Vegetation of Dutchess
County, New York
by Erik Kiviat
D
utchess County, an area approximately 800 square miles
between the Hudson River and Connecticut, encompasses
varied terrain: the muddy tidal marshes and shallows of the
Hudson at the foot of clay bluffs, the low shale, slate and
sandstone hills from Rhinebeck to Wappingers Falls to Millbrook, the
gravelly flats around Pine Plains, Freedom Plains, Fishkill Plains, the
limestone valleys and ridges of East Fishkill and the Harlem Valley, and the
rugged hills of the borders with Putnam County (to the south) and
Connecticut. The total plant cover of the county is the "vegetation," and is
composed of all individuals of all species of plants present. Vegetation is
crucial in providing food, lumber and fuel, creating wildlife habitats,
enhancing the aesthetic environment, forming and protecting soils, moderating the climate, and buffering the hydrological cycle.
This article was originally commissioned in 1980 by the Dutchess County Department of
Planning (DCDP). An edited version will be published with a vegetation map as a chapter in a
DCDP book on the natural resources of the county. Eric Gillert and Leila Baroody (DCDP)
and Craig Knickerbocker (NYS DEC)made suggestions andprovided information . This is
Bard College Field Station-Hudsonia Contribution 38.
144
The Hudson V~lley 'Regional Review, September 1984, Volume I, Number 2
The vegetation is a product of the available plant species (the flora) and
the geology, topography, hydrology, climate, wildlife, and past and present
human influences, as well as competition between plant species and chance.
These factors are reflected in the "plant communities" or recognizable
patches of plant cover characterized by one or a few predominant species and
more or less repeated from place to place where the influencing factors are
similar. For example, the field corn community occurs on many Dutchess
farms, and the red oak-chestnut oak community is very common on the
county's hills.
I discuss Dutchess vegetation as it is now, tempered by glimpses of the past
and educated guesses at the future vegetation. Trees are emphasized because
they are better known and playa more obvious role in human ecology.
Concepts such as "natural," "potential," "climax" vegetation, and "plant
succession" are avoided because they mean different things to people than
they do to nature.
Description of the Vegetation
On Cornell University's Land Use and Natural Resources (LUNR)
maps, Dutchess County vegetation is classified as follows:
Forest, 34%. Spontaneously forested terrestrial areas in which at least half
the acreage is covered with trees over 30 feet tall.
Brushland, 23%. Mostly abandoned agricultural land on which forest is
regenerating spontaneously, but ranging from weedy-shrubby fields to areas
covered with trees up to 30 feet tall.
Plantations, 7%. Areas of planted trees of any size.
Wooded Wetlands, 3%. Swamps dominated by trees.
Non-wooded Wetlands, 2%. Marshes and shrub wetlands.
Other areas, 31 %. Agriculture, urban, suburban, industrial areas, and large
water bodies.
The distribution of land use-vegetation units follows the predominantly
north-south or northeast-southwest elongation of the hills and valleys.
Farmland, recently-abandoned farmland, wetlands and cultural developments are mostly in the gentler and deeper-soiled valleys, whereas forest is
more prevalent on the steeper and thinner-soiled hills. Many of the largest
(and most productive) farms, and the largest wetlands, are on the gentle
areas of limestone-like rocks or sand and gravel deposits, for example in
the Harlem Valley, and in the regions of Hopewell Junction and Pine
Plains. Landscape units are larger in the eastern (east of the Taconic
Parkway) and extreme southern (south of Interstate 84) regions of the
county where the terrain is steeper, rockier, more acidic-soiled, and less
145
amenable to farming or cultural development. Most of the county's over1000 acre wildland areas occur in the east and extreme south, on crystalline
rocks, predominantly schist, gneiss and quartzite. The relationships
between geology, topography, soils, and vegetation may be examined by
comparing the maps of the county in the DCDP book.
Overall, the impression of Dutchess County is of a half-forested, oakdominated countryside. However, a closer look reveals considerable detail
in the vegetation. The most prevalent plant community types are made up
of the characteristic species listed in Table 1 and arranged by "sites" or
topographic position as well as land use. A key to sites is shown in Fig. 1.
The species listed in Table 1 are arranged in a highly generalized way to
represent trends over the county as a whole. Locally, communities on these
site/ use types vary with the complex history, geology, present human
influence and other factors, comprising a complicated mosaic of plant
communities. Because of historic patterns of land ownership and land use,
the county is divided into thousands of use-lots separated by existing or
former stone walls and other fences. Often, fencelines approximate
ecologic boundaries, but many fencelines cut across natural boundaries.
Noticeable vegetation differences usually exist across fencelines.
Terrestrial Forests
Three general types of terrestrial sites occupy relatively low, middle, and
high positions on the topographic profiles of the county's hills and ridges
(Fig. 2). Ecological factors tend to correlate with site positions, especially
soil moisture and soil loss or accumulation. Elevation, however, is not the
only factor producing vegetation habitats: a sheltered pocket or northfacing ravine at a high elevation may be a "lower slope" or "cove" habitat,
whereas a dry thin-soiled rocky knoll or outcrop at a low elevation may be
an "upper slope" or "crest" habitat.
Lower slope forests, if they have had sufficient time to develop, are most
often mixed hardwoods with or without hemlock or white pine. Sugar
maple and red oak are frequently abundant, and locally other oaks, tulip,
beech, etc. Diameter-at-breast-height (dbh, measured at 4).2 ft. above
ground) of many trees is often over 1 ft. in well-developed lower slope
stands. These stands tend to have the largest trees and the greatest variety of
tree species. Canopy height is often over 50-60 ft.
Midslope forests are typically oak-dominated (Table 1), most often red
oak. Chestnut oak, sugar maple, black birch and other species may be
important, and hemlock or white pine are present locally. Trees are
usually mostly under I ft. dbh. Tree size and species variety tend to decrease
from lower slopes through midslopes to upper slopes.
