Delineation of ecosystem regions

Bailey, Robert G.

doi:10.1007/bf01866919

Cited by 315 publications

(209 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…Soils are typically considered Udalfs, with Udolls on the valley floors (Albert, 1995). The Driftless Area is considered part of the humid, hot continental climate division (mean annual precipitation = 82 cm, mean January temperature = À9.7°C, mean July temperature = 22.3°C; Wendland et al, 1992), and is contained within the eastern deciduous forest province (Bailey, 1983).…”

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

Forest change in the Driftless Area of the Midwest: From a preferred to undesirable future

Knoot

Shea

Schulte

et al. 2015

Forest Ecology and Management

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In the midwestern and eastern U.S., oaks (Quercus spp.) have been a dominant component of forests for at least the last 10,000 years, providing vital habitat for numerous wildlife and plant species that have adapted to oak forest conditions. However, the current state of these oak systems, in which there has been a general lack of successful oak regeneration and recruitment and an increase in the relative dominance of mesophytic species, may be nearing critical thresholds. If reached, restoring oak systems through natural regeneration and other methods, such as prescribed fire, may become especially challenging if not impossible. An understanding of spatial variation in oak dominance over time can inform and potentially improve the efficacy of intervention strategies. Using Public Land Survey and Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) inventories, we evaluated changes in the composition of timberland across ecoregional subsections in the Driftless Area of the Midwest at three time periods (pre-settlement 1800s, 1990s, and 2000s). We identified an overall decrease in oak dominance, and particularly dominance of the white oak (Quercus alba L., Q. macrocarpa Michx., and Q. bicolor Willd.) species group since the presettlement era, and an increase in other eastern soft hardwoods. Within the last 20 years, both the red oak (Q. rubra L., Q. ellipsoidalis E.J. Hill and Q. velutina Lam.) and white oak species groups decreased in dominance, with an increase in hard maple-basswood (A. saccharum Marsh., A. nigra L., and Tilia americana L.) species group dominance, indicating further mesophication of forests in the region. However, we found a notable decrease in hard maple-basswood relative dominance within the small diameter class across most of the regions within the last 10-20 years, with an increase in dominance of other, non-oak, species. Our findings complement qualitative evidence from interviews with natural resource professionals from the region and offer further information on the potential for forest conversion to ''undesirable'' forest conditions, as identified as a source of concern by some professionals. There was spatial variation in these trends, however, with some pronounced differences across adjacent state boundaries. The variation in forest change across state boundaries suggests the role of state-level socioeconomic and policy factors in affecting forest conditions, and thus the potential for a targeted and timely approach to promoting preferred pathways of change. RightsWorks produced by employees of the U.S. Government as part of their official duties are not copyrighted within the U.S. The content of this document is not copyrighted. a b s t r a c tIn the midwestern and eastern U.S., oaks (Quercus spp.) have been a dominant component of forests for at least the last 10,000 years, providing vital habitat for numerous wildlife and plant species that have adapted to oak forest conditions. However, the current state of these oak systems, in which there has been a general lack of successful oak reg...

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Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

Forest change in the Driftless Area of the Midwest: From a preferred to undesirable future

Knoot

Shea

Schulte

et al. 2015

Forest Ecology and Management

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“…Leaf decomposition rates were measured at three mitigation and three reference riparian wetlands located in the Allegheny Mountain ecoregion (Bailey 1983) of West Virginia, USA (Figure 1). The Allegheny Mountains are part of the Appalachian Mountain Range and form a distinct ecoregion in the eastern United States (Fenneman 1938).…”

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

Influence of environmental parameters on litter decomposition in wetlands in West Virginia, USA

Gingerich

Merovich

Anderson

2014

Journal of Freshwater Ecology

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Plant litter decomposition varies by species and environmental conditions. To study environmental controls of decomposition, we measured plant litter decomposition rates in six wetlands located in West Virginia, USA. Four common wetland litter species were used: broadleaf cattail (Typha latifolia L.), common rush (Juncus effusus L.), brookside alder (Alnus serrulata (Ait.) Willd.), and reed canary grass (Phalaris arundinacea L.). A fifth litter type was created from a mix of common rush, brookside alder, and reed canary grass. Litter bags were collected over two years, from December 2007 to December 2009, and environmental variables near litter bags were measured every two weeks. Nine environmental parameters and one study parameter were then used to construct and test the ability of 22 a-priori models to predict the decomposition rate of each litter type. The environmental variables that most influenced and, therefore, best predicted decomposition rate varied among litter types. Brookside alder decomposition rate was best predicted by soil temperature (ST), water pH (WPH), and the number of transitions between flooded and exposed conditions (FET); reed canary grass decomposition rate was best predicted by air temperature (AT), WPH, and ST; common rush decomposition rates were best predicted by AT; broadleaf cattail decomposition rate was best predicted by hydroperiod (HP) and FET; and the mixed litter decomposition rate was best predicted by AT and WPH. Overall, AT, ST, and WPH were directly related to decomposition rate, while HP was inversely related. The FET was directly related to decomposition rates of common rush and broadleaf cattail and inversely related to the decomposition rate of brookside alder. The study of litter decomposition helps reveal the link between environmental conditions and wetland function.

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“…The study area is encompassed by the broadleaf forest ecoregion (Bailey, 1983) which spans northeastern Illinois, southern Wisconsin, and southern Minnesota (USA; Fig. 1).…”

Section: Study Area and Site Selectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Prevalence of Skeletal and Eye Malformations in Frogs From North-Central United States: Estimations Based on Collections From Randomly Selected Sites

Schoff

Johnson

Schotthoefer

et al. 2003

Journal of Wildlife Diseases

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Skeletal malformation rates for several frog species were determined in a set of randomly selected wetlands in the north-central USA over three consecutive years. In 1998, 62 sites yielded 389 metamorphic frogs, nine (2.3%) of which had skeletal or eye malformations. A subset of the original sites was surveyed in the following 2 yr. In 1999, 1,085 metamorphic frogs were collected from 36 sites and 17 (1.6%) had skeletal or eye malformations, while in 2000, examination of 1,131 metamorphs yielded 16 (1.4%) with skeletal or eye malformations. Hindlimb malformations predominated in all three years, but other abnormalities, involving forelimb, eye, and pelvis were also found. Northern leopard frogs (Rana pipiens) constituted the majority of collected metamorphs as well as most of the malformed specimens. However, malformations were also noted in mink frogs (R. septentrionalis), wood frogs (R. sylvatica), and gray tree frogs (Hyla spp.). The malformed specimens were found in clustered sites in all three years but the cluster locations were not the same in any year. The malformation rates reported here are higher than the 0.3% rate determined for metamorphic frogs collected from similar sites in Minnesota in the 1960s, and thus, appear to represent an elevation of an earlier baseline malformation rate.

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Delineation of ecosystem regions

Cited by 315 publications

References 25 publications

Forest change in the Driftless Area of the Midwest: From a preferred to undesirable future

Forest change in the Driftless Area of the Midwest: From a preferred to undesirable future

Influence of environmental parameters on litter decomposition in wetlands in West Virginia, USA

Prevalence of Skeletal and Eye Malformations in Frogs From North-Central United States: Estimations Based on Collections From Randomly Selected Sites

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