Print Report
A4006 Laurentian-Acadian-Great Lakes Alkaline Cliff Alliance
Type Concept Sentence: This alliance is found in the Great Lakes region of the U.S. and Canada east to northern New England where exposed bedrock dominates the cliff face. The bedrock may consist of alkaline igneous, metamorphic, or sedimentary rocks. Overall, vegetation varies from sparse nonvascular vegetation to open-treed or shrubby communities.
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Laurentian-Acadian-Great Lakes Alkaline Cliff Alliance
Colloquial Name: Laurentian-Acadian-Great Lakes Alkaline Cliff
Hierarchy Level: Alliance
Type Concept: Overall, vegetation varies from sparse nonvascular vegetation to open-treed or shrubby communities. Nonvascular plants (lichens, mosses, and liverworts) are common on the exposed cliff face, but vascular plant cover is sparse and patchy, confined to cracks or between boulders at the base of the slope where thin soils accumulate beneath talus. Overhanging trees from the ridgetop may include Acer saccharum, Thuja occidentalis, and Abies balsamea, and stunted individuals of Betula papyrifera may occur on the cliff face. Other woody plants may include Shepherdia canadensis, Diervilla lonicera, Acer spicatum, and others. Common herbs may include Asplenium trichomanes, Geranium robertianum, Maianthemum canadense, Pellaea glabella, Polypodium virginianum, Pteridium aquilinum, and Trientalis borealis. This alliance is found in the Great Lakes region of the U.S. and Canada east to northern New England where exposed bedrock dominates the cliff face. The bedrock may consist of alkaline igneous, metamorphic, or sedimentary rocks. Alkaline rocky cliffs are predominantly dolostone when associated with the Niagaran Escarpment along the northern Lake Michigan and Lake Huron shorelines, perhaps best developed on Drummond Island and adjacent Ontario islands. Alkaline basalts characterize these systems along portions of the Lake Superior shoreline, with a generally distinguishable flora from those on dolostone.
Diagnostic Characteristics: Sparse vegetation of vertical or near-vertical cliff faces on limestone rock formations in the Great Lakes and northern New England region.
Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available
Classification Comments: Great Lakes alkaline shore may be closely related to this type. [See alliances in ~Eastern North American Inland Beach & Rocky Shore Group (G342)$$.]
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available
Floristics: Description based on Kost et al. (2007): Nonvascular plants (lichens, mosses, and liverworts) are common on the exposed cliff face, but vascular plant cover is sparse and patchy, confined to cracks or between boulders at the base of the slope where thin soils accumulate beneath talus. Overhanging trees from the ridgetop may include Acer saccharum, Thuja occidentalis, and Abies balsamea, and stunted individuals of Betula papyrifera may occur on the cliff face. Other woody plants may include Shepherdia canadensis, Diervilla lonicera, Acer spicatum, and others. Common herbs may include Asplenium trichomanes, Geranium robertianum, Maianthemum canadense, Pellaea glabella, Polypodium virginianum, Pteridium aquilinum, and Trientalis borealis.
Dynamics: No Data Available
Environmental Description: The bedrock may consist of alkaline igneous, metamorphic, or sedimentary rocks. Alkaline rocky cliffs are predominantly dolostone when associated with the Niagaran Escarpment along the northern Lake Michigan and Lake Huron shorelines, perhaps best developed on Drummond Island and adjacent Ontario islands. Alkaline basalts characterize these systems along portions of the Lake Superior shoreline, with a generally distinguishable flora from those on dolostone.
Geographic Range: This alliance is found in the Great Lakes region of the U.S. and Canada.
Nations: CA,US
States/Provinces: MA, ME, MI, MN, NH, NY, ON, QC, VT, WI
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.900057
Confidence Level: Low
Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available
Grank: GNR
Greasons: No Data Available
Concept Lineage: Concept = that of System CES201.995, but this alliance does not include the rocky shore part of the concept, only the cliff. See G342.
Predecessors: No Data Available
Obsolete Names: No Data Available
Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: ? Boreal Calcareous Cliff (Thompson and Sorenson 2000)
? Montane Circumneutral Cliff (Sperduto and Nichols 2004)
? Temperate Calcareous Cliff (Thompson and Sorenson 2000)
? Montane Circumneutral Cliff (Sperduto and Nichols 2004)
? Temperate Calcareous Cliff (Thompson and Sorenson 2000)
- Faber-Langendoen, D., J. Drake, M. Hall, G. Kittel, S. Menard, C. Nordman, M. Pyne, M. Reid, M. Russo, K. Schulz, L. Sneddon, K. Snow, and J. Teague. 2013-2019b. Screening alliances for induction into the U.S. National Vegetation Classification: Part 1 - Alliance concept review. NatureServe, Arlington, VA.
- Sperduto, D. D., and W. F. Nichols. 2004. Natural communities of New Hampshire: A guide and classification. New Hampshire Natural Heritage Bureau, DRED Division of Forests and Lands, Concord. 242 pp.
- Swain, P. C., and J. B. Kearsley. 2011. Classification of the natural communities of Massachusetts. Version 1.4. Natural Heritage & Endangered Species Program, Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife, Westborough, MA. [http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/dfg/dfw/natural-heritage/natural-communities/classification-of-natural-communities.html]
- 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.