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The Natural History and Ecological Assessment of Joe's Pond-Morrisville, Vermont
DeAlto, Emily
DeAlto, Emily
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Abstract
Joe’s Pond-Morrisville is a 26-acre parcel composed of mixed uplands and wetlands, located in Morrisville in Lamoille County, Vermont. This property was donated to the University of Vermont Natural Areas Program in January 2025 by its previous owners, Ronald and Judith Stancliff, making it the eleventh UVM Natural Area. This Master's Project is an ecological assessment of this new property, with a focus on its natural history, peatland ecology, wetland functions and values, educational opportunities, and management recommendations.
The project included a general inventory of plant and animal species, a classification of natural communities, an investigation into the site’s natural history, and the development of baseline management recommendations. In total, I identified eight natural communities, including two aquatic communities that have not been previously described. The uplands are primarily Hemlock–Northern Hardwood Forest, while the wetlands are dominated by rare fen peatland systems. I also documented six rare or uncommon plant species, all within the wetlands, contributing to the broader understanding of their distribution in Vermont.
The wetlands, composed almost entirely of rare (S2) fen peatland natural community types in Vermont, were the main focus of my investigation into the natural history of the site. Based on historic aerial imagery, I hypothesized that the current conditions of the peatland natural communities are quite different than they had been even eighty years ago, mainly due to influence by beavers. This hypothesis prompted me to dive deeper into the current ecology and paleoecology of the peatlands, including a transect along the three natural communities to measure environmental variables and vegetation throughout the field season, and taking a peat depth measurements and a peat core within the fen, which was used for macrofossil analysis. Multivariate analyses revealed strong relationships between vegetation patterns and gradients in pH and water table dynamics across peatland communities. The paleoecological methods indicate that the site’s wetlands developed through a combination of infilling and paludification since the last glaciation, with multiple hydrologic shifts over time, from open water to marshy fen, to forested swamp, and to the present-day open Sphagnum and sedge-dominated fen. Beaver activity has been a major driver of recent site conditions, especially following the construction of a large dam in the 1950s that raised water levels and shifted the system toward more open peatland communities.
Wetland evaluation using the Vermont Rapid Assessment Method for Wetlands classified the site as a high-quality reference wetland system. Management recommendations are minimal due to the site’s excellent ecological condition and low levels of disturbance. Overall, Joe’s Pond-Morrisville represents a valuable addition to the University of Vermont’s Natural Areas Program, offering significant ecological, educational, and research opportunities.
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Date
2026-05-07