Natural Resource Inventory and Assessment - Town of Guilford

Traprock Ridges
This ecosystem is represented in the Metacomet Range, which extends from central Massachusetts
through to Guilford to East Haven. (See Section A. Geology.) Steep topography and unique bedrock geology
have shaped its vegetation and created remarkable diversity in a concentrated area called Totoket
Mountain, which includes Bluff Head, and Pistapaug Mountain.
In contrast to cooling patterns atop mountains, air blowing in from the west is actually warmed by the
basalt rock at the summit. In contrast, air on the leeward northeast face and foot of Bluff Head is distinctly
cool and moist. At the summit stunted oaks, hickories, ash, and a ground cover of Pennsylvania sedge form
“grassy,” park-like glades that are recognized as one of Connecticut’s most species-rich and imperiled
ecosystems. Forming a skirt below the northeast face, a talus slope of rocks dislodged from the cliff serves as
a cold refuge for plants such as mountain maple and mountain ash, which typically are found much further
north. This talus slope supports an extremely diverse variety of plants and is well-known for its uncommon
butterflies that rely on particular rare plants for feeding.
Characteristic plants:
Canopy: red cedar, oaks, hickories, white ash
Understory: sassafras, mountain laurel, witch hazel, dogwood, American hornbeam,
arrowwood, red maple, black birch
Ground cover: Pennsylvania sedge (summit); oak fern, large-leaved sandwort
Characteristic animals: hawks, vultures (Bluff Head supports an important colony), diverse
butterflies, northern copperhead
Example: Totoket Mountain/Bluff Head
Grasslands and Shrublands
Following European settlement most of Guilford’s forests were cleared for fields and pastures, to the
benefit of species such as grassland birds. Although some agricultural land remains in Guilford, particularly
in North Guilford, most of those open lands have been developed or allowed to revert to forest (See Section
E. Agriculture), and the species that require them have become increasingly uncommon – many rare or
endangered. Furthermore, as remaining farmland has become fragmented, or smaller and more isolated,
most has become unsuitable for animals such as upland sandpiper that need large expanses of grassland.
When agricultural land is abandoned, a sequence of plant communities develops before culminating in
mature forest. The first plants to take hold are called “pioneers,” which require full sun (e.g., many grasses
and shrubs, red cedar, black cherry). Gradually shade-tolerant species associated with forests, such as oaks
and sugar maple, become established in the shade of the pioneers, eventually shading out their
predecessors. These areas are prone to invasive plants, which tend to be specialized in quickly taking
advantage of disturbed habitat by colonizing it and growing more quickly than native species.
Fields that have recently been abandoned are dominated by low-stature herbaceous plants and vines.
Species diversity in these fields is very high and several pioneering species can be found surviving. Many
butterflies and birds of prey rely on grasslands for feeding on wildflower nectar or hunting small mammals.
Characteristic plants:
Grasses: foxtail, redtop, fescue, and species of Panicum, Poa, Eragrostic, and Aristida Non-grasses:
dandelions, clover, plantains, asters, cinquefoil, buttercups, St. Johnswort, goldenrods,
yarrow, smartweeds
Characteristic animals:
crickets, katydids, butterflies, eastern box turtle, bobolink, eastern meadowlark, horned lark,
grasshopper sparrow, red-tailed hawk, killdeer, wild turkey, eastern mole, woodchuck,
meadow vole, red fox, coyote, white-tailed deer
Examples: Water Company property viewed from Great Hill Rd.; pastures east of Route 77
south of Lake Quonnipuag; Braemore Meadow (wet meadow)
Natural Resource Inventory and Assessment Town of Guilford, CT D5
Uplands