master naturalist - natural communities (4/17/14)

Illinois Master NaturalistApril 17, 2014

Instructor: Christopher David Benda

Burden Falls Wilderness

Chigger Poem

Oh why oh why do there have to be chiggers

for a reaction in me they sure do trigger

The many little red bites feel like Braille

And when they itch they make me want to wail!

If you like evolution, then you must love the chigger

For they would not be as bad if they happened to be bigger

But an invisible invertebrate has all the advantage

And leaves me with little else than to put on a bandage.

I guess I could prevent them by staying on the trail

Or if I took more time to scratch them with my nail

I could spray myself with nasty chemicals and deet

Or stay inside all together and beat the summer heat!

But that is not my style, I was born to explore

To see the nature and learn from it more

Plus if there were less chiggers there’d be more tourists

And it would be impossible to be a nature purist.

Plant Resources

Erigenia linkhttp://www.ill-inps.org/Erigenia

T & E Species Linkhttp://www.dnr.illinois.gov/ESPB/Documents/ETChecklist2011.pdf

Master Naturalist

Illinois Natural Areas InventoryNatural Areas vs. Nature Preserves

Rare Plants and Unique CommunitiesThreatened and Endangered Species Program

Illinois Natural Areas Inventory(INAI)

Category I – High Quality Natural CommunitiesCategory II – Threatened and Endangered SpeciesCategory III – Natural PreserveCategory IV – Geologic FeaturesCategory VI – Unusual Concentration of Flora or Fauna

(High Quality Streams)

Illinois Natural Areas InventoryCategory I – High Quality Natural Communities

Illinois Natural Areas InventoryCategory II - Threatened and Endangered Species

Illinois Natural Areas InventoryCategory III – Nature Preserves

Illinois Natural Areas InventoryCategory IV – Outstanding Geological Features

Illinois Natural Areas InventoryCategory VI – Unusual Concentration of

Flora or Fauna and High Quality Streams

Unique Ecological FeaturesUnique Floral Assemblages

Outstanding Invertebrate Cave FaunasLarge Bat Hibernacula

Other Unique Faunal AssemblagesHigh Quality Streams (mussels)

Timber Rattlesnakes – rookery (vs. den)

Timber Rattlesnakesnumber seen: 8

Timber Rattlesnake – Crotalus horridus

Illinois Natural Areas Inventory

Natural Area = meaningless to landownerNature Preserve = highest protection by law landowner gives up a majority of their rights and land is protected in perpetuity

Natural Areas vs. Nature Preserves

1st Illinois Nature PreserveIllinois Beach State Park

Tell story of Bohm Woods site

Original Inventory

Photo credit – Randy Nyboer

Why Update?•New science regarding natural community classification

•Better remote sensing capabilities and GIS data

•Focus on small and rare communities

•Restoration, management, and recovery

•Train a team of Natural Area Specialists for the state

Site Selection - INAI•Historical and Current Aerial Photos•Soil and Topographic Maps•Literature Search •Database/File Sources•Interviews with knowledgeable professionals

Digitize Boundaries

Nomination Packets

Illinois Natural Areas Inventorythe numbers:

19 counties

687 total sites

305 IGS sites

204 visited

50 new sites nominated

305

Illinois Natural Areas Inventorythe numbers:

33,727 photos taken

56,828 miles driven

632/984 days in the field

The Natural Communities of Southern Illinois

April 17th, 2014all photos & maps by presenter

except where noted

Camel Rock at Garden of the Gods Wilderness

Garden of the Gods – H Rock

Natural Areas in Southern Illinois

110 sites

Shawnee Hills & Shawnee Nat’l Forest

0.07% in a natural condition

Southern Illinois Natural Communities

FORESTUpland Forest

• Xeric• Dry• Dry-mesic• Mesic

Floodplain Forest• Mesic• Wet-mesic• Wet

Flatwoods• Southern Flatwoods

SAVANNABarren

• Dry Barren• Dry-mesic Barren• Mesic Barren

PRAIRIE• Loess Hill Prairie• Glacial Drift Hill Prairie

WETLANDSwamp

• Swamp• Shrub Swamp

Seeps and Springs• Seep • Acid Gravel Seep

OPEN WATER• Pond

STREAM• Small, Medium, Large

• High, Medium, Low GradientBEDROCK

Glades• Sandstone Glade• Limestone Glade• Shale Glade

Cliff• Dry Sandstone Cliff• Mesic Sandstone Cliff• Dry Limestone Cliff• Mesic Limestone Cliff• Sandstone Overhang

CULTURAL

Camp Ondessonk – Pakentuck

Camp Ondessonk – Pakentuck

Camp Ondessonk – Pakentuck

Japanese Stiltgrass – Microstegium vimineum

Obligate

Vs.

