Welcome!

Welcome to Niquette Bay State Park, Site #4!

View Site #4 Hectare in a larger map, map credit Joseph Snowdon and Google Maps

An historical map of NBSP from 1915, map credit UNH
Diamond Library Documents Department & Data Center

This 1 hectare plot is located on the southern end of the park, on a bluff uphill from the beach. We spent four weeks in this plot determining the nature of the substrate, herbaceous and woody species, soil types, potential wildlife habitat, and land use history. We spent the first week first mapping out our hectare, and then exploring and getting to know our plot. The second week was spent analyzing the substrate; the third week we created six plots on transect lines to measure the tree species within. The last week was spent in wildlife habitat analysis.

Our plot is a deciduous northern hardwoods mix with a few small hemlock patches. Canopy cover as a whole is ~70%; herbaceous ground cover is ~40-60%. Soils are sandy and relatively acidic, likely residuals of the Champlain Sea's retreat. A large, low section of the plot is swampy, with vernal pools. This provides vital habitat for some amphibian species, which cannot find breeding grounds in the surrounding drier, upland areas. Throughout the plot, snags, exposed perches, and coarse woody debris provide other forms of habitat.

Our site is unique in its proximity to the lake and therefore to the open. The swampy area is definitely a unique aspect of the plot as a whole; Niquette Bay State Park as a whole is an incredibly diverse area in terms of species composition of woody plants. However, in terms of wildlife habitat, necessary vernal pools are not abundant. Ours provides vital habitat and we observed many frogs and salamanders within it. We can also observe different stages of succession, and the strengths of different plant communities, within our site. The heavily forested areas around the perimeter contain different species than the recently opened area (due to falling trees) in the center. The heavily forested area has a shade-tolerant understory, with beech and sugar maple. In the open area, herbaceous species flourish, and understory trees are getting their chance to grow. Our plot is also easily accessible for visitors by the Ledges Trail. Walking from one corner to the other, it is easy to see the differences in plant communities, habitat availability, and forest structure within the hectare.

From the Quartzite on up! The elements shown here are some things in
which we will go into detail in this Blog!  Map credit Joseph Snowdon

If you like what you see in this Blog, be sure to download our Google Earth KML file here!