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Waste ground
I
Crops, Managed grounds
Pastures, Mowed fields, Rights-of-way
Oldfields, Fencerows
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Plantations
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Wetlands
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Midslope
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Fig. 1. Approximate division of site/ use types by moisture and degree of human influence.
Waters
Upper slope forests are most often predominantly red or chestnut oak.
White oak, pignut hickory, red maple, and many other species may be
locally important. American chestnut was formerly abundant in upper
slope and midslope forests, especially in the east. Upper slope trees are
often small, even "stunted" -looking, and almost always under I ft. dbh.
Trees are larger and healthier in low spots and pockets of deeper soil, and
stunted or less healthy-looking on the more exposed or rocky spots. The
canopy may be very open, even savanna-like, or interspersed with
clearings containing patches of shrubs or herbaceous (often grassy)
vegetation. Areas of nearly-bare soil or rock may occur. Such clearings or
savannas are much less common (without special management) in
midslope and lower slope habitats. Upper slope forests sometimes
resemble oldfields (see below); in fact, they may be thought of as more
slow Iy-developing oldfields, as most of the crest sites (together with the rest
of the county) were cleared and cultivated or at least pastured during the
last century.
Decreased size and density of trees on upper slopes is related to shallow,
probably nutrient-poor, soils, exposure to drying winds and rapid temperature changes, treading by recreationists on some spots, and fire. Dry
exposed crests over about 900 ft. elevation burn more frequently than other
Dutchess site types, but the fires are usually light ground fires leaving a
mosaic of burned and unburned areas. Charred wood can almost always be
found on these sites (distinguished from fungus-blackened wood). The
most fireprone crests are on the crystalline rocks of the east and extreme
south. These fires are most often human-set at the present time but are a
factor to which vegetation and wildlife are adapted.
Hemlock stands have particular aesthetic and wildlife-habitat interest.
Hemlock is more common on glacial till or sand soils than on clay soils,
and is more common near water or in cool-moist areas; it is rare in the
southwest. Young hemlocks are very sensitive to fire and deer browsing,
and growth is slow. Frequent (usually small) lower or midslope hemlock
stands in the Hudson Valley today seem artifacts of combined lengthy
post-agricultural development, human and natural fire protection, and
rarity of deer during early growth in the late 1800s-early 1900s. Many
hemlock stands and also hardwood stands show a scarcity of seedlings and
saplings of the predominant tree species as well as a loss of minor species
(e.g. striped maple, Canada yew) from heavy deer browsing. These deer
effects are more frequent on large areas where deer hunting is prohibited.
Special soil types may support patches of distinctive forest vegetation.
Disturbed sandy soils often abound with black locust, and abandoned
gravel pits frequently support colonies of quaking aspen. Clay areas along
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Lower Slope
LOW...---
LESS . . . - - GREAT...- - MORE . . . - - HIGH . . . - - -
..,.
<.0
soil moisture - - ~
soil depth & fertility - - --..
exposure to wind, sun, etc. - - - .
amount of rock at soil surface - - - .
fire frequency - - - .
Fig. 2. Site types, relative elevation, and environmental gradients.
HIGH
MORE
LITTLE
LESS
LOW
the Hudson River in northern Dutchess have little hemlock but abundant
flowering dogwood and poison-ivy; and areas of clay flows or slumps close
to the water support plants tolerant of soil movement. Limestone till soils
and outcrops provide habitat for many uncommon secondary species such
as roundleaf dogwood, hackberry, and American prickly-ash.
Dutchess County lacks clear elevational vegetation zones although such
zones are evident on large mountain masses in the Catskills and Adirondacks. Slightly moister and cooler regions of the county, mostly in the east,
do support more yellow birch, paper birch, striped maple, and certain
other "northern" species. However, the pattern of dry sunny summits and
sheltered frost-pocket hollows is the rule, sometimes resembling a "reverse
zonation" with "southern" species at higher elevations and "northern"
species at lower elevations.
Plantations
Stands of planted trees are numerous but mostly small in area, and
comprise pure stands or alternating patches of (usually) conifers. Some
planted species are not native (e.g. Norway spruce, European larch) or are
rarely found outside of plantations. There is little reproduction of the
non-natives. Same-aged and row-planted appearance readily identify
plantations. However, occasional apparently-spontaneous white pine
stands resemble plantations; these trees probably seeded in heavily during
short periods on eroded pastures or fallow fields. A variety of volunteer
species may also be found in unmanaged plantations, including white
pine and elms.
Brushland
To many, "brush" connotes undesirable vegetation, but these communities are extremely valuable for wildlife habitat and soil protection. Brushland covers the variety of plant communities with shrub patches, small
trees, and coarse herbs predominating, that represent the period of regeneration between agricultural abandonment and closure of the forest
canopy. These "oldfields" are usually about 3-50 years old. Brushland
vegetation may not be vertically complex (many-layered) but is usually
horizontally diverse (patchy) and composed of a great many species that
may occur as scattered individuals, small patches or even large stands.
While some oldfield species arrive as seeds, many probably develop from
root systems that have persisted from an earlier forested stage. The development of new forests from root sprouts or stump sprouts following nonforest land uses suggested the -term "sprout hardwoods" for a type of
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vegetation predominating in Dutchess County and southern New England
in general.
Many woody plants spread vegetatively under or along the soil surface,
forming "colonies." Root-suckering species are especially important in
oldfields and include the sumacs, aspens, gray dogwood and black locust.
These species tend to resist cutting, animal damage and fire. Browsing by
meadow vole, cottontail, woodchuck and deer is an important speciesselective factor in oldfield development.