Facultative

Symbiosis Can Be One Of Two Conditions:

• 1. Obligatory: one organism cannot live without the other.

• 2. Facultative: can live symbiotically but can survive without one another.

Upland Forest/Woodland•Xeric•Dry•Dry-mesic•Mesic

•Wet-mesic or Wet?

Xeric/Dry Upland Forest/Woodland

Blackjack Oak - Quercus marilandica (6)

Post Oak - Quercus stellata (5)

Farkleberry – Vaccinium arboreum (6)

Lowbush Blueberry - Vaccinium pallidum (7)

Red Cedar - Juniperus virginiana (1)

Winged Elm - Ulmus alata (5)

Serviceberry - Amelanchier arborea (7)

Poverty Oats Grass - Danthonia spicata (3)

Goat’s Rue - Tephrosia virginiana (7)

Pencil Flower - Stylosanthes biflora (5)

Pussytoes – Antennaria parlinii (4)

False Dandelion - Krigia biflora (5)

Starry Campion – Silene stellata (6)

Barren•Dry•Dry-mesic•Mesic (rare)

Provo Cemetery Barrens – Alexander County

Rock Chestnut Oak - Quercus prinus (9)

Barrens - Gyp Williams Hollow

Simpson Township Barrens

Simpson Township Barrens

Dry-mesic Upland Forest

White Oak – Quercus alba (5)

Flowering Dogwood – Cornus florida (5)

Redbud - Cercis canadensis (3)

Wild Azalea - Rhododendron prinophyllum (10)

Red Buckeye – Aesculus pavia (7)

Carolina Rose - Rosa carolina (4)

Prairie Rose - Rosa setigera (5)

Indian Physic – Porteranthus stipulatus (6)

Bee-balm - Monarda bradburiana & fistulosa (5, 4)

Pagoda Plant – Blephilia hirsuta (5)

Wild Oregano (Dittany) – Cunila origanoides (5)

Skullcaps – Scutellaria elliptica (6)

Gray’s Sedge - Carex grayi (6)

Large-fruited Panic Grass - Dichanthelium boscii (5)

Marginal Shield Fern – Dryopteris marginalis (6)

Adam & Eve Orchid – Aplectrum hyemale (7)Cranefly Orchid -Tipularia discolor (7)

Twayblade Orchid – Liparis lilifolia (4)

Wood Betony – Pedicularis canadensis (7)

Eastern Hognose Snake Heterodon platirhinos

Racer – Coluber constrictor

Eastern Box Turtle – Terrapene carolina

Northern Slimy Salamander Plethodon glutinosus

Five-lined Skink - Plestiodon fasciatus

Broadhead Skink – Eumeces laticeps

Spicebush Swallowtail – Papilio troilus

Mesic Upland Forest – Cedar Creek

Tulip Tree – Liriodendron tulipifera (5)

Little Grand Canyon – Jackson County

Harbinger-of-Spring – Erigenia bulbosa (7)

Spring Beauty - Claytonia virginiana (1)

Dutchman’s Breeches – Dicentra cucullaria (5)

Squirrel Corn – Dicentra canadensis (7)

Goldenseal – Hydrastis canadensis (7)

Wild Ginseng – Panax quinquefolia (7)

Bloodroot – Sanguinaria canadensis (5)

Rue Anemone (5) vs. False Rue Anemone (5)

Blue Cohosh – Caulophyllum thalictroides (8)

Jacob’s Ladder – Polemonium reptans (5)

Bellwort – Uvularia grandiflora (7)

White Trillium – Trillium flexipes (7)

Other Trilliums – Trillium recurvatum (5) & viride (9)

