Print Report
CEGL002451 Thuja occidentalis Limestone Cliff
Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Northern White-cedar Limestone Cliff
Colloquial Name: Northern White-cedar Limestone Cliff
Hierarchy Level: Association
Type Concept: This white-cedar cliff woodland community is found in the upper Great Lakes region of the United States and Canada, occasionally in upstate New York. Stands occur on steep, alkaline cliffs, typically of limestone or dolostone. The vegetation is an open-canopied woodland. The major tree dominant is Thuja occidentalis. Further information is needed to describe this type.
Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available
Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available
Classification Comments: This type is perhaps redundant, overlapping in concept with either moist ~Central Midwest-Interior Limestone - Dolostone Moist Cliff Vegetation (CEGL002292)$$ or ~Great Lakes Limestone - Dolostone Cliff Sparse Vegetation (CEGL002504)$$. Moist cliffs may typically contain woody vegetation, but it is not known whether this Thuja occidentalis woodland description adequately represents the woody vegetation. In Wisconsin, this is a very minor type, perhaps less than 100 acres. Some cliffs in Wisconsin and further east may contain a Thuja occidentalis - Pinus resinosa community. In Wisconsin, there is a single occurrence of a white-cedar-dominated dripping dolomite cliff community on a north-facing exposure above Bear Creek, a tributary of the lower Chippewa River in Pepin County. This is near the northern edge of the driftless area, but in "old" drift. The site is dramatically disjunct from other white-cedar populations, and was in poor condition. There are stands of white-cedar along the lower St. Croix River on both the Minnesota and Wisconsin side that can perhaps be characterized as outliers of the widespread cedar cliff populations occurring just to the north (E. Epstein pers. comm. 2000). See comparisons of northern Midwest stands to stands in Ohio by Kangas (1989). See Kelly and Larson (1997) for a striking presentation of the old-growth structure of white-cedar woodlands on cliff-faces.
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available
Floristics: The vegetation is an open-canopied woodland. The major tree dominant is Thuja occidentalis. Further information is needed to describe this type. See Kelly and Larson (1997) for a description of the old-growth structure of some of these cliffs along the Great Lakes.
Dynamics: No Data Available
Environmental Description: Stands occur on steep, alkaline cliffs, typically of limestone or dolostone.
Geographic Range: This white-cedar cliff woodland community is found in the upper Great Lakes region of the United States and Canada, ranging from Ontario and Michigan west to Wisconsin, with an eastern outlier in upstate New York.
Nations: CA,US
States/Provinces: MI, NY, ON, VT, WI
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.690049
Confidence Level: Low
Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available
Grank: G3
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 | A4006 Laurentian-Acadian-Great Lakes Alkaline Cliff Alliance | A4006 | 6.B.1.Na.1.b |
| Association | CEGL002451 Northern White-cedar Limestone Cliff | CEGL002451 | 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: = Thuja occidentalis Cliff Woodland (Faber-Langendoen 2001) [White Cedar Cliff Woodland]
= Upland White Cedar Forest (Southeast Section) (MNNHP 1993)
= Upland White Cedar Forest (Southeast Section) (MNNHP 1993)
- 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.).
- Kangas, P. 1989. Comparison of two northern white cedar (Thuja) forests. The Michigan Botanist 28:59-68.
- Kelly, P. E., and D. W. Larson. 1997. Dendroecological analysis of the population dynamics of an old-growth forest on cliff-faces of the Niagara Escarpment, Canada. Journal of Ecology 85:467-478.
- 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.
- 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]