Red-cedar, gray birch and gray dogwood are perhaps the most "typical"
brush land species of Dutchess County. Red-cedar is not always present but
is often moderately to very abundant, lending a distinctive part-evergreen
character to the vegetation. Red-cedar occurs frequently on eroded acidic
soils, but seems to reach its greatest density and vigor on limy soils.
White pine is not such a typical oldfield species here as in southern New
England, but does occur where parent trees stood (often old ornamental
pines) and is occasionally abundant. Common juniper is not frequent
either, with the exception of an area in the northwest seemingly coinciding
with the Elizaville thrust block geology. White pine, common juniper and
red-cedar are unpalatable to cattle and thus able to survive during late stages
of grazing.
Old orchards and fencerows are special types of brushland. Persisting
apple trees mingled with spontaneous woody plants are found on many
small areas. Fencerows, on the other hand, are linear 5-20 ft. wide plant
communities present along fencelines bordering farmfields or young oldfields. Scattered large spreading trees occur in fencerows with more typical
brushland plants. Little islands of woody vegetation, often savanna-like,
also occur on old farmers' rockpiles.
Rights-of-Way
Corridors of roads, railroads, power lines and other utilities comprise a
vegetation habitat more consistent in land use than physiographic site.
Though only about 50-300 ft. wide, ROWs comprise a significant acreage.
In a sense they are the inverse of fencerows, since ROW communities are
usually shorter in stature than adjacent communities.
ROWs are usually mowed, brush-hogged or sprayed with herbicides to
keep plants from interfering with use. ROW communities are also exposed
to pollutants from vehicles. Depending on soil characteristics, these communities vary from near-natural forest to (usually) brushland to lowgrowing herbs or even nearly-bare soil. Where topsoil has been removed or
was never developed (e.g. on railroad causeways in the Hudson River),
ROWs resemble waste ground (see below).
lSI
Waste Ground
Sites lacking topsoil include dumps and fills, roadcuts, parking lots,
dikes, vacant lots, surface mines, and peripheries of construction or industrial sites. Climatic, chemical or mechanical stress and deficiencies of
moisture and soil nutrients contribute to simplified vegetation. Waste
ground communities resemble oldfields but are smaller, shorter and sparser
on the average; areas lacking woody plants and much bare soil are often
present. Root-suckering species are often prominent and there is a larger
proportion of non-native species in the flora.
Managed Grounds
Intensive management with fertilizer, herbicides, irrigation and pruning
create communities of yards, estate grounds, campuses and urban streets.
Ornamental trees are interspersed with lawns forming artificial savannas.
Stresses such as dry soils, salt, and air pollution as well as management may
reduce the number of species that can thrive. Trees are often very large, 1-3+
ft. dbh, and spreading. Non-native trees, shrubs and herbs outnumber
natives. Many trees were planted 60-150 years ago and are very large but
dying.
Abandoned grounds, quite frequent but usually very small, include
overgrown yards and estates as well as older communities of former garden
sites or house lots, usually surrounded by forest or brushland. Many
planted native or more often non-native trees, shrubs and herbs persist
without reproducing, commingled with spontaneous wild species. Telltale
patches of day-lily, periwinkle, buckthorn, tree-of-heaven or other ornamentals of the past identify these sites even after other signs of use are
obscured. The entire shore of the Hudson River consists of former and
present estate grounds, gardens, dirt roads and trails, and miscellaneous
plantings now competing with the returning wild plants.
Mowed fields are maintained on many properties for ornamental purposes; in these, grasses and forbs (broad-leaved herbs) partly conceal the
repeatedly cut-off woody plant shoots.
Wetlands and Waters
Wet sites occupy a small portion of the county but are significant for
recreation, wildlife habitat, and waste assimilation. They vary from permanently covered by many feet of water to seasonally flooded to merely damp.
Communities of submerged aquatic plants in lakes, ponds and slow
streams usually contain patches of one or a few species (Table 1). Sub152
merged aquatics grow where the bottom is continuously covered by water
but enough light penetrates for photosynthesis, usually one to several feet
deep. Many surfaces in this depth range, however, are bare of vascular
plants perhaps because of disturbance by waves or animals. Submerged
plants are limp-stemmed, and mayor may not have parts that float at the
water surface. Floating-leaved plants like water-lilies, or free-floating
plants like duckweeds, may also be present. Attached algae or mosses (nonvascular plants) are often important, and plankton (drifting microscopic
algae) are present in almost all waters.
Wetlands range from damp and spongy to permanently or intermittently
covered by 1-2 ft. of water. Swamps (wooded wetlands) are dominated by
trees or shrubs, in Dutchess most often by red maple. Red ash is often
important, and American elm was a very important wetland tree before the
epidemic of Dutch elm disease in the last two decades. Mixed hardwood
swamps seem to be more often associated with moving waters on the
floodplains of larger streams, while red maple swamps are associated with
little or no flow, and conifer swamps with the most stagnant situations.
Conifer swamps are also restricted to either calcareous or highly acidic
situations. Silver maple is prominent only in the south on the floodplains
of major streams. Shrubs dominate some wetlands, usually smaller and
more stagnant areas, though there are exceptions.
Most woody plants in wetlands grow on pedestal-like expanded rootcrowns ("hummocks") formed by particular woody species. Hummocks
allow the plants sufficient water and air, whatever the water level, and
usually develop best where levels fluctuate. Many herbs, and also plants not
normally considered wetland species, grow atop woody plant hummocks.
Buttonbush is an exceptional wetland shrub that usually grows directly on
the swamp floor.
Marshes (herbaceous wetlands) are dominated by non-woody plants,
either grasslike (graminoid) plants such as bulrushes, tussock sedge, reed or
cattail, or broad-leaved plants (forbs) like purple loosestrife. Marsh vegetation is conspicuously influenced by soil calcium content. Limy (high
calcium) soils support all the larger cattail stands, as well as some other very
characteristic communities.
Wetlands with peaty (rather than alluvial) soil, and an abundance of
sphagnum moss, are usually called "bogs". Small cranberry, leatherleaf,
pitcher plant, sundew and cottongrass are typical bog plants, and the
conifer swamps mentioned above are really bogs. However, different wetland floras and communities blend and mix considerably, for example
cattail with sphagnum, and one landscape unit may support patches of
swamp, marsh and bog interspersed. Dutchess bogs are few, and occur
153
either on limy or highly acidic sites.
Tidal wetlands and shallows of the Hudson River are affected by twicedaily, 3-4 ft. tides, but water that is fresh or nearly so. Tideland communities
include submerged or floating aquatic plants in subtidal shallows (mostly
wild-celery, Eurasian watermilfoil and water-chestnut), patches of spatterdock and pickerelweed in the lower intertidal zone, large expanses of
graminoids or patches of mixed forbs (usually in disturbed areas) in the
upper intertidal zone, and sometimes shrub or mixed-hardwood swamps in
the upper intertidal zone. Of all our wetland and aquatic vegetation, the
Hudson River vegetation is most valuable for fish and wildlife habitat and
for waste assimilation.
Beaver and muskrat have important influences on wetland vegetation.
Beaver raise water levels for periods of I-several years on a site, cut and
girdle many trees and shrubs, and initiate a cycle of vegetation development
from forest to pond to marsh or swamp and sometimes back to forest.
Muskrats feed selectively on certain plants, especially cattails, and make
small clearings in the marsh vegetation which may return to the predominant community after a few years or may be invaded by a completely
different community such as shrub or purple loosestrife. Both beaver and
muskrat contribute to diversity of plant communities.
History of the Vegetation
Dutchess County was not covered by "virgin" stands of huge trees at the
time of European arrival, although large-tree forests could have been
present locally. Forests, likely oak-dominated and with white pine common, probably covered 50-75% of the county. Indian use of fire for vegetation management likely restricted sensitive trees such as hemlock to ravines
and wetlands. Small and large "fields" existed, some planted to crops,
others brushland in various developmental stages following slash-andburn agriculture or camp and village site use. Fields and villages were
mostly along major streams and the Hudson River.
Dutch, German and English settlers in the 1600s-1700s affected vegetation
by construction of numerous dams on the streams, widespread logging and
clearing for crops and pasture, and introduction of grazing stock. Today's
best-developed forests were probably cut once early in the settlement period,
and not cut since.
What forests remained in the late 1700s-1800s were cut and recut to
produce the charcoal required by the iron industry of the east and extreme
south. More than 90% of the land was cleared and planted or grazed some
time during the 1800s. Intensive cultivation of wheat caused serious soil
erosion on slopes and hilltops, exposing rock which remains so today.
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Wildlife habitat. There is abundant habitat for wildlife species of forest
edge and forest interior, as well as wildlife of open lands. Some animals
require habitats with particular form or species, or minimum habitat unit
size, or interspersion of different specific community types. I discuss wildlife habitats in a separate chapter in the DCDP book.
Tree cavities are a special resource for many birds, small mammals and
other animals. Den trees are abundant now as many "overmature" trees
remain from old plantings and spontaneous volunteer trees. However, as
these over mature trees die, and the "mature" trees that would replace them
are cut for lumber, den trees may be in short supply.
Aesthetic values. Landscape mosaics of conifer and hardwood forest,
oldfields and farmland, produce some of the county's best-loved rural
scenery. Some floral attractions are the blooming of flowering dogwood in
May, mountain-laurel in June, purple loosestrife in July and August, and
asters and golden-rods in August and September.
Ecological buffer. Vegetation holds soil and contribu tes to soil formation.
Plants and soil intercept and slow the movement of runoff water, eveningout peaks and troughs in stream flow. Vegetation also helps to regulate the
movement of dissolved substances, absorbing nutrients such as nitrogen
and phosphorus, and reducing the accumulation of nutrients in water
bodies. Plants and soil filter and absorb cultural wastes, detoxify certain
pollutants, and settle dust and sediment from air and water. Vegetation also
absorbs noise, and moderates temperatures and wind near the ground. The
regenerative capabilities of nature following severe natural or human
disturbance are largely due to vegetation, and man's work to restore
damaged parts of the landscape also uses plants to a large degree.
Ecological buffer belts-areas of intact vegetation-are especially important between intensive human land uses and water courses. The buffer
capability of vegetation seems proportional to the vegetation mass and
complexity, as well as amount of litter and downwood. Vegetation is a more
effective buffer during the leafy season (growing season) from the end of
April to the beginning of October.
Wetlands are critical buffer areas. Sediments, nutrients and some pollutants are filtered out of waters by wetlands. In wetlands, the nutrients are
transformed into large and fast-growing masses of plant and animal matter,
some of which leaves the wetland and some of which is available to society
as food, fiber, etc. With only 5% of the county remaining in wetland
vegetation, there is not enough natural water treatment. Thus cultural
wastes stimulate the development of nuisance growths of algae and vascular plants in creeks, lakes and ponds, and valuable nutrients are lost from
the land.
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Future of the Vegetation
Vegetation is dynamic. Some communities may remain more or less
stable for many years, but all vegetation changes sooner or later, slowly or
suddenly. Vegetation change may be the result of stress or trauma, or the
recovery from trauma with the gradual establishment of larger slowergrowing plants. Or change may be related to subtle factors such as wet and
dry years, conditions required for germination and establishment of
seedlings and their survival, fluctuating animal activities, or other factors
which tip the balance between competing plant species.
Traumas usually affect small areas of vegetation and produce sudden
changes followed by slow or rapid recovery. Fires, windthrow, animal
outbreaks, small c1earcuts, and local floods are examples of traumatic events
which selectively kill or inhibit certain species and initiate a series of changes
progressing from simple to (usually) complex communities on a site.
