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CEGL002158 Quercus macrocarpa Northern Tallgrass Wooded Grassland

Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available

Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Bur Oak Northern Tallgrass Wooded Grassland

Colloquial Name: Northern Tallgrass Bur Oak Openings

Hierarchy Level:  Association

Type Concept: This community type is found in the northern tallgrass prairie region of the upper midwestern United States and adjacent Canada. Stands occur on rolling to moderately sloping sites on glacial till or outwash. The soils range from clay loam to sandy loam. This community is characterized by scattered mature trees in a graminoid-dominated matrix. Quercus macrocarpa is the most abundant tree, although Populus tremuloides can be a common invader on northern sites. The herbaceous layer is dominated by Andropogon gerardii, Sorghastrum nutans, and Sporobolus heterolepis. Schizachyrium scoparium and Hesperostipa spartea are often found in drier areas and Panicum virgatum can be common in wetter patches. The shrub layer is variable and contains species such as Amelanchier spp., Corylus americana, Cornus foemina, Prunus virginiana, Salix humilis, and Symphoricarpos occidentalis.

Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available

Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available

Classification Comments: Concept of the type is that of bur oak openings in the northern tallgrass prairie region. It appears that this type may not have occupied extensive areas, unlike the more widespread north-central bur oak openings type, ~Quercus macrocarpa - (Quercus alba, Quercus velutina) / Andropogon gerardii Wooded Grassland (CEGL002020)$$. Current examples are extremely rare and of poor quality. The Minnesota dry oak savanna hill subtype, dry oak savanna sand-gravel subtype, and the mesic oak savanna type (MNNHP 1993) are treated here together. Quantitative analyses are planned in Minnesota to help assess whether these Minnesota types should each be recognized as distinct associations (R. Dana pers. comm. 1999).

Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available

Floristics: This community is characterized by scattered mature trees in a graminoid-dominated matrix. Quercus macrocarpa is the most abundant tree, although Populus tremuloides can be a common invader on northern sites. The herbaceous layer is dominated by Andropogon gerardii, Sorghastrum nutans, and Sporobolus heterolepis. Schizachyrium scoparium and Hesperostipa spartea (= Stipa spartea) are often found in drier areas, and Panicum virgatum can be common in wetter patches. The shrub layer is variable and contains species such as Amelanchier spp., Corylus americana, Cornus foemina, Prunus virginiana, Salix humilis, and Symphoricarpos occidentalis (MNNHP 1993).

Dynamics:  Frequent fires (every 2-10 years) associated with the dominant prairie matrix maintained a very open-canopy structure in this type. Type may also originate through more catastrophic fires in oak forests and woodlands during drought years (Grimm 1984). In the absence of fires, Populus tremuloides or Fraxinus pennsylvanica may invade and stands may develop into ~Quercus macrocarpa - Populus tremuloides / Corylus spp. Woodland (CEGL002139)$$.
Environmental Description:  This community is found on rolling to moderately sloping sites on glacial till or outwash. The soils range from clay loam to sandy loam (MNNHP 1993).
Geographic Range: This community type is found in the north-central United States and south-central Canada on rolling to moderately sloping sites on glacial till or outwash.

Nations: CA,US

States/Provinces:  IA, MB, MN, ND, NE, ON, SD


Confidence Level: Low - Poorly Documented

Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available
Grank: G1G2

Greasons: No Data Available
Type Name Database Code Classification Code
Class 1 Forest & Woodland Class C01 1
Subclass 1.B Temperate & Boreal Forest & Woodland Subclass S15 1.B
Formation 1.B.2 Cool Temperate Forest & Woodland Formation F008 1.B.2
Division 1.B.2.Na Eastern North American Forest & Woodland Division D008 1.B.2.Na
Macrogroup 1.B.2.Na.4 White Oak - Bur Oak - Shagbark Hickory Forest, Woodland & Savanna Macrogroup M012 1.B.2.Na.4
Group 1.B.2.Na.4.a Bur Oak - Black Oak / Big Bluestem Savanna & Barrens Group G181 1.B.2.Na.4.a
Alliance A3256 Bur Oak - White Oak Wooded Grassland Alliance A3256 1.B.2.Na.4.a
Association CEGL002158 Bur Oak Northern Tallgrass Wooded Grassland CEGL002158 1.B.2.Na.4.a
Concept Lineage: No Data Available

