1Up Info - A Portal with a Difference

1Up Travel - A Travel Portal with a Difference.    
1Up Info
   

Earth & EnvironmentHistoryLiterature & ArtsHealth & MedicinePeoplePlacesPlants & Animals  • Philosophy & Religion  • Science & TechnologySocial Science & LawSports & Everyday Life Wildlife, Animals, & PlantsCountry Study Encyclopedia A -Z
North America Gazetteer


You are here >1Up Info > Wildlife, Animals, and Plants > Kuchler Potential Natural Vegetation Type > Great Lakes Pine Forest
 

Wildlife, Animals, and Plants

 


Wildlife, Animals, and Plants

 

Wildlife Species

  Amphibians

  Birds

  Mammals

  Reptiles

 

Kuchler

 

Plants

  Bryophyte

  Cactus

  Fern or Fern Ally

  Forb

  Graminoid

  Lichen

  Shrub

  Tree

  Vine


KUCHLER TYPE DESCRIPTION

Kuchler Type: Great Lakes pine forest
PHYSIOGRAPHY : The landscape and topography of this type varies locally, but it is comparatively uniform. Typically the Great Lakes pine forest grows on gently rolling hills formed by glacial deposits. The topography is also characterized by valleys, plains, ridges, swamps, and lakes. Elevations range from 580 feet (170 m) at lakes Huron and Michigan to 2,230 feet (680 m)in the Misquah Hills, Minnesota [18]. CLIMATE : Like physiography, climate varies locally but is comparatively uniform. Annual precipitation ranges from 20 inches (500 mm) in northwest Minnesota to 35 inches (890 mm) in lower Michigan. The average annual precipitation for most of the region is about 30 inches (760 mm). About 56 percent of it falls between May and September. Average annual snowfall along Lake Superior is greater than 100 inches (2,540 mm), but less than 50 inches (1,270 mm) in central and southern Michigan. Average annual temperatures are about 40 degrees Fahrenheit (4 deg C), but temperatures can break 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 deg C) and minus 50 degrees Fahrenheit (-45.5 deg C). The coldest month is usually January. The growing season varies from 181 days in east-central Wisconsin along Lake Michigan to 50 days in northwest part of Michigan's Upper Peninsula. In the North the growing season is generally longer near Lake Michigan and shorter inland [18]. Pan evaporation is 30 to 35 inches (760-890 mm). During the growing season evaporation is roughly equal to precipitation [1]. SOILS : There are more than 400 soil types recognized in the Great Lakes pine forest region. Mostly they are cool, moist Spodosols, damp throughout the year and with iron and aluminum accumulated in the organic horizon. Soil textures and moisture retention capabilities are considered here for each of the three pine species in this Kuchler type. Jack pine (Pinus banksiana) occurs on dry, sandy soils and will grow on poor sites characterized by excessively drained, deep or gravelly sands with coarse to medium texture [18]. In Minnesota and Wisconsin site index improves for jack pine as fine sand, silt, and clay increase in the upper layer of soil [20]. Eastern white pine (Pinus strobus) occurs on fertile, wet, loamy soils and competes best on well-drained sandy soils on low to medium quality sites [27]. Red pine (Pinus resinosa) occurs on sandy, dry soils of low fertility. It is not tolerant of alkaline conditions [19]. All three species do well in sandy loams with good moisture retention. Suitable soil pH is 4.8 to 7.3 for white pine and 5.0 to 6.5 for red and jack pine [18]. VEGETATION : Eastern white pine is listed as a dominant species in the following habitat type classification: Field guide to forest habitat types of northern Wisconsin [10]. Eastern white pine, jack, and red pine are listed as dominants in the following habitat type and plant community classifications: Field guide: Habitat classification system for Upper Peninsula of Michigan and northeast Wisconsin [4] Plant communities of Voyageurs National Park, Minnesota, U.S.A. [12] Wilderness ecology: Virgin plant communities of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area [17]. Associates of jack pine include northern pin oak (Quercus ellipsoidalis), red pine, quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides), paper birch (Betula papyrifera), and balsam fir (Abies balsamea) [6,20]. These species are usually subdominant to jack pine, although quaking aspen, paper birch, and red pine may be