West Chester University of Pennsylvania
OP-10: Biodiversity

Gordon Natural Area The Gordon Natural Area (also referred to as 'the Gordon' and ‘the GNA’) occupies approximately 135 acres along the southeastern corner of West Chester University’s campus and is administered in collaboration with the University’s Office of Sustainability. Established as a protected area in 1971, the GNA has since served as a refuge for local wildlife and native plants, and as a multi-use setting for researchers, nature lovers, runners, dog walkers, and people looking to reconnect with the natural world. In 2014 the Gordon Natural Area was designated by the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources as a ‘Wild Plant Sanctuary.’ However, this designation does not afford any protection to the Gordon.

Plants The GNA has been the site of a good deal of floristic study and the checklist (ongoing) for the GNA currently contains 609 species (429 of which are native to the U.S.). Beginning in the 1960’s, WCU’s Dr. William Overlease began conducting a successional study of a former corn field. This area was later to become part of the Gordon. Dr. Gordon published a number of paper’s In 1984, two undergraduate students, Jack Holt and Jim Plyler conducted the first site-wide floristic survey of the Gordon. As part of this work, they produced the GNA’s first floristic checklist. Beginning in 2002, Gerry Hertel—who at that time was an adjunct professor at WCU—installed a series of Floristic Health Management (FHM) plots. These followed the design and (generally) the monitoring protocols used in the U.S. Forest Service’s Forest Inventory and Analysis program (see: https://www.fia.fs.fed.us/). Monitoring took place in 2002-03, with a more comprehensive survey conducted in 2004. Monitoring then occurred on 5-year intervals for 2008 and 2013. WCU’s Dr. Greg Turner has now taken over the FHM study. Monitoring is scheduled to continue on a 10-year interval, with the next monitoring to take place in 2018. In 2007, two botanists (the aforementioned Jack Holt, and his wife Janet Ebert) were contracted to conduct a site-wide survey of the GNA flora. This survey is now being conducted on a 10-year interval (with the ‘2017’ survey been split between 2017 and 2018). Throughout it’s existence, and preceding its establishment as a natural area, botanical specimens have been collected at the GNA and deposited at WCU’s Darlington Herbarium. However, no compilation of the GNA specimens had been made. In 2016, Nur Ritter (current Stewardship Manager) compiled a checklist of the GNA specimens at the Darlington. The list comprised 283 species. Four of these (including one State-listed species) had not been included in any of the other survey plant lists. Birds The GNA avifauna has also been relatively well-studied. On 2004 the West Chester (town) Bird Club (WCBC) conducted a year-long survey of the birds at the GNA. Since then, birding has been somewhat sporadic. However, in the last two years, Dr. Josh Auld (WCU) has regularly been leading birding groups in the Gordon, in addition to his frequent ‘solo’ birding. He has recorded his observation on eBird (https://ebird.org/home). I’ve compiled the results of the 2004 WCBC survey with Dr. Auld’s data from eBird, augmented this list with additional observations from the Gordon that have been submitted to eBird by other researchers. This checklist is ongoing and currently contains 112 species of birds. Fungi Generally speaking, fungi have not been well-studied at the GNA. However, during the past year a substantial effort has been made to catalog the preserve’s fungi. Previously, the sole study of the preserve’s fungi was by undergraduate Lauren Levy in 2008. Ms. Levy, assisted by Greg Turner and Gerry Hertel produced a checklist of twenty species. Beginning in the summer of 2017, undergraduate Alexandra Hodowanec (a GNA Student Intern) and Nur Ritter have been cataloging the GNA fungi. This work is very much ongoing, and the species list currently contains 165 species of fungi.

There are 16 species of State-listed plants, six species of State-listed birds, and one species of State-listed Reptiles of conservation concern that are found in the Gordon. Additionally, there is one provisionally identified State-listed species of Amphibian known for the preserve. Currently, there is not a Pennsylvania list of mushroom species of concern, so there is no good way to evaluate the mushroom checklist for the Gordon. There are a number of vernal pools at the Gordon. Although these haven’t been formally categorized, these would all likely be categorized as ‘Herbaceous Vernal Ponds’ (State Rank: ‘S3S4’: Vulnerable/Apparently Secure). However, it may be that a portion of the vernal pools could be categorized as ‘Rice Cutgrass - Bulrush Vernal Pools’ (State Rank: ‘S2?’: Imperiled). Rice Cutgrass (Leersia oryzoides) is known for the Gordon, although it hasn’t been noted here since 2007. During the 2004 Floristic Health Monitoring Survey (the only year that the FHM surveys included a comprehensive inventory of herbaceous species), Rice Cutgrass was noted in one of the study Plots (in two subplots). The subplot diagrams indicate habitat that could be vernal pools, but at this time nothing is known beyond this.

