Print Report
CEGL002315 Midwest Eroding Bluff Sparse Vegetation
Type Concept Sentence: This sparsely vegetated bluff community is found in deeply cut ravines or valleys, especially adjacent to streams or rivers. Stands consist of vertical exposures of eroded unconsolidated material (glacial drift, loess), or weak rock (shale).
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Midwest Eroding Bluff Sparse Vegetation
Colloquial Name: Midwestern Eroding Bluff
Hierarchy Level: Association
Type Concept: This sparsely vegetated bluff community is found in restricted places throughout the midwestern United States and adjacent Canada. Sites are found in deeply cut ravines or valleys, especially adjacent to streams or rivers. Stands consist of vertical exposures of eroded unconsolidated material (glacial drift, loess), or weak rock (shale). Soils are absent or confined to the crests of the bluff. Moisture is variable. The vegetation is sparse. Species composition is quite variable, and there may be little floristic coherence to the type. Species include, in Indiana, Danthonia spicata, Heuchera spp., Hydrangea arborescens, Solidago nemoralis; in Illinois, Danthonia spicata, Solidago nemoralis, Taenidia integerrima; and in Missouri, Adiantum pedatum, Arisaema triphyllum, Equisetum arvense, Equisetum hyemale, and Impatiens capensis.
Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available
Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available
Classification Comments: The term bluff, as opposed to cliff, is used to refer to unconsolidated or poorly consolidated material. This type may need to be sampled more carefully based on substrate, since species composition on slopes comprised of eroding shales may be expected to be quite different from loess. In Missouri the type is now recognized as a full natural community type. Josh Cohen (pers. comm. 2017) recommends merging ~Laurentian-Northeast Eroding Bluff Sparse Vegetation (CEGL002584)$$ with this type. In New York, this type (CEGL002315) may crosswalk to portions of riverside/lakeside bluff described in Edinger et al. (2014), especially examples known from the river gorges that drain into Lake Erie in western New York. This community may be further separated into riverside and lakeside types in the future, but additional survey work is needed to support that proposed split.
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: Open, sparse vegetation, with widely scattered trees, shrubs, grasses and forbs, typically more abundant towards the cliff edge and base (Nelson 2010).
Floristics: Species composition is quite variable, and there may be little floristic coherence to the type. Species include, in Indiana, Danthonia spicata, Heuchera spp., Hydrangea arborescens, Solidago nemoralis; in Illinois, Danthonia spicata, Solidago nemoralis, Taenidia integerrima; and in Missouri, in moist areas, Adiantum pedatum, Arisaema triphyllum (= Arisaema atrorubens), Equisetum arvense, Equisetum hyemale, and Impatiens capensis, and in dry areas, Juniperus virginiana and Schizachyrium scoparium (White and Madany 1978, Homoya et al. 1985, Nelson 1985).
Dynamics: No Data Available
Environmental Description: Sites are found in deeply cut ravines or valleys, especially adjacent to streams or rivers. Stands consist of vertical exposures of eroded unconsolidated material (glacial drift, loess), or weak rock (shale). Soils are absent or confined to the crests of the bluff. Moisture is variable, but may be high in seepage areas (White and Madany 1978, Homoya et al. 1985, Nelson 1985).
Geographic Range: This sparsely vegetated bluff community is found in restricted places throughout the midwestern United States and adjacent Canada, ranging from Ontario and Ohio westward to Illinois and Missouri.
Nations: CA,US
States/Provinces: IL, IN, MI, MO, NY, OH, ON
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.684760
Confidence Level: Low - Poorly Documented
Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available
Grank: GNR
Greasons: No Data Available
| Type | Name | Database Code | Classification Code |
|---|---|---|---|
| Class | 6 Open Rock Vegetation Class | C06 | 6 |
| Subclass | 6.B Temperate & Boreal Open Rock Vegetation Subclass | S04 | 6.B |
| Formation | 6.B.1 Temperate & Boreal Cliff, Scree & Other Rock Vegetation Formation | F034 | 6.B.1 |
| Division | 6.B.1.Na Eastern North American Temperate Cliff, Scree & Rock Vegetation Division | D051 | 6.B.1.Na |
| Macrogroup | 6.B.1.Na.1 Shrubby Fivefingers - Rock Polypody / Cup Lichen species Eastern North American Cliff & Rock Vegetation Macrogroup | M111 | 6.B.1.Na.1 |
| Group | 6.B.1.Na.1.a Polypody species - Rocktripe Lichen species - Poverty Oatgrass Talus, Bluff & Rock Vegetation Group | G340 | 6.B.1.Na.1.a |
| Alliance | A3992 Eastern North American Erosional Bluff Alliance | A3992 | 6.B.1.Na.1.a |
| Association | CEGL002315 Midwest Eroding Bluff Sparse Vegetation | CEGL002315 | 6.B.1.Na.1.a |
Concept Lineage: No Data Available
Predecessors: No Data Available
Obsolete Names: No Data Available
Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: = Small Eroding Bluffs Midwestern Sparse Vegetation (Faber-Langendoen 2001)
- Anderson, D. M. 1982. Plant communities of Ohio: A preliminary classification and description. Division of Natural Areas and Preserves, Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Columbus, OH. 182 pp.
- Anderson, D. M. 1996. The vegetation of Ohio: Two centuries of change. Draft. Ohio Biological Survey.
- Edinger, G. J., D. J. Evans, S. Gebauer, T. G. Howard, D. M. Hunt, and A. M. Olivero, editors. 2014a. Ecological communities of New York state. Second edition. A revised and expanded edition of Carol Reschke''s ecological communities of New York state. New York Natural Heritage Program, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, Albany, NY.
- 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.).
- Homoya, M. A., D. B. Abrell, J. R. Aldrich, and T. W. Post. 1985. The natural regions of Indiana. Proceedings of the Indiana Academy of Science 94:245-268.
- Lee, H., W. Bakowsky, J. Riley, J. Bowles, M. Puddister, P. Uhlig, and S. McMurray. 1998. Ecological land classification for southern Ontario: First approximation and its application. Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, Southcentral Science Section, Science Development and Transfer Branch. SCSS Field Guide FG-02.
- Midwestern Ecology Working Group of NatureServe. No date. International Ecological Classification Standard: International Vegetation Classification. Terrestrial Vegetation. NatureServe, Minneapolis, MN.
- Nelson, P. 2010. The terrestrial natural communities of Missouri. Revised edition. Missouri Natural Areas Committee, Department of Natural Resources and the Department of Conservation, Jefferson City.
- Nelson, P. W. 1985. The terrestrial natural communities of Missouri. Missouri Natural Areas Committee, Jefferson City. 197 pp. Revised edition, 1987.
- ONHD [Ohio Natural Heritage Database]. No date. Vegetation classification of Ohio and unpublished data. Ohio Natural Heritage Database, Division of Natural Areas and Preserves, Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Columbus.
- ONHIC [Ontario Natural Heritage Information Centre]. 2018. Unpublished data. Ontario Natural Heritage Information Centre, Ministry of Natural Resources, Ontario, Canada.
- White, J., and M. Madany. 1978. Classification of natural communities in Illinois. Pages 311-405 in: Natural Areas Inventory technical report: Volume I, survey methods and results. Illinois Natural Areas Inventory, Urbana, IL.