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G089 Juniperus horizontalis - Ammophila breviligulata Coastal Dune & Grassland Group
Type Concept Sentence: This group is found on dunes within the Great Lakes and nearby New England lakes of the United States and Canada, and includes sparsely vegetated to open grasslands and shrublands, with scattered trees, influenced by sand deposition, sand erosion, and distance from the lake.
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Creeping Juniper - American Beachgrass Coastal Dune & Grassland Group
Colloquial Name: Great Lakes Dune
Hierarchy Level: Group
Type Concept: This group occurs along the Great Lakes shores region of the United States and Canada. It often occurs within dunal complexes but can also occur on coastal shorelines, on sandy former lake embayments, and sandplains. Component plant communities vary from sparsely vegetated to communities dominated by a combination of grasses, shrubs, and scattered trees, depending on the degree of sand deposition, sand erosion, and distance from the lake. Depositional areas, where Great Lakes beachgrass foredunes and coastal beaches are found, are dominated by Ammophila breviligulata (or in the eastern part of the range Ammophila champlainensis). Erosional areas, such as slacks in blowouts and dunefields, may be dominated by Calamovilfa longifolia, and stabilized areas by Schizachyrium scoparium. Low evergreen shrubs (Arctostaphylos uva-ursi, Juniperus communis, Juniperus horizontalis) occupy dune crests and also the ground layer in the savanna edge of dunes and sandplains. Deciduous shrubs are dominant in many areas and include Prunus pumila, Salix cordata, and Salix myricoides. Populus deltoides can form an open overstory canopy, while Juniperus communis, Juniperus horizontalis, Arctostaphylos uva-ursi, and Koeleria macrantha form a scattered ground layer along low dunefields and sandplains with more advanced plant succession that often follows the first open dunes and swales. Due to lakeshore proximity, heavy winds commonly affect this group.
Diagnostic Characteristics: This group is found solely within the Great Lakes region of the United States and Canada and is composed of dwarf-shrublands, tall shrublands, grasslands, open woodlands, or sparsely vegetated beaches, or a complex of any of these communities depending on the distance from the lake along with the amount of sand deposition or erosion.
Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available
Classification Comments: Documented examples of this group are found at Apostle Islands National Lakeshore, Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore (especially along Grand Sable Dune), Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, and Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: Examples of this group may include dwarf-shrublands, tall shrublands, grasslands, open woodlands, or sparsely vegetated beaches, or a complex of any of these communities. These vegetative types are grouped according to substrate and proximity to Great Lakes shorelines.
Floristics: This group contains one or a combination of grassland, dwarf-shrubland, shrubland, and open-treed savanna communities. Ammophila breviligulata (or in the eastern part of the range Ammophila champlainensis) occurs in many examples of this group and may range from sparse to moderate cover. It can form monocultures in some areas. Erosional areas, such as slacks in blowouts and dunefields, may be dominated by Calamovilfa longifolia, and stabilized areas by Schizachyrium scoparium. Low evergreen shrubs such as Arctostaphylos uva-ursi, Juniperus communis, and Juniperus horizontalis occupy dune crests and also the ground layer in the savanna edge of dunes and sandplains. Prunus pumila, Salix cordata, and Salix myricoides (= Salix glaucophylloides) may occur mixed with other species or as monocultures. Populus deltoides can form a scattered overstory canopy in some examples, while Juniperus communis, Juniperus horizontalis, Arctostaphylos uva-ursi, and Koeleria macrantha form a scattered ground layer along low dunefields and sandplains with more advanced plant succession that often follows the first open dunes and swales.
Dynamics: This group is influenced by wind deposition including active dune processes of wind-caused "blowouts" and subsequent restabilization. Environmental processes include sand deposition, sand erosion, and stabilization. Open forested beach ridges may support fire regimes characteristic of similar upland forest systems outside of these complexes. Due to proximity to lakeshores, heavy winds and resultant windthrow are common and changes in water levels and wave disturbances can affect this group.
Environmental Description: This group occurs on gently sloping beaches, sandy lake embayments, sandplains, and dunes with any aspect. Sites range from somewhat steep, west-facing dune summits and kame terraces to moderate to gentle north- and northwest-facing shoreline to flat to moderate west- and south-facing transverse dunes. Dunal blowouts also are contained within this group. Soils are rapidly drained sand. Surficial geology is lacustrine sand and gravel and coarse-textured glacial till.
Geographic Range: This group occurs along the Great Lakes shores of the United States and Canada ranging from Wisconsin to Ontario and New York in the Great Lakes, and in isolated occurrences along the shores of Lake Champlain, Vermont.
Nations: CA,US
States/Provinces: IL, IN, MI, MN, NH, NY, OH, ON, PA, VT, WI
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.837087
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.4 Temperate to Polar Scrub & Herb Coastal Vegetation Formation | F005 | 2.B.4 |
| Division | 2.B.4.Na Eastern North American Coastal Scrub & Herb Vegetation Division | D026 | 2.B.4.Na |
| Macrogroup | 2.B.4.Na.2 American Beachgrass - Sea-oats - Seaside Goldenrod Dune & Grassland Macrogroup | M057 | 2.B.4.Na.2 |
| Group | 2.B.4.Na.2.d Creeping Juniper - American Beachgrass Coastal Dune & Grassland Group | G089 | 2.B.4.Na.2.d |
| Alliance | A1493 Eastern Cottonwood Dune Woodland Alliance | A1493 | 2.B.4.Na.2.d |
| Alliance | A3719 American Beachgrass - Juniper species Great Lakes Dune Grassland Alliance | A3719 | 2.B.4.Na.2.d |
Concept Lineage: No Data Available
Predecessors: No Data Available
Obsolete Names: No Data Available
Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: < Wooded Dune and Swale Complex (Kost et al. 2007)
- Albert, D. A. 1995b. Regional landscape ecosystems of Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin: A working map and classification. General Technical Report NC-178. USDA Forest Service, North Central Forest Experiment Station, St. Paul, MN. 250 pp. plus maps.
- Comer, P., and D. Albert. 1993. A survey of wooded dune and swale complexes in Michigan. Michigan Natural Features Inventory, Natural Heritage Program. Lansing, MI. 158 pp.
- Faber-Langendoen, D., J. Drake, S. Gawler, M. Hall, C. Josse, G. Kittel, S. Menard, C. Nordman, M. Pyne, M. Reid, L. Sneddon, K. Schulz, J. Teague, M. Russo, K. Snow, and P. Comer, editors. 2010-2019a. Divisions, Macrogroups and Groups for the Revised U.S. National Vegetation Classification. NatureServe, Arlington, VA. plus appendices. [in preparation]
- 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]
- Lichter, J. 1998. Primary succession and forest development on coastal Lake Michigan sand dunes. Ecological Monographs 68(4):487-510.
- MNFI [Michigan Natural Features Inventory]. 1999. Natural community abstract for wooded dune and swale complex. Lansing, MI. 6 pp. Compiled by D. A. Albert and P. J. Comer.