Print Report
CEGL005400 Fraxinus pennsylvanica - Ulmus americana - (Acer negundo, Tilia americana) Great Plains Floodplain Forest
Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Green Ash - American Elm - (Box-elder, American Basswood) Great Plains Floodplain Forest
Colloquial Name: Northern Great Plains Ash - Elm Floodplain Forest
Hierarchy Level: Association
Type Concept: This ash - elm floodplain forest is found in the northern Great Plains states and adjacent prairie provinces of west-central Canada. Stands occur primarily along higher terraces of river bottoms and floodplains and beside lakes and larger streams, where flooding is relatively brief. Soils are well-drained and moist. They are both organic and medium-textured to fine-textured mineral soils. The overstory is dominated by Fraxinus pennsylvanica and, at least prior to Dutch elm disease, Ulmus americana. Associates in parts of its range include Acer negundo, Acer saccharinum, Acer rubrum, Celtis occidentalis (rarely), and Tilia americana. The shrub/sapling layer, which is variable in structure and composition, may include Cornus alternifolia, Carpinus caroliniana, Cornus sericea, and Salix spp. The herbaceous ground cover contains Asclepias incarnata, Carex spp., Elymus virginicus, Eutrochium maculatum, Eupatorium perfoliatum, Impatiens capensis, Laportea canadensis, Rudbeckia laciniata, Toxicodendron radicans, and a variety of ferns, including Matteuccia struthiopteris, Osmunda claytoniana, and Osmunda cinnamomea. Diagnostic features include the dominance of Fraxinus pennsylvanica and Ulmus americana, lack of more eastern herbs (e.g., Osmunda claytoniana and Osmunda cinnamomea) and tree species (e.g., Fraxinus nigra, Juglans cinerea, Juglans nigra, Quercus bicolor), the infrequent and short flooding, and the presence of both upland and floodplain associates.
Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available
Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available
Classification Comments: This type (CEGL005400) is intended as a more species-poor and more Great Plains version of ~Fraxinus pennsylvanica - Ulmus spp. - Celtis occidentalis Floodplain Forest (CEGL002014)$$. These Great Plains stands may overlap with CEGL002014, but they are not likely to be species-rich. Species absent from this type (but present in ~Fraxinus nigra - Acer saccharinum Upper Great Lakes Floodplain Forest (CEGL005488)$$ include Osmunda claytoniana and Osmunda cinnamomea. In Minnesota, this type probably extends into the Red River Valley of Minnesota, where it could overlap with the Minnesota state type FFn57a (Minnesota DNR 2005b), ~Fraxinus nigra - Tilia americana - Populus tremuloides Wet-mesic Forest (CEGL005487)$$. But this association, rather than that one, is the expected type there and typically does not contain black ash (outside of range of that species). See also ~Acer saccharinum Upper Great Lakes Low Floodplain Forest (CEGL005489)$$ and its relation to FFn67a in the Minnesota classification (Minnesota DNR 2003).
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available
Floristics: The overstory is dominated by Fraxinus pennsylvanica and, at least prior to Dutch elm disease, Ulmus americana. Associates in parts of its range include Acer negundo, Acer saccharinum, Acer rubrum, Celtis occidentalis (rarely), and Tilia americana. The shrub/sapling layer, which is variable in structure and composition, may include Cornus alternifolia, Carpinus caroliniana, Cornus sericea, and Salix spp. The herbaceous ground cover contains Asclepias incarnata, Carex spp., Elymus virginicus, Eutrochium maculatum (= Eupatorium maculatum), Eupatorium perfoliatum, Impatiens capensis, Laportea canadensis, Rudbeckia laciniata, Toxicodendron radicans, and a variety of ferns, including Matteuccia struthiopteris (Eyre 1980).
Dynamics: This community may succeed cottonwood-willow forests on floodplains in the absence of flooding. Flooding and windthrow disturbances alter the vegetation structure and composition.
Environmental Description: This community occurs primarily along higher terraces of river bottoms and floodplains and beside lakes and larger streams, where flooding is relatively brief. Soils are well-drained and moist. They are both organic and medium-textured to fine-textured mineral soils. Rarely, soils are clays and gravels (Eyre 1980).
Geographic Range: This ash - elm floodplain forest is found in the northern midwestern United States and adjacent southern Canada, ranging from central and northern Minnesota and Wisconsin to southern Manitoba.
Nations: CA,US
States/Provinces: MB, ND, SD, WY
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.892811
Confidence Level: Low - Poorly Documented
Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available
Grank: G3G4
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.3 Temperate Flooded & Swamp Forest Formation | F026 | 1.B.3 |
| Division | 1.B.3.Na Eastern North American-Great Plains Flooded & Swamp Forest Division | D011 | 1.B.3.Na |
| Macrogroup | 1.B.3.Na.4 Eastern Cottonwood - Green Ash / Willow species Flooded & Swamp Forest | M028 | 1.B.3.Na.4 |
| Group | 1.B.3.Na.4.a Eastern Cottonwood - Green Ash / Western Wheatgrass Floodplain Forest Group | G147 | 1.B.3.Na.4.a |
| Alliance | A4131 Green Ash - American Elm - Eastern Cottonwood Floodplain Forest Alliance | A4131 | 1.B.3.Na.4.a |
| Association | CEGL005400 Green Ash - American Elm - (Box-elder, American Basswood) Great Plains Floodplain Forest | CEGL005400 | 1.B.3.Na.4.a |
Concept Lineage: original concept of CEGL002089 has drifted and become this one.
Predecessors: No Data Available
Obsolete Names: No Data Available
Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: = Fraxinus pennsylvanica - Ulmus americana - (Acer negundo, Tilia americana) Northern Forest (Faber-Langendoen 2001)
- 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.).
- Greenall, J. A. 1996. Manitoba''s terrestrial plant communities. MS Report 96-02. Manitoba Conservation Data Centre, Winnipeg.
- Midwestern Ecology Working Group of NatureServe. No date. International Ecological Classification Standard: International Vegetation Classification. Terrestrial Vegetation. NatureServe, Minneapolis, MN.
- NDNHI [North Dakota Natural Heritage Inventory]. 2018. Unpublished data. Vegetation classification of North Dakota. North Dakota Natural Heritage Inventory, North Dakota Parks & Recreation Department, Bismarck.
- SDNHP [South Dakota Natural Heritage Program]. 2018. Unpublished data. South Dakota Natural Heritage Program, Pierre, SD.
- WNDD [Wyoming Natural Diversity Database]. No date. Unpublished data on file. Wyoming Natural Diversity Database, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY.