Status of kettle pond plant communities of Cape Cod National Seashore: Report on 2016 surveys and analyses of temporal change since 1995
Smith SM. 2018. Status of kettle pond plant communities of Cape Cod National Seashore: Report on 2016 surveys and analyses of temporal change since 1995. Natural Resource Report. NPS/CACO/NRR—2018/1668. National Park Service. Fort Collins, Colorado
• In numerous ponds, species richness and plant cover has decreased over time • The presence of Phragmites in Herring and Horseleech ponds is of concern, since this species has a propensity to proliferate and displace native vegetation. The other two invasive species were the Cambomba caroliniana (fanwort) and Elodea nuttallii (Nuttall’s waterweed), which were found in Herring and Higgins ponds, respectively • One state-listed species, Drosera filiformis (thread-leaf sundew; Special Concern) was recorded in 2016 (Great-W pond) • Because littoral zone macrophytes appear to be under some stress, as evidenced by their reduced abundance in many cases, it is important that CACO continues to support current efforts to restore/rehabilitate denuded pond shorelines where visitors have trampled the vegetation • By frequency (% occurrence), the five most abundant species along transects in 2016 were Lobelia dortmanna (Dortmann's Cardinalflower), Eriocaulon septangulare (pipewort), N. odorata (white waterlily), Nymphoides cordata (little floating-hearts), and Pontederia cordata (pickerelweed) • By frequency, the five most abundant species in the 2016 box plots were Eriocaulon septangulare, L. dortmanna, Isoetes spp. (quillworts), Myriophyllum spp. (milfoil), and N. odorata
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Smith, Stephen
- Date of Issue
- 2018-06
- Publisher
- National Park Service
- Units
- CACO , NRSS
- Keywords
- 2253781, aquatic plants, CACO, Cape Cod National Seashore, freshwater lakes, freshwater ponds, glacial, kettle ponds, Massachusetts, plant communities, vegetation