Wild Leek – Allium tricoccum (7)

Yellow Trout Lily – Erythronium americanum (7)

Miami Mist – Phacelia purshii (4)

Wild Columbine – Aquilegia canadensis (5)

Blue-eyed Mary – Collinsia verna (5)

Wild Ginger – Asarum canadense (5)

Wild Hyacinth – Camassia scilloides (7)

Wild Columbo – Frasera caroliniensis (8)

Doll’s Eyes – Actaea pachypoda (7)

Soloman’s Seal – Polygonatum biflorum (7)

Soloman’s Plume – Smilacina racemosa (4)

Green Dragon – Arisaema dracontium (4)

Yellow Lady Slipper Orchid –Cypripedium pubescens (8)

Bladdernut – Staphylea trifoliata (5)

Maidenhair Fern – Adiantum pedatum (6)

Maidenhair Spleenwort Fern –Asplenium trichomanes (10)

Broad Beech Fern – Phegopteris hexagonoptera (7)

Herps

Gray Treefrog – Hyla chrysoscelis

Green Treefrog – Hyla cinerea

BREAK

Loess Hill Prairie – Fults Hill Prairie

Loess Hill Prairie – Fults Hill Prairie

Loess Hill Prairie – Fults Hill Prairie

1972 1995

Green Milkweed – Asclepias viridiflora (9)

Blue Hearts– Buchnera americana (10)

Crested Coralroot Orchid– Hexalectris spicata (10)

Cylindric Blazing Star –Liatris cylindracea (8)

Stickleaf –Mentzelia oligosperma (10)

Slender Heliotrope – Heliotropium tenellum (10)

Missouri Coneflower – Rudbeckia missouriensis (10)

Photo credit – Marty KemperPhoto credit – Debbie Newman

Photo credit – Marty Kemper

Photo credit – Marty Kemper

Plains Scorpion – Centruoides vittatus

Glacial Drift Hill Prairie – Lake Murphysboro

Floodplain Forest – Hickory Bottoms, CCNWR

Cardinal Flower – Lobelia cardinalis (6)

Sensitive Fern – Onoclea sensibilis (5)

Copper Iris – Iris fulva (9)

Blue Flag Iris – Iris schrevei (5)

Purple Fringless Orchid – Platanthera peramoena (7)

White Swamp Milkweed – Asclepias perennis (10)

Swamp Milkweed – Asclepias incarnata (4)

Indian Pink - Spigelia marilandica (7)

Spider Lily – Hymenocallis caroliniana (9)

Dodder – Cuscuta gronovii (2)

Pink Turtlehead – Chelone obliqua (8)

Copperbelly Watersnake

Northern Watersnake – Nerodia sipedon

Marbled Salamander – Ambystoma opacum

Southern Flatwoods

Samson’s Snakeroot - Oxbexilum pendunculatum (6)

Shrubby St. Johnswort – Hypericum prolificum (6)

Swamp – Little Black Slough

Cypress Swamp – Little Black Slough

Cypress / Tupelo Swamp - Heron Pond

Buttonland Swamp – Lower Cache River

Swamp – LaRue Pine HillsWinter’s Pond

Shrub Swamp

Buttonbush – Cephalanthus occidentalis (4)

Arrowhead - Sagittaria latifolia (4)

Mosquito Fern – Azolla mexicana (8)

Marsh Mallow – Hibiscus lasiocarpos (5)

Pickerelweed – Pontederia cordata (8)

Water Lotus – Nelumbo lutea (5)

Cottonmouths

Eastern Newt – Notophthalmus viridescens

Illinois Chorus Frog – Pseudacris illinoensis

Stinkpot – Sternothorus odoratus

Stream – Bell Smith Springs

Seep – Greater Shawnee Hills

Cinnamon Fern – Osmunda cinnamomea (9)

Royal Fern – Osmunda regalis var. spectabilis (8)

Cretaceous Hills

Whorled Pogonia Orchid – Isotria verticillata (10)

Meadow Beauty – Rhexia virginica (10)

