Print Report
CEGL005037 Quercus palustris - Quercus bicolor - Acer rubrum Flatwoods Forest
Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Pin Oak - Swamp White Oak - Red Maple Flatwoods Forest
Colloquial Name: Northern Great Lakes Flatwoods
Hierarchy Level: Association
Type Concept: This pin oak - swamp white oak flatwoods is found in the midwestern United States and adjacent Canada near Lake Michigan and Lake Erie. Stands occur on poorly drained uplands or in depressions on level glacial lakeplains or outwash plains. There is a layer of acidic sand over a layer of impermeable or nearly impermeable clay resulting in a shallow, perched water table. Ponding is common during the wet seasons and droughts in the summer, leading to a complex of forest upland and wetland species. Deciduous hardwoods and softwoods predominate. Diagnostic species include Quercus bicolor, Quercus ellipsoidalis, Quercus palustris, and Acer rubrum. Other associates include Ilex verticillata and Ulmus americana. The herbaceous layer, which can be sparse, contains Carex muskingumensis, Glyceria striata, Maianthemum canadense, Mitchella repens, and Osmunda cinnamomea.
Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available
Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available
Classification Comments: This type is found on glaciated plains in the Midwest. The terms "swamp" and "flatwoods" may overlap (see e.g., Lee et al. 1998, who include flatwoods types in their swamp category). These terms need clarification. In Indiana, stands may also be related to the lakeplain oak opening type, ~Quercus macrocarpa - Quercus palustris - Quercus bicolor / Calamagrostis canadensis Wooded Grassland (CEGL005120)$$. In Michigan this type occurs only in Calhoun County. Ontario sands on the clayplain of the Niagara Peninsula should be compared with ~Fagus grandifolia - Acer saccharum - Quercus bicolor - Acer rubrum Flatwoods Forest (CEGL005173)$$.
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available
Floristics: Deciduous hardwoods and softwoods predominate. Diagnostic species include Quercus bicolor, Quercus ellipsoidalis, Quercus palustris, and Acer rubrum. Other associates include Ilex verticillata and Ulmus americana. The herbaceous layer, which can be sparse, contains Carex muskingumensis, Glyceria striata, Maianthemum canadense, Mitchella repens, and Osmunda cinnamomea (White and Madany 1978, Homoya et al. 1988, P. Comer pers. comm. 1997).
Dynamics: Given that fire was probably common in adjacent landscapes, flatwoods may have experienced fire during drought periods and contained a more open canopy. Some may have supported a prairie flora prior to the onset of fire suppression (White and Madany 1978). Some northern flatwoods may occur in areas formerly occupied by wet prairie but, because of lowered water tables from surrounding agricultural drainage, have succeeded to the flatwood community.
Environmental Description: This type is found on glaciated plains in the midwestern United States. This community occurs on poorly drained uplands or in depressions on level glacial lakeplains or outwash plains. There is a layer of acidic sand over a layer of impermeable or nearly impermeable clay resulting in a shallow, perched water table. Ponding is common during the wet seasons. In the dry months, the clay layer prevents water from moving up to the surface by capillary action from deeper, more moist soil. Thus, the soil moisture fluctuates widely over the year (White and Madany 1978, Homoya et al. 1988).
Geographic Range: This pin oak - swamp white oak flatwoods is found in the midwestern United States and Canada near Lake Michigan and Lake Erie, ranging from northern Illinois, northern Indiana, northern Ohio, and southeastern Michigan, to southern Ontario.
Nations: CA,US
States/Provinces: IL, MI, OH, ON
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.685467
Confidence Level: Low
Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available
Grank: G2G3
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.3 Temperate Flooded & Swamp Forest Formation | F026 | 1.B.3 |
| Division | 1.B.3.Na Eastern North American-Great Plains Flooded & Swamp Forest Division | D011 | 1.B.3.Na |
| Macrogroup | 1.B.3.Na.2 Pin Oak - Green Ash - Blackgum Swamp Forest Macrogroup | M503 | 1.B.3.Na.2 |
| Group | 1.B.3.Na.2.g <i>Quercus palustris - Quercus bicolor - Fagus grandifolia</i> Flatwoods & Swamp Forest Group | G917 | 1.B.3.Na.2.g |
| Alliance | A4475 <i>Quercus bicolor - Acer rubrum</i> Great Lakes Flatwoods Group | A4475 | 1.B.3.Na.2.g |
| Association | CEGL005037 Pin Oak - Swamp White Oak - Red Maple Flatwoods Forest | CEGL005037 | 1.B.3.Na.2.g |
Concept Lineage: No Data Available
Predecessors: No Data Available
Obsolete Names: No Data Available
Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: = Quercus palustris - Quercus bicolor - Acer rubrum Flatwoods Forest (Faber-Langendoen 2001)
- Comer, Pat. Personal communication. Chief Terrestrial Ecologist. NatureServe, Western Regional Office, Boulder, CO.
- 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., J. Aldrich, J. Bacone, L. Casebere, and T. Post. 1988. Indiana natural community classification. Indiana Natural Heritage Program, Indianapolis, IN. Unpublished manuscript.
- Hop, K., J. Drake, A. Strassman, E. Hoy, J. Jakusz, S. Menard, and J. Dieck. 2013. National Park Service Vegetation Inventory Program: Cuyahoga Valley National Park, Ohio. Natural Resource Technical Report NPS/HTLN/NRT--2013/792. National Park Service, Fort Collins, CO. 302 pp.
- Hop, K., S. Lubinski, J. Dieck, J. Drake, and S. Menard. 2009. National Park Service Vegetation Inventory Program: Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, Indiana. USDI U.S. Geological Survey, La Crosse, WI, and NatureServe, St. Paul, MN. 312 pp.
- Kost, M. A., D. A. Albert, J. G. Cohen, B. S. Slaughter, R. K. Schillo, C. R. Weber, and K. A. Chapman. 2007. Natural communities of Michigan: Classification and description. Report No. 2007-21, Michigan Natural Features Inventory, Lansing. 314 pp. [http://web4.msue.msu.edu/mnfi/reports/2007-21_Natural_Communites_of_Michigan_Classification_and_Description.pdf]
- 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.
- Madany, M. H. 1981. A floristic survey of savannas in Illinois. Pages 177-181 in: R. L. Stuckey and K. J. Reese, editors. The prairie peninsula: In the "shadow" of Transeau. Proceedings of the Sixth North American Prairie Conference. Ohio Biological Survey. Biology Notes, No. 15, Columbus.
- Midwestern Ecology Working Group of NatureServe. No date. International Ecological Classification Standard: International Vegetation Classification. Terrestrial Vegetation. NatureServe, Minneapolis, MN.
- 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.