Stresses over large areas, as from pollution, intensified land use, or increased
harvest of wood, produce gradual changes which may last until the stress
factor is removed-or long afterwards. Local traumas increase diversity of
the landscape by producing patches of vegetation in different stages of
recovery in a landscape mosaic; large-scale stresses simplify the landscape by
decreasing or eliminating sensitive species or whole communities.
Some of the more prevalent factors in vegetation change now are discussed
below.
Woodcutting. Cutting for lumber and fuel is increasing. Cutting (except
where it accompanies land clearing) is selective rather than c1earcutting.
However, selective cutting reduces average size of trees and overall tree
biomass. Valuable large hardwoods are cut first for lumber, and highquality fuel species may be selected for firewood, changing species composition. Woodcutting is approaching the level in Dutchess (if not already
there) where more wood is cut than grown annually. Thus we are not just
withdrawing the annual interest, so to speak, but reducing the "capital"
built up by planting and natural restocking since the late 1800s.
Clearing. Land clearing for residence, commerce and industry combines
with the effects of wood harvest to modify Dutchess vegetation. Most
cleared land will not support forest for decades or centuries to come, and it
is not certain what the relative rates of clearing and reforestation of cleared
land are now. Land clearing tends to reduce the average size of forest stands,
and remove the sawtimber and forest habitat of the future.
Fire. Most vegetation fires in Dutchess are light ground fires, burning
leaf litter, some downwood, aboveground parts of herbs, shrubs and some
(particularly smaller) trees, but rarely doing much damage to tree canopies.
Vegetation typically regenerates rapidly on these burns. Burns in herba157
ceous vegetation (fields, ROWs, etc.) are usually scarcely recognizable as
burns the following season or even later the same growing season. In woody
vegetation, burns are noticeable for few to many years, but many species of
shrubs and trees (if top-killed) sprout readily from the base, and sprouts
may grow 3 feet or more in one season. Some trees may be root-killed by fire.
Red-cedar, white pine, red maple and hemlock are vulnerable, especially
when small. Other trees such as oaks and hickories have thick corky bark
which tends to protect the underlying tissues, and thus these fire-resistant
species are favored in burned areas.
Diseases. Chestnut and American elm have been virtually eliminated as
components of the vegetation by disease. During the last 1-2 decades, other
important trees have been attacked and reduced in numbers; among them
beech, white ash, and sugar maple. In some cases (e.g. white ash, sugar
maple) most mortality occurs where trees are stressed by water or nutrient
shortages, salt, or mechanical damage as on grounds, roadsides and in
parks. Forest interiors are less affected, although beech bark disease seems to
be an exception. Whether such declines are temporary or long-term is
unknown.
Gypsy moth. Partial or complete defoliation of hardwoods may occur in
some areas, usually when caterpillar populations peak at several-year intervals. Defoliation is more common on trees lacking sufficient water: during
droughts, on dry forest sites, and ornamental trees in dry soil. Trees usually
produce new leaves after defoliation but some trees die if heavily grazed for
more than 1 season. Outbreaks may reduce forest productivity somewhat in
local areas, but there is no evidence of widespread destruction of forests.
Selective mortality may even help to diversify the heavily oak-dominated
dry ridge forests of the east, as has been suggested for similar forests at the
Mohonk Preserve in Ulster County.
Deer. Deer are probably more common in the county now than ever
before. Where deer concentrate, heavy browsing on seedlings and twigs, and
consumption of acorns, may eliminate reproduction of all but the most
unpalatable tree and shrub species. Such areas will eventually show a shift
in species composition of the canopy as the larger deer-sensitive species like
hemlock and oaks die.
Beaver. Beaver are becoming fairly common at least in the east. Pond
construction and feeding kill some of the trees within 50 yards or so of the
dam, and a patch of forest is thus replaced by aquatic vegetation and herbs
or shrubs. When the beaver leave the site after I-several years, a wetland
usually develops and trees may gradually return. The high value of beaver
ponds and wetlands for wildlife habitat and hydrological buffering offsets
local damage to timber, and beaver activities enhance landscape diversity in
158
the long run. Furthermore, fur trapping and "nuisance beaver removal"
keep the beaver population below potential.
Weeds. Certain introduced plants proliferate in disturbed areas and
gradually replace patches of native vegetation wholly or partly. Invasion of
exotics is insignificant in forest but common in herbaceous and some
shrubland communities. Purple loosestrife has replaced cattail, sedges and
other wetland herbs at many Dutchess County locations. Water-chestnut
and Eurasian watermilfoil are very abundant in Hudson River shallows,
and are potential invaders of ponds and lakes. Multiflora rose, planted for
erosion control and wildlife food, spreads both vegetatively and by birddisseminated seeds and is difficult to eradicate; it is troublesome in
oldfields, pastures and wet meadows. Bell's honeysuckle has spread from
ornamental plantings and is very abundant westward in oldfields, wet
meadows and open woods.
These "weeds" tend to replace native plants of different growth forms
than their own. The weeds, when present in small numbers scattered
among native species, increase diversity; but when they dominate entire
communities on many sites, diversity of both species and communities is
reduced. Exotic species do support wildlife, but native plants in extensive
wild communities are necessary to maintain natural numbers of many
native animals. All of the weeds mentioned above spread readily and will
likely become much more abundant in the near future. Also, new vegetation pests will undoubtedly appear occasionally as new species are introduced for ornament and other purposes.
Some plants are "weeds" not by replacing native vegetation, but by other
effects that are locally undesirable. Agricultural weeds are familiar. Ragweed, a hay fever species, proliferates on waste ground and the best control
is protection of topsoil. However, pollens from ragweed and other hay fever
plants travel long distances and are not controllable. Poison-ivy may be
considered a weed along roadsides, trails and grounds; it thrives on sunny
disturbed soils, seemingly more so on limy sites. Poison-ivy is an important
winter food for birds and mammals. On the other hand, poison-sumac is
restricted to wetlands and is rather rare and local in Dutchess.
