Drone over Pennypack

Former Stewardship Assistant Mike Coll sent this link to a video of a 9-minute drone flight over the Pennypack Preserve and Bryn Athyn Cathedral that he made last Thursday afternoon, September 17.

Enjoy!


https://youtu.be/ksSEqvYb6OA

Submitted by David Robertson
Executive Director

Surrounded, but No Surrender!

Porcelain-berry, the "kudzu of the North," on the periphery of the Pennypack Preserve

For some reason (perfect temperatures, soil moisture, carbon dioxide concentrations, or a synergistic interaction of all three), the invasive Asian vine porcelain-berry (Ampelopsis brevipedunculata) "exploded" in the Pennypack Preserve this summer.  The perennial vine is ever present, and always the biggest threat in the natural area.  When I began my job here 25 years ago, one of the first tasks I set for myself was to bring the plant under control in the most heavily infested areas, and I was really able to knock it back with several years' intensive mechanical and chemical control efforts.  But, as I said, this year it has re-surged with a vengeance. 

Porcelain-berry fruits in varying stages of ripeness

Porcelain-berry was introduced to the united States from eastern Asia, probably as a garden ornamental.  It's fruits are attractive for about two weeks in the fall, but the rest of the year the plant just looks like a sprawling grapevine - to which it is very closely related.

Once the plant escaped the bounds of gardens (undoubtedly aided by birds that eat its fruit and then defecate the seeds elsewhere), it found a perfect home in the Mid-Atlantic.  It grows up into the canopy, spreads out to capture sunlight, and blankets the trees supporting it, eventually shading the trees to death or ripping off their limbs when the weight of the vines becomes too much for the tree to bear, especially when covered in snow and ice in the winter.

Porcelain-berry flowers attracting a honeybee

Porcelain-berry is served by generalized pollinators, so it is not dependent on a specialized bee, wasp or bat to spread its pollen.  And, while it's an introduced species, our native North American songbirds (and white-tailed deer) consume it readily, helping to spread the plant across the landscape, probably because it is so closely related to the grapes that are already familiar to our native species.

The only insects I have ever observed damaging porcelain-berry leaves are invasive, non-native Japanese beetles, but they never become numerous enough to inflict real harm to the plant.  I suspect that even if the plant has a specific disease or insect pest that keeps it in check in its East Asian homeland, such a disease or insect could never be imported into the United States as a biocontrol agent because it likely would also attack commercial grapes.

A porcelain-berry rhizome

Porcelain-berry develops an extensive, thick underground stem or rhizome.  The rhizome grows through the soil and sends up shoots ever few feet or so.  An infestation of porcelain-berry may actually consist of only a few plants all growing from the same underground stems.  Cutting off a few of the above-ground vines hardly fazes the plant, which has plenty of resources stored underground.  The only feasible method of control is to poison the plant with a broad-leaf herbicide applied either to the foliage or directly onto the rhizome after an above-ground stem is severed.

One of Pennypack's board members asked me to do a photographic inventory of land parcels on the periphery of the preserve that we might be able to acquire to add to the natural area.  I completed the inventory and prepared a PowerPoint program that I presented at the last board meeting.  In my remarks prefacing the presentation, I alerted the board members to note that every single one of the parcels I had photographed that was not maintained as a meadow or as lawn was completely overwhelmed by porcelain-berry.  Even if we got the plant under control within the preserve, the Vandals are at the gates on private properties we can't touch.


But we do have a chance to maintain the natural diversity inside the preserve, and we will redouble our efforts to try to bring porcelain-berry under control or the winter and during the next growing season.

Submitted by
David Robertson, Executive Director

The Forest Ablaze

For three perfect evenings just before the summer solstice, my wife Mary and I walked the same route through the Pennypack Preserve.  As we neared the parking lot near the Visitor Center, I noticed that beams from the low-setting sun were penetrating deeply into the woods and setting it aglow. Naturally, I didn't have my camera with me the first evening, and I forgot to carry it along on the second as well.  But, I didn't make the same mistake a third time.  On June 19, 2013, I captured these dramatic images, which are even more impressive when they're enlarged (if I do say so myself); click on an image to enlarge it and see what you think.

I'm most satisfied with the first image, but the second, taken just before the beams disappeared, is more atmospheric.  I've been meaning to share them with Pennypack's members and friends here, but kept forgetting that I have the images in my archive.  I hope you enjoy them.

 

Submitted by David Robertson
Executive Director

A Startling Reminder

Pennypack Creek along the Webb Walk in the Pennypack Preserve

The Pennypack Ecological Restoration Trust has been around for 43 years now and its natural area has grown from the original 26 acres into the 810-acre preserve we enjoy today.  The Trust's staff and volunteers have put incalculable time and resources into protecting and restoring the land.  Occasionally, we should step back and look at all the great things the Trust has done to protect Pennypack Creek and its tributaries because, with so much beauty around, it's easy to take the Trust's efforts for granted.

Just upstream of the Pennypack Preserve is an area that serves as a reminder of what the preserve could become if the Trust ceased to exist.  Nestled in a hidden, largely forgotten hollow where the Pennsylvania Turnpike, SEPTA's Warminster regional rail line, and Pennypack Creek converge are 15 acres of neglected creek floodplain and early-successional forest.  Most people don't know of the existence of this place.  Two privately-owned bridges span the creek, but the bridges are off-limits to the public.  Because of the site's remoteness, it has become a "playground" for local youth who have left a permanent mark on the landscape.  The area is littered with the remains of weekend parties, paintball supplies, spray paint cans, miscellaneous trash from floods, the remains of campsites, and even a "zip" line with an accompanying 20-foot tower.

The derelict, hopeless nature of the site is depressing.  One can barely find a spot that hasn't been violated by some piece of trash or outright destruction.  The woods are crisscrossed by ATV trails interrupted by iron-stained puddles.  The landscape actually is quite colorful - thanks to the graffiti covering every possible vertical surface.  Here, even Pennypack Creek looks foul - a shadow of the beauty we experience within the boundaries of the preserve.

The owner or owners of the property should feel embarrassed and ashamed that this area has been allowed to deteriorate so badly.  This place serves as a reminder of why Pennypack employees and volunteers labor so diligently to protect the Trust's holdings.  Knowing that places like this exist within a few minutes of the preserve reminds us that we are all responsible for maintaining the beauty of the Pennypack Preserve.

With Earth Day barely behind us, let's remember to always leave a place better than we found it.  That applies to public places in the Pennypack watershed as well as the to Pennypack Preserve.  Pennypack members deserve special thanks for supporting the 810 beautiful acres we are so privileged to protect!

Submitted by
Gary Snyder, Stewardship Assistant