Term
Mature trees (dbh >6 inches) are present and form closed stands (>17 trees/acre; >50 percent
canopy cover) |
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Definition
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Term
Hardwood trees are dominant (>50 percent areal cover or basal area of the tree stratum);
alluvial, peaty/mucky, or poorly-drained mineral soils |
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Definition
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Term
Floodplains that are temporarily inundated during flood events, but may be relatively
well-drained for much of the growing season; silver maple, American elm, river birch, green ash,
black willow, swamp white oak, box elder and/or plains cottonwood are dominant |
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Definition
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Term
Ancient lake basins, closed depressions, or retired riverine oxbows, that have longer term
inundation/saturation during the growing season.. |
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Definition
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Term
Black ash, green ash, yellow birch, red maple, quaking aspen, balsam poplar, silver
maple, black willow and/or plains cottonwood are dominant; northern white cedar may be
subdominant; growing on poorly-drained mineral or peat/muck soils often associated with ancient
lake basins and retired riverine oxbows |
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Definition
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Term
Quaking aspen, plains cottonwood, red maple, American elm, silver maple, yellow-bud
hickory and/or green ash are dominant growing in seasonally ponded depressions |
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Definition
| HARDWOOD SWAMP (Vernal Pool Subtype) |
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Term
Coniferous trees are dominant (>50 percent areal cover or basal area of the tree stratum); soils
usually mucky/peaty |
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Definition
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Term
Tamarack and/or black spruce are dominant; growing on a nearly continuous Sphagnum
moss mat and acidic, peat soils |
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Definition
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Term
Northern white cedar and/or tamarack are dominant; nearly continuous Sphagnum moss
mat absent; usually growing on neutral to alkaline peats or mucks |
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Definition
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Term
Mature trees are absent or, if present, form open, sparse stands; other woody plants, if present, are
shrubs, saplings, or pole size trees (dbh <6 inches) less than 20 feet in height |
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Definition
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Term
| Community dominated (>50 percent areal cover) by woody shrubs |
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Definition
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Term
Low, woody shrubs usually <3 feet in height; Sphagnum moss mat layer may or may not be
present |
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Definition
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Term
Shrubs are ericaceous (Heath family) and evergreen growing on a Sphagnum moss mat;
peat soils are acidic; common |
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Definition
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Term
Shrubs are deciduous, mostly shrubby cinquefoil, often growing on sloping sites with
a spring-fed supply of internally flowing, calcareous waters; calcium-tolerant plants (calciphiles) aredominant; Sphagnum moss mat layer absent; muck or poorly-drained mineral soils are alkaline; rare... |
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Definition
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Term
| Tall, deciduous shrubs usually >3 feet in height; Sphagnum moss mat absent |
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Definition
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Term
Speckled alder is dominant; usually growing on acidic hydric soils in and north of the
vegetation tension zone |
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Definition
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Term
Willows, red-osier dogwood, silky dogwood, meadowsweet and/or steeplebush are
dominant; usually growing on neutral to alkaline hydric soils; found both north and south of the
vegetation tension zone; NOTE: Non-native buckthorns (Rhamnus cathartica and Frangula alnus)
can occur as dominant shrubs or small trees in disturbed sites |
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Definition
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Term
| Community dominated (>50 percent areal cover) by herbaceous plants |
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Definition
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Term
Aquatic emergent and terrestrial vegetation layers absent; dominated by floating, floatingleaved
and/or submergent species; water depths up to 6.6 feet |
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Definition
| SHALLOW, OPEN WATER COMMUNITIES |
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Term
Aquatic emergent and/or terrestrial vegetation layers present; standing water may or may
not be present |
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Definition
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Term
Permanently to seasonally inundated by water depths up to 3 feet or more during
most growing seasons; dominated by perennial aquatic emergent, floating, floating-leaved and/or
submergent vegetation layers (wild rice-an annual- can also be present) |
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Definition
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Term
Inundated by water depths of 6 inches to 3 feet or more throughout the growing
season in most years; community a mixture of aquatic emergent, floating, floating-leaved and/or
submergent layers |
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Definition
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Term
Inundated by water depths up to 6 inches, often drying down to saturated soils
during the latter half of most growing seasons; aquatic emergent layer is dominant; floating and
floating-leaved layers may be present but not dominant |
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Definition
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Term
Temporarily inundated to saturated soils during most growing seasons; floating,
floating-leaved and submergent layers absent |
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Definition
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Term
Temporarily inundated for a few weeks in spring giving way to mudflats and
then dry for the remainder of the growing season; annuals (e.g., smartweeds, wild millet) typically
dominate by the late growing season; often cultivated for row crops; geomorphic position consists of
basins or flats |
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Definition
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Term
Saturated soils, at most briefly inundated; typically 75-100 percent areal cover by
perennial vegetation; geomorphic position variable |
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Definition
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Term
Nearly continuous Sphagnum moss mat on acidic, peat soils; sedges and forbs
tolerant of low nutrient conditions are characteristic |
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Definition
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Term
Nearly continuous Sphagnum moss mat absent or sparse; soils typically
circumneutral to alkaline peats, mucks or hydric mineral soils |
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Definition
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Term
Spring-fed supply of internally flowing, calcareous groundwater; dominated
by calcium-tolerant species (calciphiles) such as sterile sedge, Grass of Parnassus, and beaked spikerush;
typically on sloping or domed muck soils; rare |
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Definition
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Term
Calciphiles not dominant; water source/chemistry/soils not restricted to the
above; both common and rare communities |
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Definition
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Term
| Dominated by sedges, primarily Carex |
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Definition
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Term
A floating mat primarily composed of wiregrass sedge (Carex
lasiocarpa) and/or bog sedge (C. oligosperma); common associates are other sedges, Canada blue-joint
grass, marsh fern and various forbs |
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Definition
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Term
Floating mat absent; well developed peat, muck or hydric mineral soils
dominated by hummock sedge (Carex stricta) and/or other sedges (SOME SEDGES CAN DOMINATE SHALLOW MARSHES)
… |
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Definition
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Term
| Dominated by grasses and/or forbs |
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Definition
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Term
Dominated by native prairie grasses (e.g., prairie cord-grass, big
bluestem, narrow reedgrass, switch grass) with native prairie forbs; growing on hydric mineral soils;
predominately occurs south of the vegetation tension zone; rare |
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Definition
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Term
Dominated by Canada blue-joint grass, non-native grasses (e.g., reed
canary grass, redtop) and/or forbs not restricted to prairies; soils are peats, mucks or mineral; occurs in
both floristic provinces and tension zone; common |
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Definition
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Term
| Dominated by Canada blue-joint grass and/or native forbs |
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Definition
| FRESH (WET) MEADOW (Native subtype) |
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Term
Dominated by non-native grasses and/or forbs indicative of
disturbance (e.g., stinging nettle, giant ragweed) |
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Definition
| FRESH (WET) MEADOW (Disturbed Subtype) |
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