Miller and Egler Photostations - established August 25, 1947

Photostation No.: 12

Location: Headquarters Marsh - upland at the right side of photograph - looking towards the southern portion of Impoundment 1.

Photo top (1947; Scaylea), second from top (Niering 1953), third from top (Coleman 1976), forth from the top (Niering 1987) and bottom (Rozsa 2014). The impoundment dike runs from left to right in the photos and supports Iva frutescens and Panicum virgatum in the latest photographs.

1947:"The dark band of vegetation in the foreground directly seaward of the Panicum virgatum community, is a stand of Juncus gerardii community. The Spartina patens community is to the left of the Juncus gerardii community. The 4 posts in the background are located in a mixed stand of stunted Spartina alterniflora and Spartina patens community. The lichen encrusted rock in the foreground is flanked by Juncus gerardii and Solidago sempervirens. The dividing point between the Juncus gerardii and Spartina patens community is a rock which is diagonal to the latter rock. The level of the impoundment is not much higher than the level of the marsh". (Coleman 1978)

1953 (May 22): "Barn Is. Tidal Marshes, Conn. Impoundment #1 Zonation-R-L Panicum, Juncus, Spartina patens, S. alterniflora, cattails in background.

1976: "No distinct Juncus gerardii community exists. Instead a forb panne community is adjacent to the Panicum virgatum belt. A Spartina patens community is found seaward of the Panicum virgatum community in areas where the for panne community is absent. The lichen encrusted rock is now surrounded by a forb panne. The 4 posts in the background are in a stand of stunted Spartina alterniflora community. Taller Spartina alterniflora and an occasional bush of Iva frutescens are found along the ditch edges. The level of the impoundment is higher than in 1948 and is covered by both Iva frutescens and several upland grasses. Phragmites community is encroaching onto the marsh from several spots on the impoundment". (Coleman 1978).

1987: Niering June 1987. No annotation on the slide.

2014: Darker green Juncus on right, tree on right is Nyssa sylvatica (forested wetland) and Juncus is found on the lower slope of the forested wetland (marsh transgression). Juncus has moved inland of the shrub Iva frutescens (above rock and under the edge of the Nyssa. Spartina patens to the left of Juncus and then most of the vegetation is stunted Spartina alterniflora panne habitat. New in this photosequence is the formation of shallow water panne habitat.

It is likely the past agricultural practices and clearcutting eliminated much of the forest vegetation and so the Nyssa forested wetland belt adjacent to the salt marsh was replaced by the Panicum belt or sea level fen (obvious on the right side of the 1953 photograph above). By 2014 the Panicum belt is gone and the Panicum wetland is once again replaced by Nyssa.