Natural Resources
Conservation Service

Ecological site F101XY007NY

Wet Outwash

Last updated: 5/21/2020
Accessed: 04/16/2024

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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): 101X–Ontario-Erie Plain and Finger Lakes Region

Most of the MLRA is a nearly level to rolling plain. Low remnant beach ridges are commonly interspersed with a relatively level lake plain in the northern part of the area. Drumlins (long, narrow, steep-sided, cigar shaped hills) are prominent in an east-west belt in the center of the area. The Finger Lakes Region consists of a gently sloping to rolling till plain. Elevation is 330 to 1,310 feet increasing gradually from the shores of Lake Ontario and Lake Oneida to the Allegheny Plateau, the southern border of the area. Local relief is mostly 10 feet, but the larger drumlins and many valley sides rise 80 to 330 feet above the adjacent lowlands or valley floors.

The bedrock underlying this area consists of alternating beds of limestone, dolomite, sandstone, and shale of Ordovician to Devonian age. Most of the surface of the area is covered with glacial till or lake sediments. The texture of the lake sediments is silt, loam, or sand. Ancient beaches, formed at different lake levels, form ridges along the shoreline of Lake Erie and Lake Ontario. Stratified drift (eskers and kames) and glacial outwash deposits are in many of the valleys. A large drumlin field occurs in the Finger Lakes Region.

Classification relationships

NRCS:
Land Resource Region: L - Lake States Fruit, Truck Crop, and Dairy Region
MLRA: 101 - Ontario-Erie Plain and Finger Lakes Region

Ecological site concept

Landform/Landscape Position:
The site occurs in depressions within outwash plains. Slopes range from 0 to 2 percent.

Soils:
The site consists of very deep, poorly drained and very poorly drained soils formed in glacial outwash deposits. Soils are typically moderately coarse to coarse textured. Representative soils are Fredon, Cheektowaga, and Lamson mapped within MLRA 101.

Vegetation
The reference community coincides with NY natural heritage community: Red maple-hardwood swamp and/or NatureServe's Black Ash - Red Maple Swamp Forest (CEGL007441).

Associated sites

F101XY006NY	Moist Outwash

F101XY006NY

Moist Outwash

Table 1. Dominant plant species

Tree	(1) Acer rubrum (2) Fraxinus nigra
Shrub	(1) Alnus incana (2) Lindera benzoin
Herbaceous	(1) Symplocarpus foetidus (2) Carex leptalea

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Physiographic features

The site occurs in depressions within outwash plains and terraces. Slopes range from 0 to 2 percent.

Figure 1. Wet Outwash (Fredon soils)

Table 2. Representative physiographic features

Landforms	(1) Outwash plain > Depression
Slope	2%

Climatic features

Table 3. Representative climatic features

Frost-free period (characteristic range)	136-140 days
Freeze-free period (characteristic range)	173-186 days
Precipitation total (characteristic range)	37-42 in
Frost-free period (actual range)	135-140 days
Freeze-free period (actual range)	167-187 days
Precipitation total (actual range)	35-42 in
Frost-free period (average)	138 days
Freeze-free period (average)	179 days
Precipitation total (average)	39 in

Characteristic range

Actual range

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Figure 2. Monthly precipitation range

Characteristic range

Actual range

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Figure 3. Monthly minimum temperature range

Characteristic range

Actual range

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Figure 4. Monthly maximum temperature range

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Figure 5. Monthly average minimum and maximum temperature

Figure 6. Annual precipitation pattern

Figure 7. Annual average temperature pattern

Climate stations used

(1) SUNY ESF SYRACUSE [USC00308386], Syracuse, NY
(2) DELANSON 2NE [USC00302031], Delanson, NY
(3) ROCHESTER GTR INTL AP [USW00014768], Rochester, NY
(4) DUNKIRK CHAUTAUQUA AP [USW00014747], Dunkirk, NY
(5) LOCKPORT 3 S [USC00304844], Lockport, NY

Influencing water features

Poorly drained
Water is removed so slowly that the soil is wet at shallow depths periodically during the growing season or remains wet for long periods. Internal free water occurrence is shallow or very shallow and common or persistent. Free water is commonly at or near the surface long enough during the growing season that most mesophytic crops cannot be grown, unless the soil is artificially drained. The soil, however, is not continuously wet directly below plow depth. Free water at shallow depth is common. The water table is commonly the result of low or very low saturated hydraulic conductivity, nearly continuous rainfall, or a combination of these.