There is a need for imaginative management techniques for weeds which
exploit weaknesses of the species or their potential uses. Weeds could be
used for fiber, energy production, and perhaps fodder in some cases. Except
where weed problems locally interfere with cultural activities or wildlife
habitat, weeds are best left alone. Most non-agricultural weed problems
may be prevented by maintenance of a healthy soil-vegetation system.
Wetlands modification. In order to maintain healthy vegetation and
associated ecological values, wetlands and waters need a normal circulation
159
(quality and quantity) of water, and a protective belt of buffer vegetation on
their banks and borders. Most wetlands have fluctuating flows and levels,
and stabilizing water levels will reduce wetland productivity. The most
ecologically active parts of wetlands are vegetation borders, on the water
side and the upland side, as well as borders between plant communities
within the wetland. These borders are the most likely to be affected by
human activities. Continued threats to wetlands and waters include dumping, filling, draining, flooding (damming), pesticide and other toxicant
contamination, and removal of adjacent buffer vegetation.
Pollution. Lichens have decreased in abundance and variety in Westchester County and on parts of the Shawangunk Mountains in Ulster
County. Lichens on trees are less diverse near the Hudson River than farther
east in Dutchess County, and all of these phenomena are probably due to air
pollution. Roadside conifers have been injured at many locations in the
county, probably by de-icing salt and/or exhaust emissions. Excess nutrients from sewage have modified the composition of vegetation in many
waterbodies. In the Hudson, some plants have declined or disappeared
since the 1930s-40s, including wild-rice, river bulrush, wild-celery and
goldenclub; water pollution may be one of several contributing factors. As
yet there is no evidence that pollution has affected widespread vegetation
dominants such as trees and shrubs, but it is not difficult to guess that acid
precipitation, pesticides, or local air emissions have or soon will contribute
to the partial replacement of sensitive plant species by heartier ones.
Vegetation as a Commodity and Amenity
The curve of forest development is at a peak in Dutchess County now,
with forest extent and biomass having gradually increased since the late
1800s. About half the county is covered by forests and oldfields. But present
trends in land clearing and woodcutting suggest a sharp downturn in the
near future. It is appropriate to make important management decisions
about vegetation now.
We can use and protect Dutchess vegetation at the same time. Natural
areas, including some large ones (over 1000 acres), can be set aside to
maintain significant species, communities and ecosystems while these
resources are still in good condition. Attention should be paid to rapidlydisappearing types of vegetation such as sand and gravel communities,
cattail and conifer wetlands, and large-tree forests.
A county consciousness can act to retain needed areas of buffer vegetation
with added benefits of wildlife habitat and scenery. Construction could be
sited more on open lands (other things equal) and less in now-forested areas
where clearing would be necessary. Developers and builders can leave
160
naturally-plant covered (or restored) buffer belts around construction sites
and between disturbances and waters or wetlands.
We can experiment with the direct use of vegetation for treating nontoxic cultural wastes. Plant communities which are valuable for air and
water treatment could be created or increased in size: wetlands, shelterbelts,
and forests. We can also restore vegetation to damaged areas such as roadcuts, surface mines, and construction sites-planting or encouraging spontaneous development of native species to resume their ecological functions
more quickly. These actions could be stimulated by economic, institutional
or public-relations incentives. Practices like these pay for themselves in soil
protection, wildlife conservation, pollution control, flood reduction, and
aesthetic enhancement.
Where to Study Vegetation
Vegetation is everywhere, but certain plant communities may be seen to
advantage in some of the county's public use areas (Fig. 3).
CDBowdoin Park (County). Small tidal and non tidal wetlands; mowed
fields including one on sand; limy soil communities; beech wood. (Sheafe
Rd.)
® Buttercup Sanctuary (National Audubon Society; by permission). Limy
pastures and outcrop woods; limy swamps and wet meadows; non-limy
oldfields, old orchard and hardwoods. (Rt. 82)
® Cary Arboretum (NY Botanical Garden). Very extensive oldfields and
conifer plantations; large stream. (Rt. 44A)
0Clinton Town Recreation Area. Beechwood (W. of Wappinger Cr.);
abandoned gravel pits. (Clinton Hollow Rd.)
® Franklin Delano Roosevelt National Historic Site (Federal). Medium
size tidemarsh with spatterdock and pickerelweed; mixed hardwoodconifer forest adjoining marsh; hayfields near Rt. 9.
® Norrie State Park. Hardwood forests on shale cliffs over Hudson River;
small very sheltered tidemarsh above boat basin. (Rt. 9G)
0Pawling Nature Reserve (The Nature Conservancy). Small crest communities; extensive midslope hardwoods; hemlock cove; abandoned beaver
flowage (NE). Only over-l 000 acre natural area open to the public. (Quaker
Lake Rd.)
®Stony Kill Environmental Education Center (NYS Dept. of Environmental Conservation). Agricultural communities; oldfields; hardwood
forests; hardwood swamp (with boardwalk and blind). (Rt. 9D)
®Taconic-Hereford State Forest (DEC). Hemlock ravine and abandoned
beaver flowage now sedge meadow ("Pond Gut") (SE); extensive hardwood
forests; large 1970s burn area (NW). (Taconic Parkway)
161
I
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Fig. 3. Some public use areas where vegetation can be observed.
162
@>Taconic State Park. Large pond with wetlands (Rudd Pond); extensive
lower, mid and upper slope forests (mostly hardwoods) on Brace Mountain,
with birch-mountain-Iaurel stands and graminoid-shrub crest (N);
small acidic sphagnum bogs on ridgetop.
