Vacant Lot

....	The "vacant lot" section of the Buttermilk Gorge, as named here, is today a prime example of open, disturbed land. It is a quarter acre parcel on which there formerly existed a home. At some point, the family that lived there sold or donated the land to the park, or perhaps the property was acquired by the state. The home had probably been unoccupied for a period of time before it was removed in 2014 or 2015. The home was gone by the time this survey had commenced in 2017. x	.....

	Figure B. View of "vacant lot" (former homestead site), June 2018.

During those three or four years a host of plants quickly colonized the unused land. (Nature abhors bare ground.) Since then, the emerging plant community has evolved very rapidly. New species arrived; some of the original colonists perished. And, it continues to evolve today. More aggressive species, such as eastern sycamore,* cottonwood, black locust, mugwort, coltsfoot and turf-forming grasses are claiming greater and greater swaths of land. Trees that were knee high in 2017 are now over 15 feet tall!

Originally, the vacant lot was not included in the scope of this survey. However, it was soon realized that some of the species found in the vacant lot would eventually migrate away from the site and show up on the gorge trail or even farther away. Thus, the survey of this site was added to the scope of the project.

By the end of the 2020 growing season, the vacant lot contained, and may still contain today, an amazing number of plant species, including trees, shrubs, woody vines, grasses, sedges and wildflowers (but no ferns). Over 130 plant species have been identified and cataloged from this plot - as many species as have been found on the entire gorge trail. It is a fascinating place in which to study plants and plant ecology. Introductory courses in botany could well benefit from visiting this site.

A very high percentage of these species are non-native species. Eighty percent of species found on the entire gorge trail are native species, compared with only 42 percent at the vacant lot. These relative statistics will change from year to year.

Visitors wishing to study plants at the vacant lot should be aware that many of the species encountered and documented in the vacant lot during this project will no longer be present. This is especially true of herbaceous plants, whether annuals or perennials. However, new species may arrive in coming years. Many will be introduced inadvertently; others will migrate in via natural processes.

Accordingly, it isn't possible to compile a larger list of species on this page, other than the aggressive ones listed above. Refer to the species detail pages for more information and images of all the species found here.

. Vascular Plants of the Gorge at Buttermilk Falls State Park (Ithaca, NY) .
. .	Home	Ecology Main	Documentation	.
.Plant Ecology of the Area Surveyed The Vacant lot


	Figure A. View of homestead located at the lower head of the gorge trail (visible on left). June 2014. Image copyright Google.