Natural Heritage

The very cool, moist microclimate, high soil fertility, and high calcium availability all influence the vegetation. These site characteristics differentiate this parcel from other Cornell Natural Areas. The ecological communities represented here are Beech-maple mesic forest and Hemlock-northern hardwoods forest. The forest is generally dominated by sugar maple, beech (Fagus grandifolia) and hemlock. Yellow birch (Betula alleghaniensis) and hop hornbeam (Ostrya virginiana) are also present. Striped maple (Acer pensylvanicum) is quite abundant in the understory in some places.