@Thompson Pond Preserve (Nature Conservancy). Lower and midslope
forests; red-cedar-gray birch oldfield near registry; limy wetland pond
with cattail and other communities. (Lake Rd.)
®Tivoli Bays Unique Area (DEC). Lower slope hardwoods, hemlockhardwoods on clay and till; perennial and intermittent streams; abandoned
grounds changing to hardwood forest on Cruger Island; county's largest
tidal wetland and shallows complex in North and South Bays (best seen by
canoe June-Sep.) and tidal swamp at foot of Cruger Island Rd. (jeep road);
railroad ROW waste grounds. (Annandale Rd. or Kidd Lane)
@Vassar College Campus and Vassar Farm (private). Managed grounds
with many specimen trees (campus); two ponds (Sunset & Vassar Lakes);
extensive hay fields and young hardwoods (Farm). (Hooker Ave.)
@Ferncliff Forest (Rotary Club of Rhinebeck). Mixed hardwood-conifer
forest (with observation tower); small pond. (Mt. Rutsen Rd.)
@Nuclear Lake (National Park Service; temporarily closed). Extensive
hardwood forests.
@Hudson Highlands State Park. Extensive crest communities on Breakneck Ridge and Sugarloaf Mtn., with large areas of midslope foresllower
down; abandoned grounds and oilfields on NE slope of Sugarloaf; small
woodland pools atop Breakneck; sandy oldfields near Rt. 9D in between.
o
Table I
Characteristic plants of major site/ use types. Species listed for a type do not
necessarily occur all together in anyone landscape unit, but in various combinations. See Table 2 for scientific names. L = local.
Type
Canopy
Understory
Forests (terresrrial)
Lower slopes
Sugar maple
Hemlock
Red oak
Tuliptree
Beech
Black birch
Yellow birch
White ash
White pine
Shagbark hickory
Striped maple
Flowering dogwood
American hornbeam
Mapleleaf viburnum
Spicebush
Witch-hazel
Virginia creeper
Grape
163
Type
Canopy
Understory
Midslopes
Red oak
Black oak
Chestnut oak
White oak
Sugar maple
Hemlock L
Black birch
White ash
Red maple
Black cherry L
Paper birch L
Gray birch L
Black locust L
Pignut hickory
Hop hornbeam
Mountain-laurel
Shadbush
Witch-hazel
Mapleleaf viburnum
Bladdernut L
Low blueberry
Virginia creeper
Grape
Flowering dogwood
American chestnut (sprouts)
Upper slopes
Red oak
Chestnut oak
White oak
Red-cedar
White ash
Pignut hickory
Gray birch L
Red maple
Sassafras L
Quaking aspen L
Pitch pine L
Pin cherry L
Shadbush
Staghorn sumac
Scrub oak
Chokecherry
Low blueberry
Huckleberry
Downy arrowwood L
American chestnut (sprouts)
Gray dogwood
Witch-hazel
Mountain-laurel L
Chokeberry
Sweetfern L
Bush-honeysuckle
Little bluestem
Sedges
Plantations
Red pine
Scotch pine
White pine
Norway spruce
European larch
+ spontaneous trees & shrubs
Oldfields
(brushland)
Gray dogwood
Red-cedar
Gray birch
Staghorn sumac
Smooth sumac
Multiflora rose
Bell's honeysuckle L
Black locust L
White pine L
Quaking aspen L
Sassafras L
164
Poison-ivy
Dewberry
Blackberry
Black raspberry
Sweetfern L
Japanese barberry L
Common juniper L
Little bluestem
Goldenrods
Asters
+ many other species
Type
Understory
Canopy
Chokecherry
Black cherry
Red maple
Arrowwood
American prickly-ash L
Waste ground
Staghorn sumac
Red-cedar
Tree-of-heaven
Black locust
Quaking aspen
Cottonwood
Poison-ivy
Smooth sumac
Bell's honeysuckle L
Japanese honeysuckle
Brambles
Bittersweet
False-indigo L
Ragweed
+ many other trees, shrubs, herbs
Mowed fields
Orchard grass
Timothy
Sweet vernal grass
Other grasses
Goldenrods
Asters
other forbs
various woody plants
& pastures
Wetlands (nontidal)
Swamps
Marshes
Red maple
Red ash
Black ash L
American elm
Yellow birch L
Willows
Silver maple L
Cottonwood L
Sycamore L
Tamarack L
Swamp white oak L
Willows
Alders
Spicebush
Silky dogwood
Red-osier dogwood L
Buttonbush
High blueberry
Swamp azalea
Nannyberry
Arrowwood
Purple loosestrife
Cinnamon fern
Skunk-cabbage
+ other herbs
Purple loosestrife
Cattails
Bulrushes
Tussock sedge
Other sedges
Rushes
Reed canary grass
Reed
165
Type
Canopy
Understory
other grasses
+ scanered woody plants
Ponds etc.
Pondweeds
Naiads
Waterweed
Bladderworts
Charophytes
Duckweeds
White water-lily
Yellow water-lily
Water-shield
Tidelands
(Hudson River)
Narrowleaf canail
Spanerdock
Pickerelweed
Reed L
Broadleaf arrowhead
Arrow arum
Doned smart weed
River bulrush
Wild-rice
Rice cutgrass
Purple loosestrife
Silky dogwood
Bunonbush
Eurasian watermilfoil
Wild-celery
Water-chestnut
+ other herbs & shrubs
Red maple
Red ash
Black ash
Various shrubs
(woody plants
may be absent)
Table 2
Common and scientific names of plants mentioned in this chapter (this is not a
complete flora). Scientific names follow Gleason & Cronquist's Manual of Vascular
Plants of Northeastern United States and Adjacent Canada (1963).
