About the project
About the project
Bohannon Island Study Area
Click on map above to see detailed PDF.
Study area summary
The Bohannon Island study area includes approximately 30.4 acres of park land and was divided into five management units of various sizes. The lead organization for the baseline study of this park section was the James River Outdoor Coalition. The task force field team identified a total of 15 invasive plant species across all management units, including:
- 10 species ranked with high invasiveness;
- 4 species ranked with medium invasiveness; and,
- 1 species with low invasiveness.
Of the five management units, the high abundance of invasive plants was located within Management Units 2a, 2b, and 3, which each had greater than 50 percent cover (Cover Class 4 or 5) of invasive vines. The most invasive vine in these management units was by far Oriental bittersweet, although low density growth of English ivy, Japanese hop, and Japanese honeysuckle was also observed. The bittersweet infestation was noted along edge communities adjacent to the river shoreline, and spreading throughout the forest interior. Further, other dominant invasive plants were identified in Management Unit 1, in which hydrilla was identified along the shoreline, and English Ivy was noted along the forest floor and climbing into the overstory. Notably, Management Unit 2 had a non-dominant invasive plant component.
The native plant community in the Bohannon Island study area was similar to other floodplain and small island study areas. Canopy trees include green ash, red maple, sweet gum and tulip tree, while the understory is composed of paw paw, spicebush, and other native shrubs. Native herbs and vines include partridge berry (Mitchella repens), Virginia creeper, Christmas fern, wild rye, muscadine, greenbrier, trumpet creeper, and poison ivy.
ยป Phase One Baseline Study Data Summary (PDF)
Updates from the study area
None at this time.
