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Griffy Woods
The Griffy Woods site is less than one mile from IU Assembly Hall and encompasses a great deal of landscape and biological diversity. The 185-acre site is adjacent to the City of Bloomington's Griffy Nature Preserve and the Indiana University Championship Golf Course. Much of the area consists of heavily forested ridges and ravines flowing into Lake Griffy but there are also flatter upland and bottomland areas. A diversity of successional stages, ranging from old fields to mature forest, are represented. Parts of the preserve exhibit substantial invasion by exotic plant species but most consists of undisturbed native communities. University Lake is completely within the preserve. This diversity and proximity to campus offer considerable research and teaching opportunities in many areas at the graduate and undergraduate levels.
Quick Facts
| Driving time from
campus: 5-10 min. |
Date Acquired by IU: 1908-1954
(approximately 950 acres north of 45/46 bypass) |
| Nearby Public Land: City
of Bloomington Lake Griffy Nature Preserve (1160
acres) |
Current Land Use: Forest
and wetland preserve with no formal land management;
informal use for hiking, class, and research use |
| Land Forms:
Flat-topped elongate ridgetops;
rugged, highly ravined slopes; wetland valley along
south fork of Griffy Creek; elevation range 630-810
ft; 1,500 feet of shoreline along Lake Griffy and
completely enclosing University Lake; southern border
along IU golf course |
| Vegetation:
Mature Oak-Beech-Maple forest varying
with topographic position and exposure; bottomland
forest along Griffy Creek; earlier successional
vegetation west of Headly Road with some pine plantings
and substantial cover of invasive woody species;
limited evidence of selective logging in past; diverse
array of herbaceous species given diversity of habitats;
unusual vegetation on Huckleberry Ridge. |
| Geology:
Harrodsburg limestone on ridgetops
and Borden siltstone/shale in valleys; some karst
features; exposure along lakefront bluffs, in deep
ravines and in artificial cuts for railroad bed
(abandoned); unglaciated thin soils. |
| Access: This
area is open to the public and the 2008
trail map and brochure is available. Best access point is from Headly/Hinkle Road south
of the Lake Griffy causeway. Driving
directions to Griffy Lake are below. |
Canada Geese on Lake Griffy |
Driving Directions
From the Indiana Memorial Union: Take
Woodlawn Avenue to 10th Street, and turn right (east)
onto 10th Street. Take 10th Street east to Fee Lane.
Turn left (north) onto Fee Lane and continue north
across bypass at stoplight by Unitarian Universalist Church onto
Matlock Road. Continue on Matlock Road, which becomes
Headly Road, for approximately 0.6 miles. The parking
lot is on the left, 150 yards past a sharp left near
the 4th hole of the IU golf course.
From Indiana Highway 37 (from Indianapolis):
Take the 45/46 bypass exit east from Highway 37 to where Fee Lane and Matlock Road intersect the bypass. Turn
left (north) on Matlock Road across from the Unitarian Universalist Church. Continue on Matlock Road, which becomes Headly
Road, for approximately 0.6 miles to parking lot on
left.
From Indiana Highway 46 (from Nashville):
Take Highway 46 west to the 45/46 bypass. Turn right
(north) on bypass and continue to stoplight by Unitarian Universalist Church. Turn right (north) on Matlock Road,
which becomes Headly Road, and continue approximately
0.6 miles to parking lot on left.
Relevant Publications
- Clay, K., Shelton, A., and Winkle, C. 2008. Differential susceptibility of tree species to oviposition by periodical cicadas. Ecological Entomology (in press).
- Flory, S. L. and K. Clay
. 2006. Distance to road and forest age affect invasive exotic shrub distribution in eastern deciduous forests. Plant Ecology 184: 131-141.- Reinhart, K. O., Packer,
A., van der Putten, W. and K. Clay. 2003.
Plant-soil biota interactions
and spatial distribution of black cherry in its native
and invasive ranges. Ecology Letters 6: 1046-1050.
- Packer, A and Clay, K.
2000. Soil pathogens and spatial patterns of seedling
mortality in a temperate tree. Nature 404:278-281.
- Huffman, H. 1996.
Griffy Lake Nature Preserve: Vascular plant species
list. Indianapolis: Indiana Department of Natural
Resources.
- Lively, C., Johnson, S.,
Delph, L., and Clay K. 1995. Thinning Reduces
the Effect of Rust Infection on Jewelweed (Impatiens
capensis). Ecology 76:1859-1862.
- Blatchley, W. S.
1887. A preliminary catalogue of the flora of Monroe
Co., Indiana. Indiana University Masters
Thesis.
View more RTP-related publications
Waterfall in Griffy Woods |
Bloodroot in bud |
University Lake |
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