Plant Communities of Lake Scott State Park Scott County, Kansas

A survey of the vascular plants at Lake Scott State Park, Scott County, Kansas, was conducted from 1990-92. Specimens were collected and field notes, soil maps, aerial photos, and topographic position were collated to delineate plant communities cartographically within the 518 ha area. Species composition at Lake Scott State Park is high for western Kansas because of a combination of aquatic, marshy, mesic and xeric habitats. Little disturbance occurs except some mowing in limited areas. Five communities were identified and mapped: Bouteloua- Bilchloe, Andropogon-Bouteloua, Andropogon-Bouteloua-Artemesia, Bouteloua-Agropyron-Sporobolus, and Salix-Populus-Typhus. These communities exist because topographic changes, soil type, and moisture affect plant composition. A species list was compared to those previously compiled by the Kansas Biological survey. These are combined and reported as Appendix 1, listing the 364 species in 69 families known to occur at Lake Scott State Park. Habitat and local abundance are given