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Ecological site F057XY021MN

Loamy Upland Moist Hardwood Forest

Last updated: 10/03/2023
Accessed: 06/30/2026

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General information

Provisional. A provisional ecological site description has undergone quality control and quality assurance review. It contains a working state and transition model and enough information to identify the ecological site.

MLRA notes

Major Land Resource Area (MLRA): 057X–Northern Minnesota Gray Drift

The Northern Minnesota Gray Drift (57) is located within the Northern Lakes Forest and Forage Region. This area is entirely in north-central Minnesota and makes up about 9,785 square miles (Figure 1). The entire area is covered by Wisconsin-age glacial drift. The glacial deposits are from four major ice lobes-Des Moines, Rainy, Superior, and Wadena. The landscape developed through a series of glaciations and the subsequent retreating and wasting of the ice sheets, which resulted in a complex pattern of moraines, outwash plains, drumlins, lake plains and drainages. Lakes, ponds and marshes are common. The thickness of the glacial till ranges from 90 to 185 meters. Some areas of these deposits are overlain by outwash or lacustrine sediments. Some depressional areas have an accumulation of organic matter. The organic deposits are more than 2.5 meters thick in some areas. Elevation ranges from 300 to 500 meters across the area. (USDA-NRCS 2006)

Prior to settlement, the vegetation in this area was mainly a mixture of deciduous trees and conifers. White Pine and red pine grew on moraines. Jack pine was dominant on outwash plains and sandy lake plains. Red oak, sugar maple, and basswood grew in sheltered areas close to lakes. Forested lowlands were dominated by black spruce, tamarack, white cedar, and black ash. Wetlands that were not forested were dominated by sedge meadow communities. The western part of the area was dominated by tall prairie grasses. Most of this area is still forested today, aspen as become the most common species both in pure stands and mixed stands with birch, maple, oak, white spruce, and red pine. (USDA-NRCS 2006)

The dominant soil orders in this MLRA are Alfisols, Entisols, and Histisols, with some Mollisols in the westernmost part of the area. The soils in the area have a frigid soil temperature regime; aquic or udic soil moisture regime, and mixed mineralogy. Their natural drainage class is related to landscape position. In general, the Alfisols formed in till on moraines, Entisols formed in outwash on moraines and outwash plains, and Histosols formed in organic material over outwash or till on moraines or outwash plains. (USDA-NRCS 2006)

Classification relationships

Major Land Resource Area (MLRA): Northern Minnesota Gray Drift (57) (USDA Handbook 296, 2006)

USFS Subregions: Northern Minnesota Drift & Lake Plain Section (212N); Chippewa Plains Subsection (212Na), Pine Moraines & Outwash Plains Subsections (212Nc), St. Louis Moraines Subsection (212Nb); Minnesota & NE Iowa Morainal Section (222M); Hardwood Hills Subsection (222Ma); Northern Superior Uplands Section (212L); Nashwauk Uplands Subsection (212Lc); Northern Minnesota & Ontario Peatlands Section (212M); Littlefork-Vermillion Uplands Subsection (212Ma) (Cleland et al. 2007).

US EPA Level IV Ecoregion: Itasca and St. Louis Moraines (50q); Chippewa Plains (50r); Nashwauk/Marcell Moraines and Uplands (50s); Alexandria Moraines and Detroit Lakes Outwash Plain (51j); McGrath Till Plain and Drumlins (51k); Wadena/Todd Drumlins and Osakis Till Plain (51l)(U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2013)

Ecological site concept

Loamy Upland Moist Hardwood Forest are widespread throughout the entire MLRA 57, and typically occur on summit, shoulders and backslope hillslope positions on moraines and till plains. These sites typically exist on soils with loamy textures of loam, sandy loam, sandy clay loam or fine sandy loam within a depth of 50 centimeters.

