The Bogs of Loyalsock Forest
Start Date
27-10-2018 3:30 PM
End Date
27-10-2018 4:30 PM
Description
Along the Wisconsin Glacier's terminal moraine are thousands of bogs. About 125 of these are in Loyalsock State Forest and adjacent private lands between Ralston, on Route 14 and Hillsgrove, on Route 87 in Pennsylvania. This 45,000 acre (18,000 hectare) forest includes a variety of bog types. The area drains both Lycoming Creek watershed and Loyalsock Creek watershed. Bogs have low pH and nutrients and are considered low productivity systems. Data were collected for the five years, 2013-2017. Bogs take many shapes. As a general rule bogs follow the traditional early, mid and late successional character. Bog hydrology is distinctive and many bogs have waterways flowing through them, regardless of successional stage. Other bogs have no waterway visible and several are stand-alone bogs with no apparent connection to a run or stream. Size ranges from 1/4 acre (0.1 hectare) or less to 30 acres (12 hectares). Of the 115 wetlands examined, fifteen have Pennsylvania threatened and endangered plant species, thirteen in the Lycoming watershed and two in the Loyalsock watershed. The remaining 100 wetlands lack these plants. At least two bogs are seasonal, and like vernal ponds, they hold water only after snow melt or heavy rain, drying up during the summer season. Eight of the wetlands are vernal ponds. The bogs tend to be remote and can be difficult to find. Only one bog is near a wood road. The remaining 114 are deep in the woods. Use of satellite imagery is necessary to locate these bogs. Basic data were collected to describe location, size, shape, hydrology, dominant plant type, insect/arachnid, fish, amphibian, reptile, bird and mammals. Water quality includes pH, total dissolved solids and temperature (both air and water). This presentation describes bog types and includes some historical influence to explain bog varieties. These range from human activities such as splash dams and earthen berms, usually from the 1870 through 1930 lumbering period, to the natural activities of beavers. Satellite imagery and color photos of bogs are used to give the reader a sense of what these bogs look like. The presentation ends with a brief effort to understand how the bogs fit into our current concept of ecological services.
Keywords
Loyalsock Creek, Lycoming Creek, bogs, wetlands
Type
Presentation
Session
Watershed Mapping and Assessment
Language
eng
The Bogs of Loyalsock Forest
Elaine Langone, Room 243
Along the Wisconsin Glacier's terminal moraine are thousands of bogs. About 125 of these are in Loyalsock State Forest and adjacent private lands between Ralston, on Route 14 and Hillsgrove, on Route 87 in Pennsylvania. This 45,000 acre (18,000 hectare) forest includes a variety of bog types. The area drains both Lycoming Creek watershed and Loyalsock Creek watershed. Bogs have low pH and nutrients and are considered low productivity systems. Data were collected for the five years, 2013-2017. Bogs take many shapes. As a general rule bogs follow the traditional early, mid and late successional character. Bog hydrology is distinctive and many bogs have waterways flowing through them, regardless of successional stage. Other bogs have no waterway visible and several are stand-alone bogs with no apparent connection to a run or stream. Size ranges from 1/4 acre (0.1 hectare) or less to 30 acres (12 hectares). Of the 115 wetlands examined, fifteen have Pennsylvania threatened and endangered plant species, thirteen in the Lycoming watershed and two in the Loyalsock watershed. The remaining 100 wetlands lack these plants. At least two bogs are seasonal, and like vernal ponds, they hold water only after snow melt or heavy rain, drying up during the summer season. Eight of the wetlands are vernal ponds. The bogs tend to be remote and can be difficult to find. Only one bog is near a wood road. The remaining 114 are deep in the woods. Use of satellite imagery is necessary to locate these bogs. Basic data were collected to describe location, size, shape, hydrology, dominant plant type, insect/arachnid, fish, amphibian, reptile, bird and mammals. Water quality includes pH, total dissolved solids and temperature (both air and water). This presentation describes bog types and includes some historical influence to explain bog varieties. These range from human activities such as splash dams and earthen berms, usually from the 1870 through 1930 lumbering period, to the natural activities of beavers. Satellite imagery and color photos of bogs are used to give the reader a sense of what these bogs look like. The presentation ends with a brief effort to understand how the bogs fit into our current concept of ecological services.