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CEGL002503 Great Lakes Sandstone Cliff Sparse Vegetation
Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Great Lakes Sandstone Cliff Sparse Vegetation
Colloquial Name: Great Lakes Sandstone Cliff
Hierarchy Level: Association
Type Concept: This sandstone cliff community is found in the northern Great Lakes shorelines of the United States and Canada. The substrate is Precambrian sandstone, which in Michigan is exposed along the southern shoreline of Lake Superior. Cliffs rise up over 50 m in places. Species composition varies somewhat, depending on sandstone type, but sandstone cliffs are very low in botanical diversity for a variety of reasons, including lack of soil for rooting, droughtiness on much of the rock surface, exposure to waves and ice, and in some places, unstable surface prone to wave erosion. Some portions of the cliff are moist from small streams or seepages. Jacobsville sandstone has cliff faces that are largely unvegetated, with mosses, lichens, and herbs concentrated in seeps and streams. Two common herbs are Sagina procumbens and Stellaria calycantha. Pinguicula vulgaris also grows on moist cliffs.
Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available
Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available
Classification Comments: Categories of moist versus dry are difficult to apply due to variability on the rock surface and the Great Lakes shoreline context. Instead, substrate type is used, with the granite - metamorphic cliffs placed in ~Granite - Metamorphic Great Lakes Shore Cliff Sparse Vegetation (CEGL005244)$$.
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available
Floristics: Species composition varies somewhat, depending on sandstone type, but sandstone cliffs are very low in botanical diversity for a variety of reasons, including lack of soil for rooting, droughtiness on much of the rock surface, exposure to waves and ice, and in some places, unstable surface prone to wave erosion. Some portions of the cliff are moist from small streams or seepages. Jacobsville sandstone has cliff faces that are largely unvegetated, with mosses, lichens, and herbs concentrated in seeps and streams. Two common herbs are Sagina procumbens and Stellaria calycantha. Pinguicula vulgaris also grows on moist cliffs (Albert et al. 1995).
Dynamics: Disturbances include exposure to waves and ice, and in some places, unstable surfaces prone to wave erosion (Albert et al. 1995).
Environmental Description: The substrate is Precambrian sandstone, which in Michigan is exposed along the southern shoreline of Lake Superior. Cliffs rise up over 50 m in places. Fog and wavespray are important environmental influences (Albert et al. 1995).
Geographic Range: This sandstone cliff community type is found in the northern Great Lakes shorelines of the United States and Canada, from Michigan and Wisconsin (Apostle Islands, northern Bayfield County along Lake Superior) to Ontario, possibly eastward to Pennsylvania.
Nations: CA,US
States/Provinces: MI, ON, WI
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.688099
Confidence Level: Low
Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available
Grank: G4G5
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.b Laurentian-Acadian-Great Lakes Cliff & Rock Vegetation Group | G839 | 6.B.1.Na.1.b |
| Alliance | A4007 Laurentian-Acadian-Great Lakes Acidic Cliff Alliance | A4007 | 6.B.1.Na.1.b |
| Association | CEGL002503 Great Lakes Sandstone Cliff Sparse Vegetation | CEGL002503 | 6.B.1.Na.1.b |
Concept Lineage: No Data Available
Predecessors: No Data Available
Obsolete Names: No Data Available
Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: = Sandstone Great Lakes Shore Cliff Sparse Vegetation (Faber-Langendoen 2001) [Great Lakes Bedrock Cliff Lake Superior Subtype]
- Albert, D. A., P. J. Comer, R. A. Corner, D. Cuthrell, M. Penskar, and M. Rabe. 1995. Bedrock shoreline survey of the Niagaran Escarpment in Michigan''s Upper Peninsula: Mackinac County to Delta County. Michigan Natural Features Inventory for Land and Water Management Division (grant # CD-0.02).
- 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.).
- Hop, K., S. Menard, J. Drake, S. Lubinski, and J. Dieck. 2010a. National Park Service Vegetation Inventory Program: Apostle Islands National Lakeshore, Wisconsin. Natural Resource Report NPS/GLKN/NRR-2010/199. National Park Service, Fort Collins, CO. 310 pp.
- Hop, K., S. Menard, J. Drake, S. Lubinski, and J. Dieck. 2010c. National Park Service Vegetation Inventory Program: Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, Michigan. Natural Resource Report NPS/GLKN/NRR-2010/201. National Park Service, Fort Collins, Colorado. 358 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.
- Midwestern Ecology Working Group of NatureServe. No date. International Ecological Classification Standard: International Vegetation Classification. Terrestrial Vegetation. NatureServe, Minneapolis, MN.
- ONHIC [Ontario Natural Heritage Information Centre]. 2018. Unpublished data. Ontario Natural Heritage Information Centre, Ministry of Natural Resources, Ontario, Canada.
- 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]