Since the 1860’s, the cultivation of the native American cranberry, Vaccinium macrocarpon, has been a major agricultural practice in the New Jersey pinelands. The manipulations of cranberry bog agriculture can cause significant changes in the structure and function of wetland communities. Although cranberry agriculture once represented over a third of wetlands in the pinelands, the industry has been on the decline as it has moved to other regions of the country. As a result, many bogs have been abandoned. The effects of abandonment have not been investigated thoroughly. In this study, we explored the fate of bogs and examined bog succession after abandonment. Cranberry bogs from three locations were sampled representing from time zero (an active cranberry bog) to 3 years semi-active, 3 years abandoned, 8 years abandoned, 15 years abandoned, 50 years abandoned, and 60 years abandoned in flooded and unflooded communities. We hypothesized that the fate of community succession would be heavily influenced by the original agricultural practice and whether or not the bog was kept flooded. Community diversity and structure were determined from plant and invertebrate inventories and a chronosequence for bog succession was developed.
Results/Conclusions
The results of the study supported the hypothesis. A cranberry bog abandoned and left to dry observed short-term conversion patterns that tended to move from wetter, herbaceous communities to drier, woodier communities with a fully forested system being the climax community. In contrast, a bog left flooded remained as a standing body of water. There was a significant difference in groundcover and functional diversity over time. Generally, groundcover diversity increased over time and the dominant functional group transitioned from herbs and graminoids to shrubs and trees. The ecological role of invertebrates also shifted from pollinators to predators as the age of abandonment increased and a canopy became established. When maintaining these lands, local species and ecology present along with the desired community should dictate the prescription of land management. With this information, recommendations can be made onto how the lands should be managed in the future in order to support healthy and native communities.