A biotic survey of Lovets Pond, Jackson County, Illinois

Technical Report · Thu Dec 01 00:00:00 EST 1988

OSTI ID:6562293

Peterson, M J

Systematic collecting of the vascular flora, fishes, and aquatic macroinvertebrates in a natural floodplain pond ecosystem in Jackson County, Illinois, yielded 328, 17, and 93 taxa, respectively. The habitat and relative abundance of each collected specimen were recorded. Five distinct natural communities were identified in the 60-ha ecosystem and were described in detail, namely, pond, shrub swamp, true swamp, marsh, and wet-mesic flood-plain forest. With the exception of the floodplain forest all natural communities at the site were rare in the region, largely due to the extensive wetland drainage and land clearing for agricultural use. Slight disturbance to the study area appear to have had little significant impact on the site's overall natural quality. The character of the system compared favorably with the earliest known presettlement descriptions. The privately owned natural area is endangered because of the likelihood of draining and clearing for agriculture. Based on this study the site is a significant natural area of preservation. 22 refs., 5 figs.

• Research Organization: Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (USA)
• DOE Contract Number: AC05-84OR21400
• OSTI ID: 6562293
• Report Number(s): ORNL/TM-11021; ON: DE89005694
• Resource Relation: Other Information: Thesis (M.S.). Portions of this document are illegible in microfiche products. Thesis. Submitted to Southern Illinois Univ., Carbondale
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS
SITE SURVEYS
TERRESTRIAL ECOSYSTEMS
WETLANDS
EVALUATION
BIOLOGICAL VARIABILITY
FISHES
FORESTS
ILLINOIS
MARSHES
PLANTS
SWAMPS
WILD ANIMALS
ANIMALS
AQUATIC ORGANISMS
ECOSYSTEMS
FEDERAL REGION V
NORTH AMERICA
USA
VERTEBRATES
520100* - Environment
Aquatic- Basic Studies- (-1989)
510100 - Environment
Terrestrial- Basic Studies- (-1989)