New England Coastal Heathland and Grassland

Sandplain grasslands and heathlands of the southern New England / New York coast are areas of graminoid- and shrub-dominated vegetation maintained by periodic fire or other disturbance, as well as exposure to maritime influences. Developing on acidic, nutrient-poor, and very well-drained soils within a few kilometers of the ocean, they may occur as heathlands, grasslands, or support a patchwork of grass and shrub vegetation. Characteristic species include Gaylussacia baccata, Arctostaphylos uva-ursi, Corema conradii, Amelanchier nantucketensis, Hudsonia ericoides, Hudsonia tomentosa, Vaccinium angustifolium, Deschampsia flexuosa, Schizachyrium scoparium, and Carex pensylvanica. They provide habitat for several rare or uncommon forbs including Liatris scariosa var. novae-angliae and Agalinis acuta. They are important habitat for several bird and other animal species including the short-eared owl and regal fritillary, and (along with brushy plains and woodlands) provided habitat for the extinct heath hen.

Characteristic species include Gaylussacia baccata, Arctostaphylos uva-ursi, Corema conradii, Amelanchier nantucketensis, Hudsonia ericoides, Hudsonia tomentosa, Vaccinium angustifolium, Deschampsia flexuosa, Schizachyrium scoparium, and Carex pensylvanica. They provide habitat for several rare or uncommon forbs including Liatris scariosa var. novae-angliae and Agalinis acuta.

Sandplain grasslands and heathlands of the southern New England / New York coast are areas of graminoid- and shrub-dominated vegetation maintained by extreme conditions and periodic fire or other disturbance. Developing on acidic, nutrient-poor, and very well-drained soils, they may occur as heathlands, grasslands, or support a patchwork of grass and shrub vegetation.

The largely exposed locations experience extreme variations in temperature and moisture, and the sandy, nutrient-poor soils contribute to prevention of establishment of woody vegetation. Coastal occurrences maintain their open nature with the stress and killing of woody plant tissue caused by high winds, desiccation, and salt spray. Examples that developed in slight depressions are also maintained by frost that persists longer into the growing season (MNHESP 2010a, 2010b). Prior to European settlement, this system is believed to have occurred as small patches in limited areas near the coast (Motzkin and Foster 2002); there may also have been patches in the vicinity of Native American settlements, based on the prevalence of charcoal in some palynological cores (Dunwiddie 1989). Presettlement grasslands appear to have been more likely on portions of Long Island (Hempstead Plains and Montauk) and Martha's Vineyard than on Nantucket, Block Island, or Cape Cod (Motzkin and Foster 2002). This native vegetation is often confused with similar semi-natural grasslands and heathlands characterized by a mixture of native and exotic species developed as a result of agriculture; some natural occurrences may have resulted as expansions of original native vegetation. They have increased in extent and largely post-date land clearing following European settlement (Foster et al. 2002). In addition, some heathlands may have developed on severely disturbed soils following the abandonment of agriculture and grazing (Motzkin and Foster 2002). Efforts to reverse the conversion of these heathlands and grasslands to tall shrublands or woodlands have generally used a mixture of prescribed fire and mowing, and less commonly grazing.

Hempstead Plains grasslands, once an extensive native grassland, have been reduced by 99% of their original extent. Other maritime grasslands and heathlands have been considerably reduced in extent as well, largely as a result of development and agriculture. Current threats include development, isolation from larger natural systems, loss of connectivity to other natural systems, invasive species encroachment (e.g., Lespedeza cuneata, Artemisia vulgaris, Anthoxanthum odoratum, Celastrus orbiculata, Lonicera morrowii, Centaurea biebersteinii (= Centaurea maculosa)), and fire suppression. Major threats to maritime heathlands include development and use of four-wheel drive vehicle and impacts of off-road vehicle use (NYNHP 2013f). Examples of this system in New England were naturally small but are threatened by fragmentation or outright destruction by development, off-road vehicle traffic, and incursion by non-native species. Examples in the maritime zone are also threatened by heightened storm intensity, sea-level rise, and erosion.

This system is endemic to a small area ranging from the southern New York coastline north to Cape Cod, Massachusetts.