Associated sites

F057XY017MN	Steep Loamy Upland Forest These sites occur on summit, shoulders and backslope hillslope positions with slopes greater than 15 percent on moraines These sites typically exist on soils with loamy textures of loam, silt loam, silty clay loam, clay loam, sandy clay loam, sandy loam, fine sandy loam or very fine sandy loam within a depth of 50 centimeters.
F057XY015MN	Wet Mixed Forest These sites occur on footslope and toeslope hillslope positions, drainageways surrounded by uplands or on the edge of uplands grading to very poorly drained peatland soils. These sites typically exist on loamy and occasionally sandy moraines and till plains. Parent material is calcareous fine to loamy textured glacial till, stratified material and occasionally sandy. Soils are somewhat poorly to poorly drained soils with grey soil color or grey-mottles shallow within the soil profile indicative of high local water tables.

F057XY017MN

Steep Loamy Upland Forest

These sites occur on summit, shoulders and backslope hillslope positions with slopes greater than 15 percent on moraines These sites typically exist on soils with loamy textures of loam, silt loam, silty clay loam, clay loam, sandy clay loam, sandy loam, fine sandy loam or very fine sandy loam within a depth of 50 centimeters.

F057XY015MN

Wet Mixed Forest

These sites occur on footslope and toeslope hillslope positions, drainageways surrounded by uplands or on the edge of uplands grading to very poorly drained peatland soils. These sites typically exist on loamy and occasionally sandy moraines and till plains. Parent material is calcareous fine to loamy textured glacial till, stratified material and occasionally sandy. Soils are somewhat poorly to poorly drained soils with grey soil color or grey-mottles shallow within the soil profile indicative of high local water tables.

Similar sites

F057XY020MN	Fine Upland Moist Hardwood Forest These sites occur on summit, shoulders and backslope hillslope positions on moraines and till plains, and occasionally on gentle to steeper sloping areas of glacial lake plains. These sites typically exist on soils with fine textured clayey and silty textures of clay, silty clay, silty clay loam, silt loam, very fine sandy loam or loamy very fine sand within a depth of 50 centimeters. The underlying parent material is generally fine or medium textured glacial till; or fine textured clayey or silty glacial lacustrine sediments with generally less than 5 percent rock fragments within a depth of 100 centimeters. .

F057XY020MN

Fine Upland Moist Hardwood Forest

These sites occur on summit, shoulders and backslope hillslope positions on moraines and till plains, and occasionally on gentle to steeper sloping areas of glacial lake plains. These sites typically exist on soils with fine textured clayey and silty textures of clay, silty clay, silty clay loam, silt loam, very fine sandy loam or loamy very fine sand within a depth of 50 centimeters. The underlying parent material is generally fine or medium textured glacial till; or fine textured clayey or silty glacial lacustrine sediments with generally less than 5 percent rock fragments within a depth of 100 centimeters. .

Table 1. Dominant plant species

Tree	(1) Acer saccharum (2) Tilia americana
Shrub	(1) Cornus (2) Corylus cornuta
Herbaceous	(1) Aralia nudicaulis (2) Eurybia macrophylla

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Physiographic features

Loamy Upland Moist Hardwood Forest are widespread throughout the entire MLRA 57, and typically occur on summit, shoulders and backslope hillslope positions on moraines and till plains.

Table 2. Representative physiographic features

Hillslope profile	(1) Summit (2) Backslope (3) Shoulder
Landforms	(1) Moraine (2) Till plain
Runoff class	Medium to high
Flooding frequency	None
Ponding frequency	None
Elevation	600 – 2000 ft
Slope	0 – 25 %
Water table depth	20 – 60 in
Aspect	Aspect is not a significant factor

Climatic features

In general, MLRA 57 has cold winters and warm summers. About 65 percent of the annual precipitation falls as rain during the 5-month growing season (May through September), and an additional 18 percent falls as snow.

