Agenda Packets - 2021/07/06 - Laserfiche WebLink

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2 The animal life of the open water was diverse. The microcrustaceans, copepods and cladocera, were observed. Chironomid midge larvae were seen on the bottom. Adult insects including.backswimmers, water boatmen, crawling water beetles, predacious diving beetles, whirligig beetles, and water striders were abundant. Five drake and one hen blue -winged teal and two drake mallard ducks were observed. One painted turtle was observed sunning itself on a log in the water. Quaking (Floating) bog A somewhat unique feature for this level in Minnesota (common north) is the closing of this water body by Carex bog formation. This is charac- terized by the overgrowth of the water body by the quaking bog formation. The complex of plants growing here support the interpretation: Carex (sedge, several species), marsh fern, sensitive fern, bluebells, joe-pyeweed, spike rush, swamp goldenrod, canada willow, sandbar willow, red -osier dogwood, and sparse and scattered cattails and blue -joint grass. This formation is fairly extensive over the central bog area. Aspen -to -oak transition belt The north boundary of the basin under consideration is represented by a sharp rise in elevation with a corresponding change in vegetation. The crown is covered with oak forest; down the slope and encroaching onto the bog or grassland formations below, aspen becomes dominant, (See Appendix Two for a list of the predominant species observed.) Grassland between the wetland and the tree line Edging the forest and extending over to the wetland edge is a strip of land sufficiently high to have upland character but for some reason not forested. Frequent fires, mowing, grazing, and soil Character are possible explanations. Grasses observed include blue grass, quack grass, brome grass, and panic grass. Other plants noted include blackberry, common milkweed, butterfly milkweed, goldenrods, yellow mustard, mullein, hawkweed, common ragweed, and horsewsed. This area shows no characteristics of native prairie, either of the dryer sandplain prairie found in some parts of the Anoka Sandplain, or of the mesic prairie found in island areas around the metropolitan area.