Successional Shrubland
A shrubland is a transitional community between open fields and forests. However, in some areas, shrublands can persist indefinitely due to harsh environmental conditions such as sandy soils or high elevations. Shrublands commonly develop in fallow agricultural fields or in areas that are infrequently exposed to some type of disturbance such as fire, logging, or other types of land clearing. This infrequent, but regular, disturbance prohibits trees from becoming established while allowing shrubs to become dominant. If the disturbance was very frequent this would lead to the creation of a meadow.
There are approximately 40-acres of shrublands at Teatown that occur under high tension power lines where trees are not permitted to grow. While this disturbance may seem to be a negative, preventing this area from turning to forest increases the diversity of habitats at Teatown and enhances our biodiversity. For example, species such as indigo buntings and blue-winged warblers are only found at Teatown in this habitat. The shrublands at Teatown are also an area where coyotes frequent. Unfortunately, due to the periodic disturbance associated with the periodic tree trimming, invasive species have overtaken much of this habitat. This typifies the delicate balance between the disturbance of habitat and its quality.
The shrublands at Teatown possess some small tees such as cedar; however shrubs such as multiflora rose, black huckleberry, sweet fern, and raspberries are dominant. Plants such as goldenrods little bluestem, and hay-scented fern are also common.
Animals that can be found in the shrublands at Teatown include prairie warblers, blue-winged warblers, indigo buntings, coyote, and black rat snakes.
Conservation Issues
Due to the suppression of natural disturbances in the landscape (e.g., fire), shrublands are principally found in areas that need to be kept clear of trees such as along gas or electric lines. Therefore, while this habitat will persist in these areas it is vanishing across the landscape as open space either becomes forest or is lost to development. This has led to the decline of once common species such as golden-winged warblers. To preserve this habitat and the species that utilize it, we must accept that disturbance is a natural process in ecosystems.