Table 3 Representative climatic features

Frost-free period (characteristic range)	100-120 days
Freeze-free period (characteristic range)	130-150 days
Precipitation total (characteristic range)	30-30 in
Frost-free period (actual range)	80-130 days
Freeze-free period (actual range)	120-160 days
Precipitation total (actual range)	30-30 in
Frost-free period (average)	110 days
Freeze-free period (average)	140 days
Precipitation total (average)	30 in

Characteristic range

Actual range

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Figure 1. Monthly precipitation range

Characteristic range

Actual range

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Figure 2. Monthly minimum temperature range

Characteristic range

Actual range

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Figure 3. Monthly maximum temperature range

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Figure 4. Monthly average minimum and maximum temperature

Figure 5. Annual precipitation pattern

Figure 6 Annual average temperature pattern

Climate stations used

(1) BEMIDJI [USC00210643], Bemidji, MN
(2) BLACKDUCK [USC00210809], Blackduck, MN
(3) COLLEGEVILLE ST JOHN [USC00211691], Avon, MN
(4) LONG PRAIRIE [USC00214861], Long Prairie, MN
(5) NEW YORK MILLS [USC00215902], New York Mills, MN
(6) TAMARAC WILDLIFE REF [USC00218191], Rochert, MN

Soil features

These sites typically exist on soils with loamy textures of loam, sandy loam, sandy clay loam or fine sandy loam within a depth of 50 centimeters. The underlying parent material is generally medium textured till, sandy loam till or stratified materials with generally less than 35 percent rock fragments within a depth of 100 centimeters. Soils are well to moderately well drained with rust and gray redoximorphic features and or depth to seasonal water table between 50 to greater than 150 centimeters. Soil series representing this ecological site include: Balmlake, Kandota, Nebish, Snellman, Wykeham, and Holdingford, among others.

Table 4. Representative soil features

Parent material	(1) Glaciolacustrine deposits (2) Till
Surface texture	(1) Sandy loam (2) Loam (3) Fine sandy loam (4) Sandy clay loam
Drainage class	Moderately well drained to well drained
Permeability class	Moderately slow to moderately rapid
Soil depth	80 – 0 in
Surface fragment cover <=3"	0 – 9 %
Surface fragment cover >3"	0 – 6 %
Available water capacity (0-60in)	4.2 – 7.6 in
Calcium carbonate equivalent (0-40in)	0 – 5 %
Soil reaction (1:1 water) (0-40in)	5.1 – 8.4
Subsurface fragment volume <=3" (0-40in)	0 – 11 %
Subsurface fragment volume >3" (0-40in)	0 – 6 %

Ecological dynamics

Plant communities typically dominated by sugar maple, basswood, and northern red oak, or mixtures of paper birch, sugar maple, basswood, and quaking aspen. Understory typically includes sugar maple saplings as well as beaked hazelnut, chokecherry, pagoda dogwood, fly honeysuckle, and balsam fir; with the forb layer including wild sarsaparilla, large leaf aster, mountain rice grass, and rose twisted stalk to mention a few.

State and transition model

More interactive model formats are also available. View Interactive Models
Click on state and transition labels to scroll to the respective text

Ecosystem states

1. Reference State

2. Logged State

T1A	-	Mechanical removal of tree species for timber harvest.

State 1 submodel, plant communities

1.1. Paper Birch/Quaking Aspen/Sugar Maple (Early Successional)

1.2. Sugar Maple/White Spruce/Basswood (Mid-Successional)

1.3. Paper Birch/Sugar Maple/White Spruce (Late Successional)

1.1A	-	Lack of fire/blow downs (35-95 years)
1.2A	-	Increased low intensity fire frequency and blow downs (<35 years)
1.2B	-	Lack of fire/blow downs (95-195 years)
1.3B	-	Stand replacing fire
1.3A	-	Increased low intensity fire frequency and blow downs (<95 years)

State 2 submodel, plant communities

2.1. Post-Logging

2.2. Seeded

2.1A	-	Planting of desired species and herbicide use.
2.2A	-	Harvest of tree species upon desired growth stage.

State 1
Reference State

The reference state of the Loamy Upland Moist Hardwood Forest ecological site consists of three forested plant communities in varying successional levels.

