Date of this Version
A study of the vegetation of Jacobsburg Environmental Center has documented the presence of 507 species of vascular plants of which 375 are native Pennsylvania plants and 132 (25.7%) are introduced species. Five types of native forest communities were mapped including Hemlock –(white pine) –red oak mixed hardwood forest, Red oak –mixed hardwood forest, Pitch pine –mixed hardwood forest, Bottomland palustrine hardwood forest, and Sycamore –(river birch) –box-elder floodplain forest. Successional forest types were also found to be common reflecting earlier agricultural and industrial uses of much of the area that is now the Environmental Education Center. Data collected in Henry’s Woods, which has been described as a remnant of old growth forest, documented the composition and size of trees present and raised issues of the future of the tract. Major recommendations include 1) continuation of efforts to control invasive species and 2) increased deer hunting to reduce the selective browsing that is reducing species diversity and retarding forest regeneration in Henry’s Woods and elsewhere in the Center.
Date Posted: 12 September 2018