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CEGL002182 Populus tremuloides - Quercus macrocarpa - Salix spp. / Andropogon gerardii Shrubland
Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Quaking Aspen - Bur Oak - Willow species / Big Bluestem Shrubland
Colloquial Name: Northern Mesic Oak - Aspen Brush Prairie
Hierarchy Level: Association
Type Concept: This aspen - oak brush prairie shrubland is found in the aspen parkland regions of the United States and Canada, specifically northwestern Minnesota and southeastern Manitoba. Stands occur on somewhat poorly drained to well-drained, sandy clay loam to loamy fine sandy soils. A sand and gravel subtype occurs on coarse-textured outwash deposits. These soils form in lake-washed glacial till or in sandy lacustrine deposits (of variable thickness) over till. Entisols are common; most soils are strongly calcareous. The vegetation is composed of various amounts of shrubs in a matrix of herbaceous prairie species. Andropogon gerardii and Sporobolus heterolepis are common throughout this community. On drier sites Schizachyrium scoparium and Koeleria macrantha are also important, while on wetter sites Spartina pectinata, Calamagrostis stricta ssp. inexpansa, and Muhlenbergia richardsonis are codominants. The major shrub species are Populus tremuloides, Salix spp. (including Salix humilis), and Quercus macrocarpa. Amelanchier alnifolia, Amorpha canescens, Prunus pumila and Corylus spp. are usually present. The brush layer is generally less than 2 m tall with a total cover of 30-50%. The dominant grasses of most sites are tall- or midgrasses. Fires are important to prevent conversion of this community to more wooded types.
Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available
Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available
Classification Comments: Concept of the type is taken from Minnesota state classification type - Mesic Brush Prairie (MNNHP 1993). Type is related structurally to ~Populus tremuloides - Quercus (ellipsoidalis, macrocarpa) / Andropogon gerardii Scrub Grassland (CEGL002197)$$, which occurs in northwestern Wisconsin pine barrens, but the two types are quite distinct floristically.
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available
Floristics: This is a community composed of various amounts of shrubs in a matrix of herbaceous prairie species. The distributions of prairie grass and forb species correlate with changes in soil moisture along a gradient from wet-mesic to dry-mesic. Andropogon gerardii and Sporobolus heterolepis are common throughout this community. On drier sites Schizachyrium scoparium and Koeleria macrantha are also important while on wetter sites Spartina pectinata, Calamagrostis stricta ssp. inexpansa (= Calamagrostis inexpansa), and Muhlenbergia richardsonis are codominants. Hesperostipa spartea and Salix humilis occur more commonly on drier, sandy sites. The major shrub species are Populus tremuloides, Salix spp. (including Salix humilis), and Quercus macrocarpa. Amelanchier alnifolia, Amorpha canescens, Prunus pumila, and Corylus spp. are usually present. The brush layer is generally less than 2 m tall with a total cover of 30-50%.
Dynamics: Fire frequency is an important factor in maintaining this community. If the frequency is very low, woody species proliferate and a woodland develops. At a high fire frequency the shrubs are destroyed and the site becomes a prairie.
Environmental Description: This community occurs on somewhat poorly drained to well-drained, sandy clay loam to loamy fine sandy soils. A sand and gravel subtype occurs on coarse-textured outwash deposits. These soils form in lake-washed glacial till or in sandy lacustrine deposits (of variable thickness) over till. Entisols are common; most soils are strongly calcareous.
Geographic Range: This aspen - oak brush prairie shrubland is found in the aspen parkland regions of the United States and Canada, specifically northwest Minnesota and southeast Manitoba.
Nations: CA?,US
States/Provinces: MB?, MN
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.683851
Confidence Level: Moderate
Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available
Grank: G2G3
Greasons: No Data Available
| Type | Name | Database Code | Classification Code |
|---|---|---|---|
| Class | 2 Shrub & Herb Vegetation Class | C02 | 2 |
| Subclass | 2.B Temperate & Boreal Grassland & Shrubland Subclass | S18 | 2.B |
| Formation | 2.B.2 Temperate Grassland & Shrubland Formation | F012 | 2.B.2 |
| Division | 2.B.2.Nb Central North American Grassland & Shrubland Division | D023 | 2.B.2.Nb |
| Macrogroup | 2.B.2.Nb.1 Big Bluestem - Indiangrass - Dense Blazingstar Tallgrass Prairie Macrogroup | M054 | 2.B.2.Nb.1 |
| Group | 2.B.2.Nb.1.d Big Bluestem - Prairie Dropseed - Porcupine Grass Tallgrass Prairie Group | G075 | 2.B.2.Nb.1.d |
| Alliance | A4018 Big Bluestem - Prairie Dropseed - Mat Muhly Northern Grassland Alliance | A4018 | 2.B.2.Nb.1.d |
| Association | CEGL002182 Quaking Aspen - Bur Oak - Willow species / Big Bluestem Shrubland | CEGL002182 | 2.B.2.Nb.1.d |
Concept Lineage: No Data Available
Predecessors: No Data Available
Obsolete Names: No Data Available
Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: = Populus tremuloides - Quercus macrocarpa - Salix spp. / Andropogon gerardii Shrubland (Faber-Langendoen 2001)
> Mesic Brush-Prairie (MNNHP 1993)
> Mesic Brush-Prairie Sand - Gravel Subtype (MNNHP 1993)
> Mesic Brush-Prairie (MNNHP 1993)
> Mesic Brush-Prairie Sand - Gravel Subtype (MNNHP 1993)
- Dana, Robert. 1995. Personal communication. County Biological Survey ecologist, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, St. Paul, MN.
- 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.
- 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.