Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Sugar Maple - American Basswood / Hophornbeam / American Fly-honeysuckle Forest

Colloquial Name: Northern Sugar Maple - Basswood Forest

Hierarchy Level:  Association

Type Concept: This maple-basswood forest community type is found in northern Great Lakes region of the United States and Canada. Stands occur on deep, well-drained soils formed from glacial deposits, usually till. Soils are nutrient-rich loam, silt loam, or sandy loam. Slopes are generally gentle to moderate, but can sometimes be steep. The canopy contains a closed, deciduous tree layer that casts dense shade in summer and limits the growth of understory species. This results in a sparse shrub layer 1-2 m tall and the presence of many spring ephemerals in the herbaceous layer. Acer saccharum and Tilia americana are the most abundant trees, and together make up virtually the entire canopy in many stands. Other trees that may be found include Fraxinus pennsylvanica, Ostrya virginiana, Quercus rubra, Ulmus americana, and, in more eastern stands, Fagus grandifolia. Typical shrubs are Acer spicatum, Corylus americana, Dirca palustris, Hamamelis virginiana, Lonicera canadensis, and Viburnum acerifolium. The herbaceous stratum contains species such as Adiantum pedatum, Aralia nudicaulis, Eurybia macrophylla, Carex pensylvanica, Desmodium cuspidatum var. cuspidatum, Epipactis helleborine, Galium triflorum, Hepatica nobilis var. acuta, Laportea canadensis, Maianthemum canadense, Oryzopsis asperifolia, Trillium grandiflorum, and Uvularia grandiflora.

Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available

Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available

Classification Comments: Curtis'' (1959) most northern maple-basswood stands belong here (in northwest Ontario), and it is likely the most subboreal and northwestern of the northern hardwoods, as represented in Minnesota, the MNn47a,b (Sugar Maple-Basswood Forest type). This type is beyond the range of beech, hemlock, and white ash. Thus it is not expected to occur in northeastern Wisconsin, Michigan or central Ontario(except perhaps towards the hemi-boreal zone?). The community most similar to this type (CEGL002458) going east and south is the more wide-ranging ~Pinus resinosa - Pinus strobus / Vaccinium spp. Rocky Woodland (CEGL005492)$$. This community is similar to ~Acer saccharum - Tilia americana / Ostrya virginiana - Carpinus caroliniana Forest (CEGL002062)$$, but the canopy of this community is typically less diverse, with much less presence of some of the southern tree species found in the latter, such as Juglans nigra, Carya spp., and many Quercus spp. (Janssen 1967). This community also lacks appreciable amounts of Betula alleghaniensis and Tsuga canadensis which are found to the east and north in similar forests, such as ~Acer saccharum - Betula alleghaniensis - Tilia americana Forest (CEGL002457)$$ and ~Tsuga canadensis - Acer saccharum - Betula alleghaniensis Forest (CEGL005044)$$. In Minnesota, all stands of Acer saccharum - northern hardwoods in the Lake Superior Highlands region are placed in CEGL002457, but it may be that the more southern stands should be placed within this type. In Ontario this type occurs in Site Region 5, but may extend into Site Region 6.

Similar NVC Types: No Data Available

note: No Data Available