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10 <br />2.c. Floral Park <br />Background <br />Overview of Historic and <br />Current Site conditions <br />Like Hazelnut Park, by the 1940s, <br />Floral Park was surrounded by <br />county roads and partially in <br />agricultural production, with all <br />but the areas displayed as Units 3 <br />and 4 in Figure 2.3dominated by <br />cropland with minimal but <br />significantstanding trees.This <br />trend continues through the 50s <br />and 80s, though forests expanded <br />backinto Units1 and 2over time, <br />alongside increasing density in <br />Units 3 and 4. <br />Present conditions exhibit a 20- <br />acremixed-use urban park, with <br />areas of turf lawn and native trees <br />accessible by recently re-paved <br />trails, multiple sports facilities, a <br />playground, and large areas of <br />undeveloped woodlands and wetlands. This park also has a utility powerline that runs east to west, <br />bisecting the site into north and south woodlands.Community efforts have established walking trails <br />through the 13 acres of woodlands,as well as a planted native pollinator area adjacent to the trails with <br />maintained native species for habitat and educational purposes. The woodlands present a diverse range of <br />native species, with significant patches of mature oak trees that are representative of previous habitats prior <br />to urbanization. There are several large-standing bur oaks in the center turf managed area and in Unit 3 that <br />may be original to the park. <br />Soils <br />The glacial deposits that formed the Twin Cities isexemplified here, with many small but significant kettle <br />potholes visible on historic maps. Moreover, the combination of soilsdemonstrates this unique feature of <br />the St. Paul Baldwin Plains and Moraines ecological subsection (see Appendix Cfor details). The lowland in <br />the northeast of Floral Park iscomprised of Seelyville muck soilshowing heavy organic layers with low <br />drainage. Hayden fine sandy loam characterizes the rest of the natural areas of the park, (222Md). These soil <br />characteristics and distribution within the site suggest that much of the water flows to the low wetlandsin <br />the northeast and west, as well as to the ditch in the southeast, draining from the sandier soils throughout <br />the woodlands. The shallow slopes in the lower areas may also promote water retention and soil saturation <br />for long periods throughout the year, retainingorganic nutrient content, and thus supportinghardwood <br />forest speciesregardless of presence or absence of recurrent fire. <br />Figure 2.3 Floral Park map showing the main woodland areas, utility <br />corridorand the full extent of park using city parcel data.