Wet Sandy Lowlands

Description

Reference State is a continuum of hydroperiod influenced vegetation where flooding frequency and duration drive vegetation communities. There are three distinct phases, each being stable within a window of hydroperiod variation. Sites on or near floodplains are most likely to be in phases 1.1 and 1.2 while sites farther from streams are more likely to be in phase 1.3. The higher the frequency and more prolonged the wetness the more likely the site will be a northern wet meadow 1.1 (dominantly sedges with sporadic willows and steeplebush). As wetness frequency and duration decreases the site will become a northern shrub thicket 1.2 and speckled alder (and tag alder) will appear and begin to dominate the vegetation. If a site has very low frequency flooding/ponding that is of short duration a Black ash/Balsam fir forest will likely form 1.3. This forested state can be described by the Kotar Wetland Forest Habitat Type Black ash-Balsam fir/Spotted Touch-me-not [FnAbI]. In some cases this forest will also include White cedar an associate, but deer browsing has limited the regeneration of this species in this MLRA.

Submodel