Natural Resources
Conservation Service
Moist Loamy or Clayey Lowland
Scenario model
Current ecosystem state
Select a state
Management practices/drivers
Select a transition or restoration pathway
-
Transition T1A
Stand replacing disturbance that includes fire.
More details -
Transition T1B
Removal of forest cover and tilling for agricultural crop production.
More details -
Restoration pathway R2A
Deciduous forest community is slowly taken over by shade tolerant maples and other species.
More details -
Transition T2A
Removal of forest cover and tilling for agricultural crop production.
More details -
Restoration pathway R3A
Cessation of agricultural practices leads to natural reforestation, or site is replanted.
More details -
Restoration pathway R3B
Cessation of agricultural practices leads to natural reforestation, or site is replanted.
More details -
No transition or restoration pathway between the selected states has been described
Target ecosystem state
Select a state
Description
The reference plant community is categorized as mesic forest community dominated by mixed deciduous species, primarily sugar maple (Acer saccharum) and White ash (Fraxinus americana), and sporadic occurrence of Basswood (Tilia americana), Red oak (Quercus rubra), and Bitternut hickory (Carya cordiformis). Although forest communities can vary greatly in terms of species composition and stand structure, depending on type, degree, and frequency of disturbance, two common phases predominate:
Submodel
Description
Post disturbance pioneer community of aspen and paper birch with mixtures of other species from available seed sources. This state can have broad variation depending on what seed sources are available as these sites readily supply water and nutrients in quantities that many species can thrive with. The mid-successional phase of this state can represent and alternate stable state when seed sources for reference state dominant species are missing (particularly sugar maple).
Dominant plant species
quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides), tree
paper birch (Betula papyrifera), tree
red maple (Acer rubrum), tree
Submodel
Transition T1A
Stand replacing disturbance that includes fire.
Mechanism
Transition T1A – Major stand-replacing disturbance. In pre-European settlement time, the event was most often a severe blow down, sometimes followed by fires. Such blow downs have been estimated to occur in this part of Wisconsin every 300 to 400 years (Schulte and Mladenoff, 2005). In post settlement virtually every acre has been logged either by clear cutting or successive cuts targeting species marketable at that time. Post logging slash fires also have been a significant factor in most areas. These disturbances created the environment suitable for natural regeneration of many shade-intolerant species and for commercial planting.
Mechanism
Removal of forest cover, tilling and application of other agricultural techniques to grow agricultural crops.
Restoration pathway R2A
Deciduous forest community is slowly taken over by shade tolerant maples and other species.
Mechanism
A period of some 70-100 years without major stand disturbance, especially fire, leads to decreased presence, through natural mortality, of early successional species and the dominance of shade tolerant sugar maple with less tolerant associates of red oak and white ash, returning the community to Reference State.
Mechanism
Removal of forest cover, tilling and application of other agricultural techniques to grow agricultural crops.
Restoration pathway R3A
Cessation of agricultural practices leads to natural reforestation, or site is replanted.
Mechanism
Abandonment of agricultural practices and allowing natural vegetation to colonize the site or apply artificial afforestation. The time required for forest community to reach the reference state conditions may exceed 100 years.
Model keys
Briefcase
Add { ecological sites } and { Major Land Resource Areas } to your briefcase by clicking on the briefcase
(
) icon wherever it occurs. Drag and drop items to reorder. Cookies are used to store briefcase items between browsing sessions. Because of this, the number of items that can be added to your briefcase is limited, and briefcase items added on one device and browser cannot be accessed from another device or browser. Users who do not wish to place cookies on their devices should not use the briefcase tool. Briefcase cookies serve no other purpose than described here and are deleted whenever browsing history is cleared.
Ecological sites
Major Land Resource Areas
The Ecosystem Dynamics Interpretive Tool is an information system framework developed by the USDA-ARS Jornada Experimental Range, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, and New Mexico State University.
Accessibility statement