Predecessors: No Data Available

Obsolete Names: No Data Available

Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: = Quercus macrocarpa Northern Tallgrass Wooded Herbaceous Vegetation (Faber-Langendoen 2001)
> Mesic Oak Savanna (Central Section) (MNNHP 1993)
> Mesic Oak Savanna (Northwest Section) (MNNHP 1993)
> Mesic Oak Savanna (Southwest Section) (MNNHP 1993)
= Tallgrass Savanna (Steinauer and Rolfsmeier 2003)
Concept Author(s): Minnesota NHP (1993)

Author of Description: J. Drake

Acknowledgements: No Data Available

Version Date: 03-03-94
  • Diamond, D. D., L. F. Elliott, M. D. DeBacker, K. M. James, D. L. Pursell, and A. Struckhoff. 2014. Vegetation mapping and classification of Pipestone National Monument, Minnesota: Project report. Natural Resource Report NPS/PIPE/NRR--2014/802. National Park Service, Fort Collins, CO. 79 pp.
  • Faber-Langendoen, D., and J. R. Tester. 1993. Oak mortality in sand savannas following drought in east-central Minnesota. Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club 120(3):248-256.
  • Faber-Langendoen, D., editor. 2001. Plant communities of the Midwest: Classification in an ecological context. Association for Biodiversity Information, Arlington, VA. 61 pp. plus appendix (705 pp.).
  • Greenall, J. A. 1996. Manitoba''s terrestrial plant communities. MS Report 96-02. Manitoba Conservation Data Centre, Winnipeg.
  • Grimm, E. C. 1984. Fire and other factors controlling the Big Woods vegetation of Minnesota in the mid-nineteenth century. Ecological Monographs 54(3):291-311.
  • INAI [Iowa Natural Areas Inventory]. 2017. Vegetation classification of Iowa. Iowa Natural Areas Inventory, Iowa Department of Natural Resources, Des Moines.
  • MNNHP [Minnesota Natural Heritage Program]. 1993. Minnesota''s native vegetation: A key to natural communities. Version 1.5. Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, Natural Heritage Program, St. Paul, MN. 110 pp.
  • Midwestern Ecology Working Group of NatureServe. No date. International Ecological Classification Standard: International Vegetation Classification. Terrestrial Vegetation. NatureServe, Minneapolis, MN.
  • Minnesota DNR [Minnesota Department of Natural Resources]. 2003-2005a. Field guide to the native plant communities of Minnesota. Three volumes: The Laurentian Mixed Forest Province (2003), The Eastern Broadleaf Forest Province (2005c), The Prairie Parkland and Tallgrass Aspen Parklands provinces (2005b). Ecological Land Classification Program, Minnesota County Biological Survey, and Natural Heritage and Nongame Research Program. Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, St. Paul.
  • Minnesota DNR [Minnesota Department of Natural Resources]. 2005b. Field guide to the native plant communities of Minnesota: The Prairie Parkland and Tallgrass Aspen Parklands provinces. Ecological Land Classification Program, Minnesota County Biological Survey, and Natural Heritage and Nongame Research Program. Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, St. Paul.
  • ONHIC [Ontario Natural Heritage Information Centre]. 2018. Unpublished data. Ontario Natural Heritage Information Centre, Ministry of Natural Resources, Ontario, Canada.
  • SDNHP [South Dakota Natural Heritage Program]. 2018. Unpublished data. South Dakota Natural Heritage Program, Pierre, SD.
  • Steinauer, G., and S. Rolfsmeier. 2003. Terrestrial natural communities of Nebraska. (Version III - June 30, 2003). Nebraska Natural Heritage Program, Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, Lincoln. 163 pp.
  • White, A. S. 1986. Prescribed burning for oak savanna restoration in central Minnesota. Research Paper NC-266. USDA Forest Service, North Central Forest Experiment Station, St. Paul, MN. 12 pp.