Ecological and floristic analyses of vascular plants along a gradient on disturbed serpentinite on opposing slopes in Staten Island, NY

Abstract

LEVINE, M. E. AND A. M. GRELLER (Department of Biology, Queens College, CUNY, Flushing, NY 11367). Ecological and floristic analyses of vascular plants along a gradient on disturbed serpentinite on opposing slopes in Staten Island, NY. J. Torrey Bot. Soc. 131:71-94. 2004.-Bloodroot Valley, in central Staten Island, southeastern New York State, has unusual vegetation. It is a highly disturbed area in which serpentinite rubble has been deposited on till-covered serpentinite bedrock. Bloodroot Valley is reputed to contain the only wild, albeit augmented, population of Sanguinaria canadensis found on Staten Island. The hypothesis of the study was that variation in observed plant associations would correlate with variations in soil properties. This study compared two distinct vegetative patterns on opposing slopes, existing within meters of each other, and each associated with different soil properties. Human disturbance in one area of Bloodroot Valley has fostered a unique soil condition that reflects a blend of features of serpentinite soils, anthropogenic calcium deposits and river floodplains. Vegetation on the west slope in Bloodroot Valley contains neither "serpentinite flora" nor flora typical of the adjacent mixed oak forest, but rather, a floodplain type plant association with Hydrophyllum virginianum as dominant.