Bob Canace and Kathleen Strakosch Walz were an impressive team at the May meeting with their presentation, "Geology: The Bedrock of New Jersey's Biodiversity." Bob is Section Chief of the New Jersey Geological Survey who specializes in hydrogeology. Kathleen is an ecologist for the New Jersey Natural Heritage Program who specializes in rare plants. They melded their respective specialties and shared with members a view of New Jersey's remarkably diverse geology and how it shapes biodiversity.

New Jersey has four physiographic provinces, each composed of distinctive rocks and landforms. Starting from the northwest corner of the state and going south in diagonal layers, they are called the Valley and Ridge, the Highlands, the Piedmont and the Coastal Plain.

Bob and Kathleen pointed out how geology interacts with water to create unique plant communities. Bob gave the example of Atlantic White Cedar swamps in the Mullica River Drainage in the Coastal Plain. Water moving through that drainage has slowed down and lost energy as sea level has risen, reducing the rate of erosion. As water slows down and sediments are deposited along drainages, conditions favorable for the growth of Atlantic White Cedar swamps occurred. Kathleen explained how the Coastal Plain's sandy soils are also very acidic and support very specialized plants. Two of these, the Curly-Grass fern and Bog Asphodel (under consideration for federal listing) are found only in New Jersey's Pine Barrens.

By contrast, shale and sandstone ridges, and limestone valleys characterize the Valley and Ridge province. They have alkaline soils and don't drain as easily as those in the Coastal Plain. A feature of this province is the higher frequency of vernal pools. What makes vernal pools special is that they dry out part of the year. This attribute makes them important habitat for amphibian reproduction because they don't have fish that would otherwise prey on their eggs.They also support unique plants. One vernal pool in particular, Piggyback Pond, has Boltonia-like aster, and is globally very rare.

These are just a few examples of how geology has influenced New Jersey's precious biodiversity. Bob and Kathleen's talk put a new spin on how we look at our landscape, and we greatly appreciate their illuminations about an important aspect of the outdoors.

submitted by Cathy Blumig