Sandstone Glade – Greater Shawnee Hills

Sandstone Glade - Garden of the Gods

Garden of the Gods – H Rock

Milk Snake – Lampropeltis triangulum

Todd Fink / Trigg Tower – Sandstone Glade

Lichen Grasshopper – Trimerotropis saxatilis

Small Bluets – Houstonia pusilla (3)

False Garlic – Nothoscordum bivalve (5)

Widow’s Cross – Sedum pulchellum (8)

Rushfoil – Crotonopsis elliptica (5)

Pineweed - Hypericum gentianoides (6)

Prickly Pear – Opuntia humifusa (5)

American Pennyroyal - Hedeoma pulgelioides (4)

Rough Buttonweed - Diodia teres (2)

American Agave - Manfreda virginiana (8)

Small-flowered Fameflower - Talinum parviflorum (10)

Blue Curls - Trichostema dichotomum (6)

Wild Orpine - Sedum telephioides (10)

Fence Lizard – Sceloporus undulatus

Six-lined Racerunner – Cnedimorphus sexlineatus

Degognia Canyon

Bishop’s Cap - Mitella diphylla (9)

Partridge-berry – Mitchella repens (8)

Shining Clubmoss – Huperzia lucidula (10)

Sphagnum Moss – Sphagnum compactum

Walking Fern – Asplenium rhizophyllum (8)

Liverleaf – Hepatica acutiloba

Cleft Phlox – Phlox bifida (7)

Forbe’s Saxifrage – Saxifraga forbesii (10)

Resurrection Ferns – Polypodium virginianum (8) and Pleopletis polypodioides (10)

Netted Chain Fern – Woodwardia areolata (8)

Spinulose Woodfern – Dryopteris carthusiana (6)

Bladder Fern – Cystopteris bulbifera (8)

Hairy Synandra – Synandra hispidula (10)

Small-flowered Alumroot - Heuchera parviflora (8)

Spleenwort Fern - Asplenium pinnatifidum (10)

Sandstone Overhang

Shooting Star – Dodecatheon frenchii (10)

Filmy Fern – Trichomanes boschianum (10)

Copperhead

Cricket Frog – Acris crepitans

Piney Creek Ravine Nature Preserve

Swayne Hollow Ravine Nature Preserve

Mill Creek Natural Area

Shale Glade – Union County

Shale Glade – Berryville and McClure

LaRue Pine Hills

Cricket Frog – Acris crepitans

Zigzag Salamander – Plethodon dorsalis

Cave Salamander – Eurycea lucifuga

Cave Creek Glade – Limestone Glade

Hoary Puccoon – Lithospermum canescens (6)

Blue-eyed Grass – Sisyrinchium albidum (4)

Wild Petunia - Ruellia humilis (3)

Gray-headed Coneflower - Ratibida pinnata (4)

Obedient Plant - Physostegia virginiana (6)

Butterfly Milkweed - Asclepias tuberosa (5)

Marbleseed – Onosmodium molle var. hispidissimum (8)

Blazing Stars – Liatris scabra (8) & aspera (7)

Prairie Dock - Silphium terebinthinaceum (4)

Silphium integrifolium – Rosinweed (5)

Cave Creek Glade – June 2010

Cave Creek Glade – June 2011FGB = Full Glorious Bloom

Pale Purple Coneflower - Echinacea simulata (7)

Pale Purple Coneflower - Echinacea simulata

Blue Sage – Salvia azurea var. grandiflora (9)

Whoopie Cat Glade – Hardin County

Leisure City Glade – Pope County

Climbing Milkweed – Matelea obliqua (10)

Mead’s Milkweed – Asclepias meadii (10)

Pounds Hollow / Rim Rock

Bell Smith Springs

Natural Bridge

Jackson Hollow

Lusk Creek – Indian Kitchen

Other Unique Illinois Natural Communities

•Calcareous Fen•Forest Fen•Seeps and Springs•Bog•Panne•Beach/Foredune•Northern Flatwoods•Savanna•Gravel Hill Prairie•Dolomite Prairie

Calcareous Fen

Valerian – Valeriana edulis

Forested Fen

Seeps and Springs

Bog

Panne

Beach/Foredune

Beach/Foredune

Northern Flatwoods

Savanna

Dolomite Prairie

Gravel Hill Prairie

Chris Bendabotanizer@gmail.com

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