina), yellow birch (Betula alleghaniensis), black birch (B. lenta), sassafras (Sassafras albidum), eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis), and eastern redcedar (Juniperus virginiana). Common shrubs include maple-leaf viburnum (Viburnum acerifolium), Japanese barberry (Berberis thunbergii), American witchhazel (Hamamelis virginiana), black-haw (Viburnum prunifolium) and spicebush (Lindera benzoin). Mayapple (Podophyllum peltatum), wild ginger (Asarum canadense), garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata), New York fern (Thelypteris noveboracensis), Christmas fern (Polystichum acrostichoides), and bracken (Pteridium aquilinum) are common herbaceous plants.
<top of page>
|
Upland Shrublands
Shrublands comprise almost 1000 acres of the Refuge. These areas are intermediate in successional stage between fields and forests.
| Credit: USFWS |
| View from Dagmar Dale Trail - North Loop |
|
Common shrub species include gray dogwood (Cornus racemosa), multiflora rose (Rosa multiflora), eastern redcedar, and staghorn sumac (Rhus typhina). Pioneer tree species such as quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides) and gray birch (Betula populifolia) are also an important component of Refuge shrublands.
| Credit: USFWS |
| View from Dagmar Dale Trail - North Loop |
|
<top of page>
|
| |
| |
Wetlands
| Credit: Michele Talmadge/USFWS |
| Atlantic white- cedar swamp |
|
About 2,100 acres of the Refuge is forested wetland. Characteristic tree species include red maple, silver maple (Acer saccharinum), box-elder (A. negundo), green ash (Fraxinus pennsylvanica), American elm (Ulmus americana), slippery elm (U. rubra), pin oak (Quercus palustris), American sycamore (Platanus occidentalis), and river birch (Betula nigra).
The shrub layer is dominated by spicebush, highbush blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum), and winterberry (Ilex verticellata). Common herbaceous plants include royal fern (Osmunda regalis), sensitive fern (Onoclea sensibilis), garlic mustard, arrow-leaved tearthumb (Polygonum sagittatum), white snakeroot (Eupatorium rugosum), spotted jewelweed (Impatiens capensis), cardinal-flower (Lobelia cardinalis), and skunk-cabbage (Symplocarpus foetidus).
Most of the refuge's wooded wetlands are red maple swamps along the Wallkill River. A small but significant type that also occurs on the Refuge is Atlantic white-cedar swamp. Wetland forests dominated by Atlantic white-cedar (Chamaecyparis thyoides) were once widespread along the eastern seaboard.
However, the range of this habitat type has contracted significantly from harvest without re-planting, hydrologic alteration, and coastal development. In fact, The Nature Conservancy considers the Atlantic white-cedar swamp a globally endangered ecosystem. Important plant associates on the Refuge include black spruce (Picea mariana), highbush blueberry, and sphagnum (Sphagnum spp.).
| Credit: USFWS |
| View from Wood Duck Trail |
|
Approximately 700 acres of emergent marsh is found on the refuge. Dominant species include cattails (Typha spp.), spikerushes (Eleocharis spp.), sedges (Carex and Cyperus spp.), smartweeds (Polygonum spp.), arrow-arum (Peltandra virginica), swamp loosestrife (Decodon verticillatus), and common reed (Phragmites australis).
Purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria) is dominant in many marshes.
An additional 25 acres of the Refuge is open water. Species found here include pondweeds (Potamogeton spp.), spatterdocks (Nuphar spp.), and duckweeds (Lemna spp.).
Approximately 300 acres of the Wallkill River Refuge's wetlands are comprised of wet meadow. The dominant plant species in these areas is reed canarygrass. Other common plants are swamp milkweed (Asclepias incarnata), joe-pye-weeds (Eupatorium spp.), common reed, purple loosestrife, and cattail.
Approximately 200 acres of the Wallkill River Refuge are classified as scrub-shrub wetland. These areas are currently in a successional stage leading to forested wetland. The dominant shrub species include silky dogwood (Cornus amomum), multiflora rose, and spicebush. Representative trees include red maple, black willow (Salix nigra), and American elm. Sensitive fern, tussock sedge (Carex stricta), purple loosestrife, and skunk-cabbage are common herbaceous plants.
Calcareous fens are an uncommon but important wetland habitat on the Wallkill River Refuge. This wetland type develops in areas of calcareous groundwater discharge. The high availability of calcium in these rich fens yields a unique assemblage of plants, including tufted hairgrass (Deschampsia cespitosa), swamp birch (Betula pumila), shrubby cinquefoil (Potentilla fruticosa), willows (Salix serissima, S. discolor, S. gracilis), and poison sumac (Toxicodendron vernix). Also, the continuous groundwater seepage and open vegetation are important habitat characteristics that make these sites suitable for the federally-threatened bog turtle (Glyptemys muhlenbergii). Dominant plants in Refuge fens are tussock sedge, red maple, American elm, multiflora rose, and purple loosestrife.
<top of page>
|
Wallkill River
| Credit: Michele Talmadge/USFWS |
| Wallkill River south of Oil City Road |
|
The Wallkill River is one of the few large rivers in the United States that flows north. From its headwaters in spring-fed Lake Mohawk, located in Sparta, New Jersey, the river flows north into New York State. It joins the Rondout Creek in Rosendale, New York and empties into the Hudson River in Kingston, New York. The Refuge is part of the Hudson River-New York Bight watershed.
| Credit: USFWS |
View of Wallkill River from Dagmar Dale Trail
- North Loop |
|
The Wallkill River National Wildlife
Refuge is currently participating in watershed planning of the Wallkill River.
Please see http://www.wallkillriver.org for more information.
<top of page>
|
Invasive
Species
Non-indigenous, invasive species are a serious threat to wildlife and habitats at Wallkill River Refuge. Exotic plants degrade habitat by converting diverse native plant communities into single-species monocultures, and introduced animals compete directly with native wildlife. In fact, invasive species are one of the most important threats to the National Wildlife Refuge System as a whole.
All refuge habitats and wildlife species are vulnerable to the effects of invasive species. Purple loosestrife and Phragmites have taken over many Refuge wetlands. Consequently, habitat for the federally-threatened bog turtle, migrating waterfowl, and a wide diversity of other wetland dependant wildlife has been degraded. Refuge grasslands are being invaded by Canada thistle and spotted knapweed (Centaurea stoebe). Shrublands are becoming dominated by multiflora rose, common buckthorn (Rhamnus cathartica), and autumn olive (Elaeagnus umbellata). Refuge forests have become invaded by tree-of-heaven (Ailanthus altissima), Japanese barberry, and garlic mustard. The introduced mute swan (Cygnus olor) competes with native waterfowl and marshbirds for food resources and nesting areas, and the feeding activities of these large birds damage wetland ecosystems. Feeding and spawning common carp (Cyprinus carpio) kill aquatic plants and increase water turbidity, and as a result, Refuge waters provide poorer habitat for native fish. Feral cats kill countless small mammals, ground-nesting birds, and songbirds. Other important invasive species on the Refuge include Japanese honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica), European bush-honeysuckles (L. tatarica, L. morrowii), Asiatic bittersweet (Celastrus obiculatus), Norway maple (Acer platanoides), Japanese knotweed (Polygonum cuspidatum), and gypsy moth (Porthetria dispar).
The refuge is currently participating in a Regional Invasive Plant Species inventory and Mapping Initiative. The purpose is to conduct a basic invasive plant inventory of refuge lands which will locate, identify, and map invasive plant species. This information will be used to guide development of control, monitoring, and evaluation initiatives.
<top of page>
|
|
|
