The ecology of Atlantic white cedar wetlands - USGS National ...

above 90 m. In a small number of wetlands in northwesternRhode Island, cedar grows in associationwith two boreal species, black spruce (Piceamariana) and larch (Larix larina) (R. Enser, pers.comm.).Great laurel (Rhododendron maximum), abroad-leaved evergreen shrub which is common inupland areas of the southern Appalachians (Fernald1950), is locally common as an understory species inboth deciduous and evergreen wetland forests insouthern Rhode Island and nearby Connecticut.This shrub grows to a height of 2.5 to 4.5 m and oftenforms such dense tangles that travel through theswamps is exceedingly difficult. As a result of thedeep shade created by a dense canopy of cedar anda thick understory of great laurel, herbs are scarce tononexistent in these swamps (Lowry 1984).A striking example of the Atlantic whitecedar-great laurel association can be seen in the EllPond-Long Pond Natural Areas Complex near theConnecticut line in Hopkinton. There a dense, 90-year old cedar forest containing hemlock as well asgreat laurel borders the northern and western shoresof Ell Pond, which lies in a deep fracture in the localbedrock. The surrounding relief is rugged andbedrock outcrops are numerous. Between the forestand the water's edge is a narrow bog mat dominatedby leatherleaf. Peat thickness ranges from 4 m in theforest interior to 8-9 m at the water's edge. The EllPond stand, which averages 13 m in height, is 98 mabove sea level. Ell Pond and its associated wetlandsrepresent Rhode Island's only National NaturalLandmark. For further description of Rhode Islandsites, see Lowry (1 984) and Golet and Lowry (1987).Connecticut. Thirty-nine cedar wetlands, allbut six of them east of the Connecticut River, areknown to contain living cedar in Connecticut atpresent (K. Metzler, pers. comm.). Some sitesare reportedto be in near-pristine condition, some aretrampled and debris-strewn, and some are still beinglogged for cedar. A few are in public ownership, butmost have no active conservation manaaement. -Two cedar wetlands were designated as NationalNatural Landmarks in 1973: Chester CedarSwamp, and Pachaug Great Meadow in Voluntown.A cedar log walkway and marked trail traverse a sectionof the Pachaug preserve containing over 200 haof cedar in an approximately 350 ha swamp-bogsedgemeadow complex (K. Metzler, pers. comm.)drained by the Pachaug River. Pachaug and at leasttwo other stands are known to contain sizable, vigorous,dense great laurel populations (LedyardCedar Swamp, and Bell Cedar Swamp in NorthStonington) (K. Metzler, pers. comm.). Creepingsnowberry (Gaultheria hispidula) is reputed to growin one privately-owned swamp. North WindhamPeat Bog contains a dense 30-ha white cedar swampwith black spruce, unusual in Connecticut. It is acombination not seen south of this point except in themontane Sterling Forest, New York and High Point,New Jersey forests (Laderman, unpubl.).Monographs by Nichols (1913) and Taylor(1915), and a master's thesis by Noyes (1939) constitutethe major sources of historical botanical dataabout Chamaecyparis in the state. The papers containlists of associated species, brief site descriptions,and maps, indicating that of 86 cedar standsknown at the time, 85% were east of the ConnecticutRiver.New York State. Before the agricultural andsuburban development of Long Island, cedarswamps were believed to form an almost continuouschain from Brooklyn to Montauk Point (Nichols1913), clustered along the southern edge of the terminalmoraine that forms the island's spine. As civilizationspread, cedar wetlands declined drastically(Torrey 1843; Harper 1907; Bicknell 1908; Taylor1916).The primary cause of cedar loss in NassauCounty was lowering of the water table when streamswere dammed to create reservoirs for the rapidly expandingpopulace. Nassau County today holds fewmature cedars, with no evidence of regeneration (J.Turner, pers. comm.).In Suffolk County, earlier in this century,many wetlandswere lumbered, drained, and clearedfor farming. Those remaining are being rapidlyredaced bv summer resorts and second homes.he county now contains only 11 known cedarstands, most of them quite small. SouthamptonTownship harbors the greatest abundance of cedarsin Long Island. The largest New York wetland complexcontaining Chamaecyparis is in a 40-ha area ofSouthampton's Cranberry Bog County Park, alongthe southern reaches of the Peconic River (J. Turner,pers. comm.).Outside Long Island, the only cedar standsremaining in the state are two small bogs in SterlingForest, each less than 0.5 ha (Lynn 1984; Lynn andKarlin 1985).New Jersey. Glaciated New Jersey has onlyseven known cedar stands, but it bears the distinctionof harboring an Atlantic white cedar swamp inHigh Point at the greatest altitude recorded for thespecies. Its elevation of 457 m exceeds that of thenext highest stand (in New Hampshire) by 69 m.Only three northern New Jersey sites contain morethan a few trees at present: High Point andWawayanda in Sussex County in the far northwest