Until the New Jersey Zinc Company closed in the 1980s, smog from the smelters turned the forested slopes of Blue Mountain into a rocky slope devoid of vegetation. In recent years, the land has been restored to form many acres of rich grassland due to the reseeding efforts organized by the Lehigh Gap Nature Center. Yet areas with minimal vegetation persist, scattered across the hillside. These barren patches appear to consist of a loose, powdery soil, black in color. Five barren patches were identified as study sites, and for each site, comparable-sized quadrats of surrounding grassland were surveyed. The distribution and dominance of plant species differed between the study sites and the sampled quadrats. Within each barren site, at least 20% of the vegetation coverage was sandwort (Minuartia patula), which was rarely found in the accompanying quadrats. In addition to vegetation comparisons, soil was collected inside and outside of the sites to test for concentrations of zinc. Acid digestion of soil samples and analysis by atomic absorption spectroscopy was used to determine metal concentrations in units of parts per million (ppm). Inside the sites, the concentration of zinc ranged from 9,000 � 23,000ppm, and outside ranged from 9,500 � 29,000ppm. One site was tested for lead and cadmium, and yielded 1,700ppm Pb and 270ppm Cd. The high variability in metal concentrations both inside and outside of the study sites suggests that additional factors such as erosion and wind following reseeding may have influenced the plant species composition and distribution across the mountainside.

Assessment of plant species composition and soil characteristics in barren areas on Blue Mountain in Palmerton, PA

248th National Meeting (2014)

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