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CEGL005251 Acer spicatum - Thuja occidentalis - Betula papyrifera / Taxus canadensis Alkaline Cliff Scrub

Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available

Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Mountain Maple - Northern White-cedar - Paper Birch / Canada Yew Alkaline Cliff Scrub

Colloquial Name: Eastern Boreal & Laurentian Alkaline Moist Cliff Scrub

Hierarchy Level:  Association

Type Concept: This boreal and Laurentian cliff forest is found in the eastern boreal regions and Laurentian regions of Canada and United States. At Isle Royale National Park in Michigan, this community occupies sites on very steep talus slopes or cliffs, typically facing northwest, and thus is relatively moist. Bedrock is igneous/metamorphic and may be either granite or basalt/diabase, and is circumneutral to somewhat alkaline. The vegetation forms a closed canopy forested scrub, with about 80% canopy cover. Acer spicatum is dominant in the canopy, with over 50% cover; other tree species present include Thuja occidentalis, Betula papyrifera, and Picea glauca. There is about 30% cover of short shrubs; Taxus canadensis and Rubus parviflorus are the most abundant shrubs. Cover of herbs is about 30%; the most abundant herbs are Gymnocarpium dryopteris and Mitella nuda. Cover of nonvascular plants is about 20%; Pleurozium schreberi is a common moss.

Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available

Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available

Classification Comments: Type may be either shrubland or stunted trees, hence "scrub." See also Ontario type Mountain Maple Carbonate Talus Shrubland, ~Acer spicatum Carbonate Talus Shrubland (CEGL005067)$$. The substrate characteristics need review. Should both granite and basalt/diabase cliffs be placed here? This type may overlap with ~Great Lakes Basalt - Diabase Cliff Sparse Vegetation (CEGL005191)$$ and ~Granite - Metamorphic Great Lakes Shore Cliff Sparse Vegetation (CEGL005244)$$, but those types are restricted to the Great Lakes shore. Type may also overlap with White Cedar Cliff Woodland, ~Thuja occidentalis Cliff Woodland (CEGL002451)$$, but that type is not expected to have the boreal species present in this type. In Wisconsin, the type may occur in northeast Wisconsin (Menominee River) and northwest Wisconsin (Apostle Islands, Penokee Range), as well as on the Door Peninsula (E. Epstein pers. comm. 1999).

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

Floristics: At Isle Royale National Park in Michigan, the vegetation forms a closed canopy forested scrub, with about 80% canopy cover. Acer spicatum is dominant in the canopy, with over 50% cover; other tree species present include Thuja occidentalis, Betula papyrifera, and Picea glauca. There is about 30% cover of short shrubs; Taxus canadensis and Rubus parviflorus are the most abundant shrubs. Cover of herbs is about 30%; the most abundant herbs are Gymnocarpium dryopteris and Mitella nuda. Cover of nonvascular plants is about 20%; Pleurozium schreberi is a common moss (C. Reschke pers. comm. 1999). In Wisconsin, similar woody species occur, and herbs include Cystopteris fragilis and Campanula rotundifolia (E. Epstein pers. comm. 1999).

Dynamics:  No Data Available
Environmental Description:  At Isle Royale National Park in Michigan, stands occupy sites in the northeastern part of the park on very steep talus slopes or cliffs, typically facing northwest, and thus are relatively moist (C. Reschke pers. comm. 1999). Bedrock is igneous/metamorphic and may be either granite or basalt/diabase, but is circumneutral to alkaline.
Geographic Range: This boreal and Laurentian cliff forest is found in the eastern boreal regions of Canada and the upper Great Lakes region of the United States and Canada.

Nations: CA,US

States/Provinces:  MI, MN, ON, QC?, WI


Confidence Level: Moderate

Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available
Grank: GNR

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.Nc Eastern North American Grassland & Shrubland Division D024 2.B.2.Nc
Macrogroup 2.B.2.Nc.4 Laurentian -Acidic Rocky Scrub & Grassland Macrogroup M505 2.B.2.Nc.4
Group 2.B.2.Nc.4.a Laurentian-Acadian Acidic Scrub & Grassland Group G788 2.B.2.Nc.4.a
Alliance A3361 Mountain Maple - White Spruce / Bluebead Scrub Alliance A3361 2.B.2.Nc.4.a
Association CEGL005251 Mountain Maple - Northern White-cedar - Paper Birch / Canada Yew Alkaline Cliff Scrub CEGL005251 2.B.2.Nc.4.a
Concept Lineage: No Data Available

Predecessors: No Data Available

Obsolete Names: No Data Available

Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: = Acer spicatum - Thuja occidentalis - Betula papyrifera / Taxus canadensis Shrubland (Faber-Langendoen 2001) [Boreal Forest Boreal Cliff Scrub]
Concept Author(s): D. Faber-Langendoen (2001)

Author of Description: C. Reschke and D. Faber-Langendoen

Acknowledgements: No Data Available

Version Date: 06-28-13
  • CDPNQ [Centre de données sur le patrimoine naturel du Québec]. No date. Unpublished data. Centre de données sur le patrimoine naturel du Québec, Québec.
  • Epstein, Eric. Personal communication. Community Ecologist, Wisconsin Natural Heritage Program, Madison, WI.
  • 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.).
  • 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.
  • 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]. 2003. Field guide to the native plant communities of Minnesota: The Laurentian Mixed Forest Province. 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.
  • Reschke, Carol. Personal communication. Ecologist, New York Natural Heritage Program. New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, Latham, NY.
  • TNC [The Nature Conservancy]. 1999b. USGS-NPS Vegetation Mapping Program: Classification of the vegetation of Isle Royale National Park. The Nature Conservancy, Midwest Regional Office, Minneapolis, MN, and International Headquarters, Arlington, VA. 143 pp.
  • WDNR [Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources]. 2015. The ecological landscapes of Wisconsin: An assessment of ecological resources and a guide to planning sustainable management. PUB-SS-1131 2015. Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, Madison. [http://dnr.wi.gov/topic/landscapes/Book.html]