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G655 Laurentian-Acadian Limestone Woodland Group
Type Concept Sentence: This group is made up of woodlands on limestone substrates including pavement (alvar), lake bluffs, talus or colluvial slopes, in the northeastern U.S. west to Wisconsin, and in southeastern Canada.
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Laurentian-Acadian Limestone Woodland Group
Colloquial Name: Laurentian-Acadian Limestone Woodland
Hierarchy Level: Group
Type Concept: This group comprises forests and woodlands on thin-soil limestone habitats, including pavement (including those associated with alvars) bluffs adjacent to lakes, cliffs, or talus and colluvial slopes, and found in the eastern parts of the Laurentian-Acadian mixed forest region of southeastern Canada and northeastern United States. Physiognomy in this group varies from evergreen conifers to mainly deciduous hardwoods. The canopy is generally open woodland, but also includes closed forests occurring on limestone bluffs and cliffs. Dominants include the conifers Thuja occidentalis and, less commonly, Juniperus virginiana and Pinus banksiana. Acer saccharum and Tilia americana are common species in mesic limestone habitats, along with Ostrya virginiana, Carya ovata, and Quercus rubra. Drier habitats are characterized by Quercus macrocarpa. Other associates may include Quercus muehlenbergii and Fraxinus americana. Characteristic shrub and herb species need to be described. In savanna conditions, the most abundant trees are Thuja occidentalis and Pinus banksiana. There may be fairly diverse shrub and herb layers similar to the alvar grasslands and shrublands. Understory plants of this group include Aquilegia canadensis, Carex eburnea, Cryptogramma stelleri, Cypripedium parviflorum, Cystopteris bulbifera, Dasiphora fruticosa ssp. floribunda, Packera paupercula, and many others.
Diagnostic Characteristics: Deciduous or coniferous woodlands on limestone substrates, including alvar, cliffs, bluff, talus and colluvial slopes, ranging from northern New England west to Wisconsin and north to southeastern Canada.
Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available
Classification Comments: The description provided here is incomplete and needs a thorough revision. Type does not occur in Atlantic Canada (S. Basquill pers. comm. 2015).
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: Alvar savannas are distinguished by their partial canopy of trees (most commonly needleleaf evergreen, but some broadleaf deciduous); savannas have from 10 to 25% cover of trees at least 5 m tall. Cover of shrubs, herbs, and nonvascular plants, and the amount of exposed bedrock are variable in this group. Woodlands farther south are placed in other related limestone woodland groups [see ~Northeastern Chinkapin Oak - Red-cedar Forest & Woodland Group (G016)$$] (Reschke et al. 1999). Closed forests dominated by Thuja occidentalis occur on limestone bluffs in northern New England and on the Niagara Escarpment in Ontario.
Floristics: In savanna conditions, the most abundant trees are Thuja occidentalis and Pinus banksiana; Larix laricina is a common associate. Other trees may include Acer saccharum, Ostrya virginiana, Pinus resinosa, Quercus muehlenbergii, and Tilia americana. This group has fairly diverse shrub and herb layers. The most abundant shrubs are dwarf-shrubs (under 0.5 m tall), including Dasiphora fruticosa ssp. floribunda and Juniperus horizontalis. Characteristic herbs are similar to little bluestem alvar grassland, including Carex eburnea, Carex richardsonii, Carex scirpoidea, Clinopodium arkansanum, Schizachyrium scoparium, and Sporobolus heterolepis. Prominent forbs include Aquilegia canadensis and Campanula rotundifolia. Minor variants include the dominant tree Carya ovata; other characteristic trees include Quercus macrocarpa, Fraxinus americana, and Ulmus thomasii.
Dynamics: Cool temperatures, drought, and fire are important factors maintaining this vegetation as open woodland. Droughts severe enough to kill up to 50% of woody vegetation have occurred in alvars in Ontario repeatedly in the last century (Catling 2014). Thuja occidentalis forests have achieved old-growth status on limestone bluffs in Vermont and on the Niagara Escarpment in Ontario. The trees are small and slow-growing, resulting in wood of greater strength than is usually seen in this species (Larson 2001).
Environmental Description: This group occurs on calcareous bedrock occurring as alvar (thin-soiled pavement), cliffs, lake bluffs, talus slopes, and colluvial slopes.
Geographic Range: This group is composed of forests and woodlands on thin-soil limestone habitats in the eastern parts of the Laurentian-Acadian mixed forest region of southeastern Canada and northeastern United States.
Nations: CA,US
States/Provinces: MI, NY, ON, QC?, VT, WI
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.877335
Confidence Level: Moderate
Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available
Grank: GNR
Greasons: No Data Available
| Type | Name | Database Code | Classification Code |
|---|---|---|---|
| Class | 1 Forest & Woodland Class | C01 | 1 |
| Subclass | 1.B Temperate & Boreal Forest & Woodland Subclass | S15 | 1.B |
| Formation | 1.B.2 Cool Temperate Forest & Woodland Formation | F008 | 1.B.2 |
| Division | 1.B.2.Na Eastern North American Forest & Woodland Division | D008 | 1.B.2.Na |
| Macrogroup | 1.B.2.Na.6 Eastern White Pine - Jack Pine - Northern Pin Oak Forest & Woodland Macrogroup | M159 | 1.B.2.Na.6 |
| Group | 1.B.2.Na.6.e Laurentian-Acadian Limestone Woodland Group | G655 | 1.B.2.Na.6.e |
| Alliance | A3296 Northern White-cedar Limestone Woodland Alliance | A3296 | 1.B.2.Na.6.e |
| Alliance | A3297 <i>Acer saccharum - Tilia americana</i> Rocky Woodland Alliance | A3297 | 1.B.2.Na.6.e |
| Alliance | A3298 Chinquapin Oak - Eastern Red-cedar Alvar Woodland Alliance | A3298 | 1.B.2.Na.6.e |
Concept Lineage: No Data Available
Predecessors: No Data Available
Obsolete Names: No Data Available
Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: < Alvar woodland (Catling 2014)
< Limestone bluff cedar - pine forest (Thompson and Sorenson 2000)
< Temperate calcareous cliff (Thompson and Sorenson 2000)
< Limestone bluff cedar - pine forest (Thompson and Sorenson 2000)
< Temperate calcareous cliff (Thompson and Sorenson 2000)
- Catling, P. M. 2014. Impact of the 2012 drought on woody vegetation invading alvar grasslands in the Burnt Lands Alvar, eastern Ontario. The Canadian Field-Naturalist 128:243-249.
- Catling, P. M., and V. R. Brownell. 1995. A review of the alvars of the Great Lakes Region: Distribution, floristic composition, biogeography, and protection. The Canadian Field Naturalist 109:143-171.
- 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]
- Thompson, E. H., and E. R. Sorenson. 2000. Wetland, woodland, wildland: A guide to the natural communities of Vermont. The Nature Conservancy and the Vermont Department of Fish and Wildlife. University Press of New England, Hanover, NH. 456 pp.