introduction - Pennsylvania Natural Heritage Program

GREENWOOD TOWNSHIPGreenwood Township is bisected by the West Branch Susquehanna River and falls completely within itswatershed. It has several ecological assets, including contiguous forested area that makes up a largeportion of the Haslett Run LCA (see pg. 30), and a unique habitat in the Bell’s Landing Floodplain BDA.There are also challenges to the ecological health of the landscape in the township from the impacts ofstrip mining, forest fragmentation, and water pollution. Without extensive restoration work, formerlystripped areas typically offer degraded habitat conditions for many species and may act as a barrier for themovement of some. In Greenwood Township strip mined areas and other cleared areas fragment naturalforest cover into smaller pieces, decreasing its habitat value for species that depend on core forest habitat.Overall, the township is 70% forested, with 26% core forest habitat and only 1% roadless core habitat.Conservation goals for improving the ecological health of the landscape would be to improve forestcontiguity and ecosystem health, especially within the Haslett Run LCA, to remediate water qualityproblems, and to restore strip mined areas.Bell’s Landing Floodplain BDADescriptionThis BDA highlights a relatively intact natural floodplain area along the West Branch SusquehannaRiver. The West Branch is the largest waterway that passes through Clearfield County, but due tosteep topography along its banks, floodplain areas are scarce. Additionally, most have been clearedfor human uses. Although the Bell’s Landing Floodplain BDA is not in pristine condition, it isimportant as a setting for an uncommon habitat type. The BDA is Core Habitat; no SupportingLandscape is designated.The lowest portions of the floodplain have herbaceous or shrub vegetation; these open areas are mostextensive near the confluence with Bell Run. This zone is frequently flooded and scoured by movingwater or ice. Typical plant species include black willow (Salix nigra), heart-leaved willow (Salixeriocephala), slender willow (Salix petiolaris), shining willow (Salix lucida), water willow (Justiciaamericana), swamp milkweed (Asclepias incarnata), joe-pye weed (Eupatorium sp., pale St. John’swort(Hypericum ellipticum), swamp candles (Lysimachia terrestris), moneywort (Lysimachianummularia, non-native), a sedge sp. (Carex torta), and soft-stemmed bulrush (Schoenoplectustabernaemontani).The scour zone is not present throughout; in most areas there is an abrupt bank, a fairly narrow zoneof herbaceous cover, and a zone of floodplain forest further back from shore. In the herbaceous zone,the invasive exotic species giant Japanese knotweed (Polygonum sachalinense) and reed canarygrass(Phalaris arundinacea) are very prevalent. Other species include: Canada bluejoint grass(Calamagrostis canadensis), deer tongue grass (Panicum clandestinum), sensitive fern (Onocleasensibilis), a goldenrod species (Solidago sp.), carpenter’s square (Scrophularia marilandica), and asedge (Carex torta).The canopy of the forested area was dominated by black cherry (Prunus serotina) and silver maple(Acer saccharinum); other species present included ash (Fraxinus sp.), oak (Quercus sp.), sugarmaple (Acer saccharum), and serviceberry (Amelanchier sp.) The shrub layer was fairly sparse, withhawthorn (Crataegus sp.), witch-hazel (Hamamelis virginiana), and gooseberry (Ribes sp.). The herblayer is dominated in some areas by the invasive exotic species Japanese stilt-grass (Microstegiumvimineum), but also contains many native species, including: jumpseed (Polygonum virginianum),hay-scented fern (Dennstaedtia punctilobula), stinging nettle (Urtica dioica ssp. gracilis),intermediate wood fern (Dryopteris intermedia), false hellebore (Veratrum viride), northern oatgrass(Danthonia compressa), skunk cabbage (Symplocarpus foetidus), enchanter’s nightshade (Circaea92