Community 1.1
Paper Birch/Quaking Aspen/Sugar Maple (Early Successional)

Young forests recovering from fire or wind, notable quaking aspen dominance (0-55 years).

Dominant plant species

paper birch (Betula papyrifera), tree
quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides), tree
sugar maple (Acer saccharum), tree
northern red oak (Quercus rubra), tree
basswood (Tilia), tree

Community 1.2
Sugar Maple/White Spruce/Basswood (Mid-Successional)

A transitional period marked with a decline in quaking aspen stand replacement. Along with development of understory coniferous species (55-95 years).

Dominant plant species

sugar maple (Acer saccharum), tree
white spruce (Picea glauca), tree
basswood (Tilia), tree

Community 1.3
Paper Birch/Sugar Maple/White Spruce (Late Successional)

Mature forest with prominent mixed canopy (95+ years).

Dominant plant species

paper birch (Betula papyrifera), tree
sugar maple (Acer saccharum), tree
white spruce (Picea glauca), tree
quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides), tree
northern red oak (Quercus rubra), tree

Pathway 1.1A
Community 1.1 to 1.2

Lack of fire/blow downs (35-95 years)

Pathway 1.2A
Community 1.2 to 1.1

Increased low intensity fire frequency and blow downs (<35 years)

Pathway 1.2B
Community 1.2 to 1.3

Lack of fire/blow downs (95+ years)

Pathway 1.3B
Community 1.3 to 1.1

Stand replacing fire

Pathway 1.3A
Community 1.3 to 1.2

Increased low intensity fire frequency and blow downs (<95 years)

State 2
Logged State

Removal of tree species for timber harvest leaves an open canopy with very disturbed understory vegetation. Shrubs dominate immediately post logging and often prevent tree's from re-establishing quickly.

Community 2.1
Post-Logging

Community 2.2
Seeded

Reseeded to a forested site with desired timber species.

Pathway 2.1A
Community 2.1 to 2.2

Planting of desired species for future timber harvest and herbicide use to prevent shrubs from dominating.

Pathway 2.2A
Community 2.2 to 2.1

Harvest of tree species upon desired growth stage.

Transition T1A
State 1 to 2

Mechanical removal of tree species for timber harvest.

Additional community tables

Table 5. Community 1.1 plant community composition

Group	Common name	Symbol	Scientific name	Annual production ()	Foliar cover (%)

Table 6. Community 1.2 plant community composition

Group	Common name	Symbol	Scientific name	Annual production ()	Foliar cover (%)

Table 7. Community 1.3 plant community composition

Group	Common name	Symbol	Scientific name	Annual production ()	Foliar cover (%)

Table 8. Community 2.1 plant community composition

Group	Common name	Symbol	Scientific name	Annual production ()	Foliar cover (%)

Table 9. Community 2.2 plant community composition

Group	Common name	Symbol	Scientific name	Annual production ()	Foliar cover (%)

Supporting information

Inventory data references

Information presented was derived from Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Field Guide to the Native Plant Communities of Minnesota, USDA-NRCS soil survey information, and USDA Plants Database. Relationship to Other Established Classifications: MN DNR Native Plant Community (MN DNR, 2003); the reference community of this Provisional Ecological Site is most similar to: MHn35 Northern Mesic Hardwood Forest

Other references

Cleland, D.T.; Freeouf, J.A.; Keys, J.E., Jr.; Nowacki, G.J.; Carpenter, C; McNab, W.H. 2007. Ecological Subregions: Sections and Subsections of the Conterminous United States.[1:3,500,000], Sloan, A.M., cartog. Gen. Tech. Report WO-76. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service.

Eggers, Steve D. and Donald M. Reed. 1997. Wetland Plants and Plant Communities of Minnesota and Wisconsin. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District.

Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (2003). Field Guide to the Native Plant Communities of Minnesota: The Laurentian Mixed Forest Province. Ecological Land Classification Program, Minnesota County Biological Survey, and Natural Heritage and Nongame Research Program. MNDNR St. Paul, MN.

Soil Survey Staff, Natural Resources Conservation Service, United States Department of Agriculture. Official Soil Series Descriptions. Available online. Accessed March 2018.

United States Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service. 2006. Land Resource Regions and Major Land Resource Areas of the United States, the Caribbean, and the Pacific Basin. U.S. Department of Agriculture Handbook 296.

USDA, NRCS. 2018. The PLANTS Database (http://plants.usda.gov, 27 March 2018). National Plant Data Team, Greensboro, NC 27401-4901 USA.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. 2013. Level III and IV ecoregions of the continental
United States: Corvallis, Oregon, U.S. EPA, National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory, map scale 1:3,000,000, https://www.epa.gov/eco-research/level-iii-and-iv-ecoregions-continental-united-states.

Contributors

Ezra Hoffman, Ecological Site Specialist, NRCS North Central Region
Kade Anderson, Ecological Site Specialist, NRCS North Central Region
Patty Burns, Soil Scientist, Bemidji Soil Survey Office
Stacey Clark, Former Regional Ecologist for Regions 10 & 11

Approval

Suzanne Mayne-Kinney, 10/03/2023

Acknowledgments

MLRA 57 technical team completed in 2022.

Rangeland health reference sheet

Interpreting Indicators of Rangeland Health is a qualitative assessment protocol used to determine ecosystem condition based on benchmark characteristics described in the Reference Sheet. A suite of 17 (or more) indicators are typically considered in an assessment. The ecological site(s) representative of an assessment location must be known prior to applying the protocol and must be verified based on soils and climate. Current plant community cannot be used to identify the ecological site.

Author(s)/participant(s)
Contact for lead author
Date	06/30/2026
Approved by
Approval date
Composition (Indicators 10 and 12) based on	Annual Production

Indicators

Number and extent of rills:
Presence of water flow patterns:
Number and height of erosional pedestals or terracettes:
Bare ground from Ecological Site Description or other studies (rock, litter, lichen, moss, plant canopy are not bare ground):
Number of gullies and erosion associated with gullies:
Extent of wind scoured, blowouts and/or depositional areas:
Amount of litter movement (describe size and distance expected to travel):
Soil surface (top few mm) resistance to erosion (stability values are averages - most sites will show a range of values):
Soil surface structure and SOM content (include type of structure and A-horizon color and thickness):
Effect of community phase composition (relative proportion of different functional groups) and spatial distribution on infiltration and runoff:
Presence and thickness of compaction layer (usually none; describe soil profile features which may be mistaken for compaction on this site):
Functional/Structural Groups (list in order of descending dominance by above-ground annual-production or live foliar cover using symbols: >>, >, = to indicate much greater than, greater than, and equal to):

Dominant:

Sub-dominant:

Other:

Additional:
Amount of plant mortality and decadence (include which functional groups are expected to show mortality or decadence):
Average percent litter cover (%) and depth ( in):
Expected annual annual-production (this is TOTAL above-ground annual-production, not just forage annual-production):
Potential invasive (including noxious) species (native and non-native). List species which BOTH characterize degraded states and have the potential to become a dominant or co-dominant species on the ecological site if their future establishment and growth is not actively controlled by management interventions. Species that become dominant for only one to several years (e.g., short-term response to drought or wildfire) are not invasive plants. Note that unlike other indicators, we are describing what is NOT expected in the reference state for the ecological site:
Perennial plant reproductive capability:

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Natural ResourcesConservation Service

Ecological site F057XY021MN

Loamy Upland Moist Hardwood Forest

Last updated: 10/03/2023 Accessed: 06/30/2026

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General information

MLRA notes

Classification relationships

Ecological site concept

Associated sites

Similar sites

Table 1. Dominant plant species

Natural Resources
Conservation Service

Last updated: 10/03/2023
Accessed: 06/30/2026