Natural Features of the P/A Watershed

--Plant Data from other sources:

A ecological survey of the Portage Creek Basin, from Hampton Lake north to the Portage Police Station/Band Shell was conducted in the growing season of 1994 by University of Michigan-Flint biologists. All emergent and submergent aquatic and terrestrial habitats in the study area were sampled at least once. Some significant sites, such as those characterized by floodplain forest communities and open wetlands, were visited frequently.

All plant species were collected, dried, identified to the species level, for the most part, and deposited in the University of Michigan-Flint herbarium. A goal of this work was to identify all rare, threatened and endangered plant species growing in the study area. A total of 421 species representing 94 families and 240 genera was encountered. Eleven families, each having 10 or more species, comprised the majority of the plant species studied. Additionally, 4 families account for nearly 35% of all of the species encountered in the basin: Aster, Sedge, Grass and Rose. Additionally, 8% of the species encountered belonged to one genera: Carex.

It was estimated that as much as 10% of the species encountered were exotic. Five species are of interest, due to their invasive nature:

• Glossy Buckthorn (Rhamnus frangula),
• Honeysuckle (Lonicera morriwii),
• Multiflora Rose (Rosa multiflora),
• Purple Loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria),
• Spotted Knapweed (Centaurea maculosa).

A species of interest, the Oregon Grape (Mahonia aquifolium), was encountered in the study area on the north bank of Portage Creek adjacent to the State Game Area. Only one individual o f this species was recorded. It is native to the Pacific Northwest, but has previously been recorded in both Kalamazoo and St. Joseph Counties, where it is cultivated and presumed to have escaped.

It was noted that the study area, the Portage Creek Basin, exhibited a high diversity as species richness. This is attributed to the large number of different plant communities, the variety of land forms in the basin and a moderately high disturbance regime, historically and presently, which has allowed a variety of successional stages to exist in the basin.

View the list of plant species found in this survey.

Source: Bruederle, L.P. et al. Natural Features Inventory of Portage Creek Basin. Final Report to the City of Portage, Michigan. 1/22/95.

To see results from another study, please go to the Website:
http://www.wmich.edu/asylumlake/natural/knc/index.html

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