codominant [6]. Red pine associates include, but are not limited to, jack pine, northern pin oak, quaking aspen, paper birch, balsam fir, white spruce (Picea glauca), bigtooth aspen (Populus grandidentata), and red oak (Quercus rubra). Red pine is subdominant with jack pine or aspens in mixed stands and codominant with eastern white pine on dry, sandy loams. It is sometimes minor but dominant with oaks, balsam fir, or white spruce [6,19]. Understory species of red pine include American hazel (Corylus americana), beaked hazel (Corylus cornuta), serviceberry (Amelanchier spp.), raspberry (Rubus spp.), sweetfern (Comptonia peregrina), trailing arbutus (Epigaea repens), teaberry (Gaultheria spp.) wild sarsaparilla (Aralia nudicaulis), and strawberry (Fragaria spp.) [6]. White pine associates include, but are not limited to, balsam fir, red pine, northern red oak, white spruce, paper birch, yellow birch (Betula alleghaniensis), sugar maple (Acer saccharum), basswood (Tilia americana), hemlock (Tsuga spp.), black cherry (Prunus serotina), pin cherry (P. pensylvanica), and white oak (Quercus alba). Understory species include teaberry (Gaultheria procumbens), wild sarsaparilla, hay-scented fern (Dennstaedtia punctilobula), false lily-of-the-valley (Maianthemum dilatatum), woodsorrel (Oxalis spp.), and broomsedge (Andropogon virginicus) [6]. WILDLIFE : Some of the wildlife species found in the Great Lakes pine forest include black bear, wolf, coyote, fox, bobcat, moose, deer, hares, cottontail, beaver, great-horned owl, hawks, bald eagle, and a variety of passerine birds. The breeding population of passerine birds averages 153 pairs per 100 acres. The Kirtland's warbler is an endangered species that inhabits the Great Lakes pine forest [1]. ECOLOGICAL RELATIONSHIPS : White pine is more shade tolerant than either red or jack pine. Jack pine is the least shade tolerant of the three species, and red pine is intermediate [6,20]. Jack pine is a short-lived pioneer that usually grows in even-age stands. White and red pines are longer lived and they occur in pure or mixed stands [6]. Jack pine is a pioneer species on burned over or otherwise exposed sites. Following fire, jack pine forms pure stands or the majority of the stocking [20]. It occurs most commonly at elevations of 1,000 to 1,500 feet (300-450 m), growing on eskers, sand dunes, rock outcrops, and dry outwash areas. On these poorer sites jack pine persists when succession stagnates. On good sites it is succeeded by red pine followed white pine, then by a hardwood mix of sugar maple, basswood, and northern red oak [6]. Jack pine can also be directly followed by speckled alder (Alnus rugosa), American hazel, beaked hazel, paper birch, and quaking aspen [20]. Red pine occurs at elevations between 700 and 1,400 feet (200-400 m). It often succeeds jack pine, paper birch, and aspens. On poor sites red pine-dominated subclimax may develop if the site is undisturbed. On good sites red pine is succeeded by hardwoods, white pine, or white spruce and balsam fir [6]. In early succession white pine strongly competes with aspens, oaks, and maples [27]. It can establish well on poorer sites due to reduced competition from hardwoods. Once established on good sites white pine outcompetes other species. It is sometimes a pioneer species on old fields. On heavy-textured soils pure white pine stands are succeeded by sugar maple-beech-yellow birch, white pine-hemlock, sugar maple-basswood, or white oak plant communitites. In the lower peninsula of Michigan pure stands are succeeded by white pine-hemlock or hemlock mixed with northern hardwoods [6].

Related categories for Kuchler Type: Great Lakes pine forest

Send this page to a friend
Print this Page

Content on this web site is provided for informational purposes only. We accept no responsibility for any loss, injury or inconvenience sustained by any person resulting from information published on this site. We encourage you to verify any critical information with the relevant authorities.

Information Courtesy: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory. Fire Effects Information System

About Us | Contact Us | Terms of Use | Privacy | Links Directory
Link to 1Up Info | Add 1Up Info Search to your site

1Up Info All Rights reserved. Site best viewed in 800 x 600 resolution.