Journal of Student Research 2023

Rare Vascular and Bryophyte Plant Survey: Diversity within the Devil’s Punchbowl

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Methods

Site Description The Devil’s Punchbowl is located just outside Menomonie in Dunn County, WI (Figure 1). In 1961, the Town of Menomonie took the title of the Devil’s Punchbowl before deeding it over to Dunn County. In 1990, Dunn County gave the property to the UW-Stout Foundation. The current owner, the Landmark Conservancy, was gifted the Devil’s Punchbowl in 1998. Since their ownership, they have built stairways into the preserve, rock walls for the parking area, and planted a native prairie. The most recent renovation is the construction of the new stairway that was fundraised for in 2021 (Landmark Conservancy, 2023). At the site, there is a 45-foot waterfall with a perennial stream and two trails on the three-acre property. The hydrology and geology of this site create niche microhabitats that can affect the vegetation. The geology includes stunning cliff faces that were carved by glaciers and sandstone bedrock with seepage springs at the contact between the Wonewoc and Eau Claire formations (Patterson & Brown, 1988; Kuchta, personal communication). Soil types are likewise sandy, with the Plainfield Sand and Kevilar Sandy Loam dominating the site (USDA, 2023). The site is also located near the Tension Zone of vegetation in Wisconsin, making it possible for some species to be just outside of their range and create unique mixed plant communities (Curtis, 1959).

Figure 1. Location of the Devil’s Punchbowl, a 3-acre preserve in Dunn County, Wisconsin (Esri 2023).