About the project
About the project
North Bank Park/North Bank Trail Study Area
Click on map above to see detailed PDF.
Study area summary
The North Bank Park/North Bank Trail study area includes approximately 69.8 acres of park land and was divided into seven management units of various sizes. The lead organization for the baseline study of this park section was Virginia Commonwealth University. The task force field team in this study area identified a total of 24 invasive plant species across all management units, including:
- 12 species ranked with high invasiveness;
- 9 species ranked with medium invasiveness; and,
- 3 species ranked with low invasiveness.
Similar to the adjacent study area (Texas Beach/Northbank Trail), the data from the baseline study indicates that the North Bank Park/North Bank Trail study area has some of the thickest invasive plant infestations within the JRPS. All seven management units were recorded with greater than 75 percent cover (Cover Class 5) of invasive plants, with a considerable variety of dominant species. Tree-of-heaven was dominant in six of seven management units, and had greater than 50 percent cover (Cover Class 4) in Management Unit 2. The most prevalent invasive shrub was Chinese privet, and multiple invasive vines were identified across all management units, including cinnamon vine (Dioscorea polystachya), English ivy, Japanese hop, Japanese honeysuckle, and kudzu. Bigleaf periwinkle (Vinca major) was also dominant in Management Unit 1, and Johnsongrass was found with greater than 50 percent cover (Cover Class 4) in Management Unit 7.
The density of invasive plants within each management unit made native plant observation difficult during the 2015 baseline study. However, based on previous knowledge, forested portions of the study area have a similar composition of native plants found in the Texas Beach/North Bank Trail study area. As such, dominant canopy trees can include species such as northern red oak, southern red oak, white oak, tulip tree, and American sycamore, while native saplings and shrubs can include paw paw, ironwood, blackhaw, and spicebush. Open areas have some native herbs and grasses, but area generally overrun by non-native plants.
» Phase One Baseline Study Data Summary (PDF)
Updates from the study area
None at this time.
