Welcome to “A Tour of the New Jersey Pinelands”

Bog Asphopdel Within the Pinelands, populations have suffered, historically, from the creation cranberry bogs and other transformations of the habitat. Current threats are mainly from alteration of habitat, such as succession. Whether or not this succession has been accelerated by changes to water caused by humans is an important question to be investigated. Beavers also destroy populations when they create ponds that flood the plants. This extremely rare plant is one of our highest conservation priorities. ts/herbaceous/bogasphodel/

Curly Grass Fern Once thought to be extinct, it is found commonly in the Pine Barrens. Answer question one. Curly-grass Fern is probably the most famous plant of the Pine Barrens. The fertile (spore producing) fronds look fern-like, but the sterile fronds look like tiny curly blades of grass. It seems to be always associated with Atlantic White Cedar, usually growing on the bases of the trees. It is typically only in early successional stages, such as spots where there is some exposed soil. You can find it year-round.

Ponder This… What does the prefix “aqua” mean? What is an aquifer?

Beneath the Pine Barrens there are a few sandy layers that contain enough water for human use. These water bearing zones are known as aquifers.

The most important aquifer is the Kirkwood - Cohansey aquifer, since it is the shallowest, and provides water to streams, rivers and wetlands.

Hmm……. What does “barren” mean? Q4 Why would you call an area barren? Q5 If you were an early settler what it be important for the land to provide? Q6

Sphagnum moss Can hold up to 32 X’s its weight in water Antiseptic properties for wounds Native Americans used as diapers for their babies

Elizabeth White She had an interest in cultivating the land between the cranberry bogs She worked with Dr. Coville from the US Department of agriculture to Cultivated a species of blueberries that was not grown naturally Blueberries love acidic soil. What do you think makes the soil so acidic?

Much of the land within the 1.1 million acre Pinelands National Reserve contains soils developed from the Cohansey geologic formation. These soils are mostly medium to coarse grained sands, although some thin clay soil layers are present. This geologic formation was deposited on the ocean floor between 13 million and 25 million years ago during a time that geologists call the Miocene period. The soils developed from the Cohansey formation are very porous and infertile because, for the most part, the parent material (rock formations below) has a greater proportion of coarse sand particles than finer clay particles.

The distinctive look of the Pine Barrens ultimately arises from its soils. Pine Barrens soil is largely sand. From this fact all else follows. The predominance of sand means Pine Barrens soils are highly porous to water, do not retain nutrients and organic matter very well, and are highly acidic. Sandy soils are made up of large mineral particles. The large gaps between sand particles mean this soil is very porous - water drains easily through it. As rainwater and melting snow drain rapidly through Pine Barrens soils, they carry with them the organic matter - the particles of decomposed pine needles, leaves and animal bodies that have the nutrients plants need. Thus, even though the Pinelands may receive the same amount of rainfall as land along the Delaware River or in northern New Jersey, the water moves so rapidly through the sandy soil that little moisture and few nutrients are kept. The sandy soil acts more like a coarse sieve than a sponge. This makes Pine Barrens soils very low in nutrients compared to most other soil types. The sandiness of Pine Barrens soils also makes them highly acidic.

Why are Pine Barrens soil and water so acidic? There are a couple of reasons. One is that even unpolluted rainwater is somewhat acidic, and “acid rain” can be very acidic. Most soils have the ability to buffer, or neutralize, this acidity. The Pine Barrens’ sandy soils do not have this ability, because they do not hold the minerals and organic matter that do this buffering in richer soils.

Blueberries love the acidic sandy soil of the Pine Barrens

Blueberry and cranberry picking- Italian immigrants came from Philadelphia by train to harvest the berries.

Cranberry Bogs Hollowed land filled with water when cranberries are ripe. Machine shakes the berries they float Ocean spray has many bogs in the pinelands Wet harvest Dry harvest: Hand picked

Colliers Mills

Charcoal makers are also known as wood colliers. Traditional wood collier shelters were built using poles lashed together to form a teepee which were then covered in sacks and brushwood with turf stacked on top to keep the weather out. The turf was layered to provide an efficient seal. Timber collected is cut and left to dry out, with the drying process usually taking between six months and a year to complete. Once dry, the wood is split lengthways sections of about 3 feet in order to fit into the kiln. Charcoal is made by heating wood to a temperature of over 270°C in the absence of air. Kilns are specially designed to minimize the amount of air circulation in order to provide for a carefully controlled burning, a process that requires considerable expertise to provide good quality charcoal. The controlled burn can take from 24 hours to several days depending upon the type of kiln used, and requires considerable monitoring and adjustment of air intake to perfect.

An acre of year old trees will produce cords of wood = bushels of charcoal = 2 tons of iron

Rivers run slowly with lots of iron in them Iron settles to the bottom and is harvested This iron is then put in a furnace. Iron comes out one side of a contraption and the “slag” or waste, comes out the other side. It is poured into long strips and used for wheels, cooking tools etc…

Soil scientists feel that the underlying brown sandy layers in the Pinelands are the result of iron compounds and fine humus particles leaching downward through the soils to the water table level in the summer. This leaching of iron compounds is part of the process by which bog iron is formed. The coarse textures and fluctuating water table found in the soils make this process possible. Bog iron is often seen in stream beds and was important in the manufacture of cannon and shot used by George Washington's troops during the Revolutionary War.

Food For Thought In spite of all of these resources the early settlers still chose to name the area barrens. Why did the early settlers choose to stay? What DID the area provide?

Plant Traits

Pitcher plants Carnivorous Downward facing hairs and slippery walls ensure that insects can’t get back out once they enter Enzymes break down the body and absorb the nutrients Why do this? Think about the soil here. Q8

Bladderworts Hair-like triggers snap shut to catch animals The plant send shoots of flowers above the water surface to entice pollinating insects

Sun Dews Flattened shape with sticky hairs strap insects and trigger the sun shape to snap shut.

Complete question #8

Farmer Brown had a farm… How would the type/quality of the soil relate to farming? Answer question 9

Answer question 10

Closure So, what did you come up with for #10? When early settlers tried to plant traditional crops (potatoes and wheat) they were unsuccessful because of the poor quality soil.