Mission 1) Preservation of a Natural Area. The property is to be maintained in as natural a state as possible, consistent with its function as a natural classroom (see #2 below). This means that all forms of development are prohibited, with the exception of maintaining the single existing paved road and the currently existing limited network of unpaved, undeveloped footpaths. Unacceptable activities include: (1) removal of live or dead plant materials or animals, (2) use of foreign or toxic chemicals such as fertilizers and pesticides, (3) dumping of refuse, (4) creation of any new or enhancement of any existing trails or roads, and (5) addition of any human-made structures or devices. However, it is noted that trail and road maintenance and repairs will be implemented as needed to ensure safe conditions, and that some maintenance along the boundaries may be required to support the use of adjacent areas (such as sports fields, parking areas, etc.). Mission 2) Natural Classroom for Environmental Studies. The property is to be used for teaching and research in ecology and related environmental studies. However, these scientific and educational activities must not compromise Mission #1. Accordingly, teaching and research activities are to be primarily non-manipulative and should not involve any significant disturbance to the native flora and fauna. However, studies may be undertaken that involve removal of exotic non-native species, to the extent that such studies contribute to better preservation of the natural native plants and animals. Plants General Considerations In order for the Gordon Natural Area to be effectively managed, we have attempted to answer three basic questions: 1. What species occur in the GNA? 2. What do these species contribute to the GNA? 3. How can we facilitate the growth and survival of these species (or, in the case of invasive species, how can we limit their growth)? As noted, the Gordon Natural Area has been the site of a substantial amount of faculty and student research. During the last two years, a significant effort has been directed towards compiling these results of this research into a central database. One outcome of this work has been the ability to produce comprehensive species checklists, augmented with data pertaining to each species’ requirements and contributions to the ecosystem. The database is updated as new plant, avian, and fungi species were encountered, or as identifications were corrected. Additional work on the vegetation database focused on five central ‘themes’: 1) incorporating data from all the floristic research conducted at the GNA, as well as data from other biotic groups; 2) continuing to add plant ‘trait’ data (e.g., allelopathic potential, ant-dispersal, utility to bees and other beneficial insects, deer resistance, mycorrhizal association, flowering and fruiting period, etc.) from ‘ancillary’ sources; 3) incorporating data about wildlife usage of plant species at the GNA ; 4) compiling and ground-proofing spatial data related to the GNA; and, 5) compiling data, and when necessary, reentering data from the vegetation research that has taken place at the GNA. The last two items will be addressed below (see ‘Wildlife Usage’ and ‘Spatial Data’). Currently, the database is composed of 234 linked tables and has extensive incorporated functionality. State-listed Species An effort has been made to catalogue all populations of State-listed plant species, in addition to species that aren’t State-listed but which are considered to be of conservation interest (e.g., those that are thought to be locally uncommon). This spatial data has been incorporated into the GNA database. Additionally, fenced ‘exclosures’ have been installed around some populations, in order to minimize the effects of deer on these species. Whenever possible, the plant populations are visited annually, and their condition is noted. These data are also stored in the GNA database. Fungi Currently, there are no efforts directed towards the conservation of fungi, other than general forest management practices that maximize the amount of downed wood that is available for fungal growth. However, a small amount of effort is being directed towards tracking a one non-native fungus, Asian Beauty (Radulomyces copelandii) at the GNA. Asian Beauty was first noted in the United States in 2009 when a number of populations were identified in Massachusetts. Since that time, the species has been noted in a number of states along the eastern seaboard, including Pennsylvania (in 2011). During surveys of the GNA fungi in 2017, Asian Beauty was frequently noted. As this species is a saprophyte and, hence, doesn’t affect living trees, it is unclear that it has any negative impacts on the forest. Nevertheless, it seems prudent to track its presence in the GNA, at least until it has been determined whether or not this species has the potential for deleterious effects. To this end, we have been archiving photo records, and associated spatial data, for this species. Invasive Insects Emerald Ash Borer The Emerald Ash Borer (Agrilus planipennis; EAB) is an Asian insect that infects species of Ash (Fraxinus). The EAB was first noted in the United States in 2002. Since that time, this species has become established throughout the eastern US, and hundreds of millions of Ash trees have perished due to EAB infestation. Early detection and control of Emerald Ash has been accorded high priority in the GNA work plan. Monitoring for EAB has been ongoing at the Gordon since 2001. Beginning in 2016, the GNA staff has partnered Pennsylvania’s Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) to introduce biological control methods at the GNA, in an effort to protect that ash trees at the Gordon and to help evaluate management strategies for EAB. Biocontrol efforts consist of the introduction of species that are known to parasitize EAB in its native range. Releases of two insect species (Tetrastichus planipennisi and Oobius agrili) occurred in 2016. In 2017, these species were again released, in conjunction with the release of two additional parasitiods (Spathius agrili and Spathius galinae). In 2018, weekly monitoring will be conducted throughout the summer in order to assess how well these parasitiods have become established. Spotted Lanternfly The Spotted Lanternfly (Lycorma delicatulais) is an exotic insect that is native to China, southeast Asia, and India. The species was introduced from Korea in 2006 and was first documented in Pennsylvania in 2014 and has recently been confirmed in Chester County. The species has the potential to have a devastating economic impact on agricultural crops (including grapes, hops, apples, and others) and can also have substantial deleterious effects on natural lands. Beginning in spring 2017, undergraduate Christopher Catranis, working with WCU’s Dr. John Pisciotta and assisted by Dr.’s Gary Coutu (Department of Geography and Planning) and Nur Ritter will survey the GNA and adjacent wooded areas for both Spotted Lanternflies and the species’ host tree: Tree of Heaven (Ailanthus altissima), which is used during reproduction. Spatial data will be collected for the Tree of Heaven, during which time the trees will be examined for Spotted Lanternflies. Data will be used to develop an interactive GIS-based map. The spatial data will also be used to develop a plan for managing both Tree of Heaven and Spotted Lanternfly.

Data Provided by: Nur Ritter, Gordon Natural Area Stewardship Manager, nritter@wcupa.edu, 610-436-2722