Shineman Center Alvar Garden

The SUNY Oswego alvar garden beds help educate the campus and the public about a rare global ecosystem found along Lake Ontario.

The gardens provide an opportunity for visitors to the Shineman Center to see noteworthy native plants of conservation importance in our region and promote their stewardship. Additionally, the diversity of plants in the garden provides critical food and habitat islands for native pollinators that are in decline globally.

These gardens were established in July 2023 as a collaborative project of C. Eric Hellquist (Department of Biological Sciences), Kate Spector (Sustainability Office), and Pezhman Raeisian (SUNY Oswego graduate student and landscape architect).

The alvar garden beds are found at the main entrance to the Shineman Center along Washington Blvd. Previously, these beds were not sustaining plant growth due to the shallow, compacted soils, and their low water storage capacity. Surrounded by pavement these beds also had no shade and a hot microclimate. However, these challenging conditions provided an ideal opportunity to plant alvar vegetation that is adapted to hot, dry, and generally poor soil conditions.

With mulch, soil amendments, and soil reworking, we were able to recondition the garden beds to be aesthetically appealing and more conducive to plant growth. We also added large limestone rocks and rubble to represent the geology of alvar barrens. All boulders and rocks in the garden were recycled from campus surplus landscaping and building materials.

What are Alvars?

Alvar ecosystems beautifully show how the geology of an area affects vegetation. Alvar ecosystems are defined by horizontal exposures of limestone that have been impacted by erosion and dissolution by water. The limestone bedrock is often fractured by deep cracks.

The proximity of limestone bedrock to the surface creates conditions with thin, patchy, alkaline soils with open vegetation. The lack of shade makes alvars open, hot, and seasonally dry habitats with a mosaic of conditions for plant colonization and persistence. These unusual conditions provide habitat refugia for species of the Great Plains and boreal regions not typically seen in the flora of the Great Lakes region.

$horizontal exposures of limestone fractured by deep cracks$

Great Lakes Alvar Ecosystems

Alvars are found in North America and northern Europe, especially around the Baltic Sea. In North America, the areas with the greatest percentages of alvars are found in Ontario (64%), New York (16%), and Michigan (15%). Outstanding areas to see alvars include Manitoulin Island and the Bruce Peninsula of Ontario. Closer to Oswego, alvars are concentrated in Jefferson County with the most well-known seen at the Chaumont Barrens.

There are concentrations of alvars along the Laurentian Great Lakes of North America, near the shores of Lakes Michigan, Huron, and Ontario. Great Lakes alvars are found primarily in association with the Niagara Escarpment, an ancient limestone reef system that is roughly 400 million years old.

New York alvars are found on exposed, horizontal limestone that is approximately 450 million years old. The limestone had its origins when the region was submerged under a warm, tropical sea near the equator. When the last glaciation left the area ca. 10,000-8,000 years ago, water washed over the bedrock that had been scraped clear by ice. The ice and water eroded and dissolved the limestone creating the alvar habitats. In New York State, alvars are found near Lake Ontario in Jefferson County. One of the best areas to see alvars in Jefferson County is at the Nature Conservancy’s Chaumont Barrens Preserve.

Plants of the SUNY Oswego Alvar Gardens

We currently have 16 species native to New York alvars in our gardens. Each year we collect seeds from the garden to raise seedlings in the greenhouse that are planted back on campus.

Andropogon gerardii (Big bluestem)
Aquilegia canadensis (Red columbine)
Asclepias incarnata (Swamp milkweed)
Bouteloua curtipendula (Sideoats grama)
Campanula rotundifolia (Harebell)
Coreopsis lanceolata (Lanceleaf tickseed)

Deschampsia caespitosa (Tufted hairgrass)
Geranium maculatum (Spotted geranium)
Geum triflorum (Prairie smoke)
Maianthemum stellatum (Star-flowered lily-of-the-valley)
Monarda fistulosa (Wild bergamot)

Penstemon hirsutus (Hairy beardtongue)
Schizachyrium scoparium (Little bluestem)
Sisyrinchium angustifolium (Blue-eyed grass)
Solidago nemoralis (Gray goldenrod)
Sporobolus heterolepis (Prairie dropseed)

References

Catling, P. M. and V. R. Brownell. 1995. A review of the alvars of the Great Lakes region: Distribution, floristic composition, biogeography, and protection. Canadian Field-Naturalist 109: 143-171.

Kost, M.A., D.A. Albert, J.G. Cohen, B.S. Slaughter, R.K. Schillo, C.R. Weber, and K.A. Chapman. 2007. Natural Communities of Michigan: Classification and Description. Michigan Natural Features Inventory, Report No. 2007-21, Lansing, MI.

Nature Conservancy. 2024. Chaumont Barrens Preserve. https://www.nature.org/en-us/get-involved/how-to-help/places-we-protect/central-chaumont-barrens/. Accessed June 2024.

Reschke, C., R. Reid, J. Jones, T. Feeney, and H. Potter. 1999. Conserving Great Lakes alvars: Final technical report of the International Alvar Conservation Initiative. The Nature Conservancy Great Lakes Program. Chicago, IL. 241 pp.

Reznicek, A. A., E. G. Voss, and B. S. Walters. Michigan Flora Online. February 2011. University of Michigan. Web. July 14, 2013. http://michiganflora.net/species.aspx?id=202.

Sjögren, E. 1988. Studies of vegetation on Öland- changes and development during a century, pp. 5-8 in: Plant cover on the limestone Alvar of Öland: Ecology, sociology, taxonmy. ACTA Phytogeographica Suecica 76. Almqvist and Wiksell: Stockholm, SWE.