Natural Resources
Conservation Service
Ecological site F089XY009WI
Wet Clayey Lowlands
Last updated: 9/27/2023
Accessed: 12/21/2024
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): 089X–Wisconsin Central Sands
The Wisconsin Central Sands (MLRA 89) corresponds closely to Central Sand Plains Ecological Landscape published by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR, 2015). Much of the following brief overview of this MLRA is borrowed from that publication.
The Wisconsin Central Sands MLRA is entirely in Wisconsin. The total land area is 2,187,100 acres (3,420 square miles, 8858 square kilometers). It is bordered to the east by Johnstown-Hancock end moraines, which were pushed to their extent by the west side of the Green Bay Lobe (Clayton & Attig, 1999). It is bordered to the southwest by highly eroded, unglaciated valleys and ridges. The dominant feature of this MLRA is the remarkably flat, sandy plain, composed of lacustrine deposits and outwash sand, that was once the main basin of Glacial Lake Wisconsin. It also features extensive pine and oak barrens and wetland complexes.
Glacial Lake Wisconsin was fed primarily by glacial meltwater from the north and east. The lake deposited silt overlain by tens of meters of sand (Clayton & Attig, 1989). The silty layers are closer to the surface in some areas, where they impede drainage and contribute to the formation of extensive wetland complexes. It is believed that Glacial Lake Wisconsin drained within several days after a breach in the ice dam that supported it. The catastrophic flood that followed flowed to the south and carved the scattered buttes and mesas protruding from the sandy plain in the southern portion of this MLRA. Before vegetation established after glacial recession, strong winds formed aeolian sand dunes that now support xeric pine and oak stands within the Wisconsin Central Sands.
The surface of the northwestern portion is mostly undulating. The sandy surface sediment was mostly deposited by meltwater during the Wisconsin glaciation. Gentle hills are a result of underlying bedrock topography. Valleys and floodplains are formed by stream action. The underlying bedrock controls the water table elevation and contributes to the formation of numerous wetlands.
Historically, the Wisconsin Central Sands were dominated by large wetland complexes, sand prairies, and oak forests, savannas, and barrens. Some pine and hemlock forests were found in the northwest portion. The Wisconsin Central Sands was subject to frequent fires, leading to today’s need for prescribed burns to maintain the area.
Classification relationships
Major Land Resource Area (MLRA): Wisconsin Central Sands (89)
USFS Subregions: Central Wisconsin Sand Plain (222Ra)
Relationship to Established Framework and Classification Systems:
Wetland Forest Habitat Type Classification System for Northern Wisconsin (Kotar and Burger, 2017): The sites of this ES keyed out to one habitat type: Fraxinus nigra-Acer rubrum/Impatience, Ilex variant (FnArI-Ix). This is a wetland habitat type for Northern Wisconsin and was used in lieu of Southern Wisconsin wetland habitat types. However, their overstory vegetation is similar to types that suggest White Pine and Red Maple will dominate the overstory.
Biophysical Settings (Landfire, 2014): This ES is largely mapped as North-Central Interior Dry Oak Forest and Woodland and Eastern Cool Temperate Row Crop.
WDNR Natural Communities (WDNR, 2015): This ES is most similar to the Northern Hardwood Swamp and Mesic Forest communities.
Ecological site concept
The Wet Clayey Lowlands ecological site is an uncommon site but exists in the southwest portion of MLRA 89 in depressions and drainageways on the glacial lake basin and along stream terraces. These sites are characterized by very deep, poorly drained soils formed in silty alluvium over clayey lacustrine deposits, almost exclusively along the Lemonweir River in Monroe and Jueneau counties. Sites are occasionally subject to brief to very long ponding. Precipitation, runoff from adjacent uplands, and groundwater discharge are the primary sources of water. Soils can range from neutral to moderately alkaline. Some sites may be wetlands.
Current vegetation is mostly woodlands, typically dominated by red maple (Acer rubrum), both, in the overstory and the reproductive layer. Common associates are red oak (Quercus rubra), trembling aspen (Populus tremuloided), paper birch (Betula papyrifera), yellow birch (Betula alleghaniensis) and white pine (Pinus strobus). Some sites have been cleared, drained and converted to agricultural production. Common crops are corn, oats and hay.
Wet Clayey Lowlands differs from other sites by its drainage and texture. Other poorly drained sites are sandy or loamy. Clayey soils often have higher pH and available water capacity than sandy and loamy textures. The poor drainage differentiates this site from other clayey sites.
Associated sites
F089XY015WI |
Moist Clayey Uplands Moist Clayey Uplands consist of deep clayey lacustrine deposits overlain by sandy or loamy alluvium. They are somewhat poorly drained and are subject to neither flooding nor ponding. These sites are primarily found in the northwestern portion of the Wisconsin Central Sands MLRA, especially in Juneau County adjacent to the Lemonweir River. They occur higher on the drainage sequence than Wet Clayey Lowlands. |
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Similar sites
F089XY004WI |
Loamy Floodplains Loamy Floodplains are found exclusively on floodplains in loamy alluvium underlain by sandy alluvium. Soils are somewhat poorly to poorly drained and are subject to flooding. These sites occur primarily along tributaries to the Yellow River in central Wood County and along the Lemonweir River. Their vegetative communities have similar moisture and nutrient preferences as those of Wet Clayey Lowlands. |
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F089XY008WI |
Wet Loamy Lowlands Wet Loamy Lowlands form in a loamy or silty mantle 10 to 40 inches (25 to 100 cm) thick overlying sandy residuum weathered from sandstone and shale. Bedrock contact may occur as high at 26 inches (66 cm). These soils are poorly drained, remain saturated for much the growing season, and are sometimes subject to ponding. They are exclusive to the northern third of the Wisconsin Central Sands MLRA, which was covered in loamy glacial deposits prior to the most recent glacial advance. Their vegetative communities are similar to those of Wet Clayey Lowlands. |
F089XY015WI |
Moist Clayey Uplands Moist Clayey Uplands consist of deep clayey lacustrine deposits overlain by sandy or loamy alluvium. The wetness and water features differ between these otherwise very similar sites. They are somewhat poorly drained and are subject to neither flooding nor ponding. These sites are primarily found in the northwestern portion of the Wisconsin Central Sands MLRA, especially in Juneau County adjacent to the Lemonweir River. Their vegetative communities show a preference for slightly drier sites compared to the vegetative communities of Wet Clayey Lowlands. |
Table 1. Dominant plant species
Tree |
(1) Pinus strobus |
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Shrub |
(1) Ilex verticillata |
Herbaceous |
(1) Rubus hispidus |
Click on box and path labels to scroll to the respective text.
Ecosystem states
T1A | - | Clearcutting or stand-replacing natural disturbance. Pioneer species seed in. |
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T1B | - | Removing forest vegetation and tilling. |
R2 | - | Natural succession. |
T2 | - | Removing forest vegetation and tilling. |
R3 | - | Abandonment of agricultural practices, natural or artificial afforestation. |