Alders
Apple
Arrowwood
Arrowwood, downy
Arum, arrow
Ash, black
Ash, red
Ash, white
Aspen, quaking
166
Alnus rugosa, A. serrulata
Pyrus malus
Viburnum dentatum
V. rafinesquianum
Peltandra virginica
Fraxinus nigra
F. pennsylvanica
F. americana
Populus tremuloides
Aspens
Asters
Azalea, swamp ·
Barberry, Japanese
Beech
Birch, black
Birch, gray
Birch, paper
Birch, yellow
Bittersweet
Blackberry
Bladdernut
Bladderworts
Blueberry, high
BI ueberry, low
Bluestem, little
Brambles
Buckthorn
Bulrush, river
Bulrushes
Bush-honeysuckle
Buttonbush
Cattail, narrow leaf
Cattails
Charophytes
Cherry, black
Chestnut, American
Chokeberry
Chokecherry
Corn, field
Cottongrass
Cottonwood
Cranberry, small
Creeper, Virginia
Cutgrass, rice
Day-lily
Dewberry
Dogwood, flowering
Dogwood, gray
Dogwood, roundleaf
Dogwood, silky
Dogwood, re-osier
Duckweeds
Elm, American
Elms
False-indigo
Fern, cinnamon
Goldenclub
Populus spp.
Aster spp.
Rhododendron viscosum
Berberis thunbergii
Fagus grandifolia
Betula lenta
B. populifolia
B. papyrifera
B. lutea
Celastrus scan dens
Rubus allegheniensis
Staphylea trifolia
Utricularia spp.
Vaccinium corymbosum (or near)
V. vacillans, possibly V. angustifolium
Andropogon scoparius
Rubus spp.
Rhamnus cathartica
Scirpus fluviatilis
Scirpus spp.
Diervilla lonicera
Cephalanthus occidentale
Typha angustifolia
Typha spp.
Charophyta
Prunus serotina
Castanea dentata
Aronia sp.
Prunus pensylvanica
Zea mays
Eriophorum sp.
Populus deltoides
Vaccinium OXYcoccos
Parthenocissus quinquefolia
Leersia oryzoides
Hemerocallis fulva
Rubus flagellaris
Corn us florida
C. racemosa
C. rugosa
C. amomum
C. stolonifera
Lemnaceae
Ulmus americana
Ulmus spp.
Amorpha fruticosa
Osmunda cinnamomea
Orontium aquaticum
167
Goldenrods
Grape
Grass, orchard
Grass, reed canary
Grass, sweel vernal
Grasses
Hemlock
Hickory, pignul
Hickory, shagbark
Hickories
Honeysuckle, Bell's
Honeysuckle, Japanese
Hornbeam, American
Hornbeam, hop
Huckleberry
Juniper, common
Larch, European
Lealherleaf
LOCUSl, black
Looseslrife, purple
Maple, red
Maple, silver
Maple, slriped
Maple, sugar
Mountain-laurel
Naiads
Nannyberry
Oak, black
Oak, chestnul
Oak, red
Oak, scrub
Oak, swamp while
Oak, while
Oaks
Periwinkle
Pickerelweed
Pine, red
Pine, pilCh
Pine, Scolch
Pine, while
Plant, pilcher
Poison-ivy
Pond weeds
Prickly-ash, American
Ragweed
Red-cedar
Reed
168
Solidago spp.
Vitis sp.
Dactylis glomerata
Phalaris arundinacea
Anthoxanthum odoratum
Gramineae spp.
Tsuga canadensis
Carya glabra
C.ovata
Carya spp.
Lonicera x bella (hybrid swarm of L. morrowi
& L. tatarica)
L. japonica
Carpinus caroliniana
Ostrya virginiana
Gaylussacia baccata
Juniperus communis
Larix decidua
Chamaedaphne calyculata
Robinia pseudoacacia
Lythrum salicaria
Acer rub rum
A. saccharinum
A. pensylvanicum
A. saccharum
Kalmia latifolia
Najas spp.
Viburnum lentago
Quercus velutina
Q. prinus
Q. borealis
Q. ilicifolia
Q. bicolor
Q. alba
Quercus spp.
Vinca minor
Pontederia cordata
Pinus resinosa
P. rigida
P. sylvestris
P. strobus
Sarracenia purpurea
Rhus radicans
Potamogeton spp.
Zanthoxylum americanum
Ambrosia artemisiifolia
Juniperus virginiana
Phragmites communis
Rose, multiflora
Rush, soft
Rushes
Sassafras
Sedge, tussock
Sedges
Shadbush
Skunk-cabbage
Smart weed, dotted
Spatterdock
Spicebush
Sundew, roundleaf
Sumac, poison
Sumac, smooth
Sumac, staghorn
Sweetfern
Sycamore
Tamarack
Timothy
Tree-of-heaven
Tuliptree
Viburnum, mapleleaf
Water-chestnut
Water-lily, white
Water-lily, yellow
Water-shield
Watermilfoil, European
Waterweed
Wild-celery
Wild-rice
Willows
Witch-hazel
Yew, Canada
Rosa multiflora
Juncus effusus
Juncus spp.
Sassafras albidum
Carex stricta
Carex spp.
Amelanchier arborea
Symplocarpus foetidus
Polygonum punctatum
Nuphar advena
Lindera benzoin
Drosera rotundifolia
Rhus vernix
R. glabra
R. typhina
Myrica asplenifolia
Platanus occidentalis
Larix laricina
Phleum pratense
Ailanthus altissima
Liriodendron tulipifera
Viburnum acerifolium
Trapa natans
Nymphaea odorata
Nuphar variegatum
Brasenia schreberi
Myriophyllum spicatum
Anacharis canadensis
Vallisneria americana
Zizania aquatica
Salix spp.
Hamamelis virginiana
Taxus canadensis
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169
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170
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171
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