Very poorly drained
Water is removed from the soil so slowly that free water remains at or very near the surface during much of the growing season. Internal free water occurrence is very shallow and persistent or permanent. Unless the soil is artificially drained, most mesophytic crops cannot be grown. The soils are commonly level or depressed and frequently ponded. In areas where rainfall is high or nearly continuous, slope gradients may be greater.

Wetland description

Cowardin System of Wetland Classification:

Palustrine, Forested, Broad-Leaved Deciduous, Seasonally Saturated, Fresh, Circumneutral to Alkaline
or
Palustrine, Scrub-Shrub, Broad-Leaved Deciduous, Seasonally Saturated, Fresh, Circumneutral to Alkaline

Soil features

The site consists of very deep, poorly drained and very poorly drained soils formed in glacial outwash deposits. Soils are typically moderately coarse to coarse textured. Representative soils are Fredon, Cheektowaga, and Lamson mapped within MLRA 101.

Table 4. Representative soil features

Parent material	(1) Glaciofluvial deposits – limestone and shale
Surface texture	(1) Fine sandy loam (2) Silt loam
Drainage class	Very poorly drained to poorly drained

Parent material

(1) Glaciofluvial deposits – limestone and shale

Surface texture

(1) Fine sandy loam

(2) Silt loam

Drainage class

Very poorly drained to poorly drained

Ecological dynamics

The reference community coincides with NY natural heritage community: Red maple-hardwood swamp and/or NatureServe's Black Ash - Red Maple Swamp Forest (CEGL007441).

Activities that impact hydrology (roads, dams, diversions, drainage) and introduction of invasive species are some of the primary drivers of ecological change.

State and transition model

More interactive model formats are also available. View Interactive Models
Click on state and transition labels to scroll to the respective text

State 1
Red Maple Forest

Reference state. Minimally managed.

Community 1.1
Red Maple Forest/Swamp

The plant community is characterized as a Red maple-Hardwood Swamp (New York Natural Heritage Program) however, without plants typically found in acidic areas such as highbush blueberry. Another cross reference would be Black Ash - Red Maple / Alderleaf Buckthorn / Bristly-stalked Sedge Swamp Forest (CEGL007441) described by NatureServe.

Community 1.2
Young Forest/Swamp Community

Pathway P
Community 1.1 to 1.2

Natural disturbances such as flooding, wind, ice storm, insects.

Pathway P
Community 1.2 to 1.1

Time/succession

State 2
Disturbed (Invasive Species and/or Hydrology Change)

Highly disturbed forest resulting from changes in hydrology and/or presence of invasive species.

Community 2.1
Mature Forest

Invasive species present

Community 2.2
Young Forest

Invasive species present

Pathway P
Community 2.1 to 2.2

Disturbance: Flooding, wind, ice storms, insects.

Pathway P
Community 2.2 to 2.1

Time/succession

Transition T
State 1 to 2

Establishment of invasive plants. Changes to hydrology (drainage, diversions, roads,) may also been a driver of change.

Restoration pathway R
State 2 to 1

Conservation practices

Invasive Plant Species Control

Additional community tables

Supporting information

Inventory data references

Site Development and Testing Plan:
Future work to validate the vegetation information in this provisional ecological site description is needed. This will include field activities to collect low and medium intensity sampling and analysis of that data. Field reviews should be done by soil scientists and vegetation specialists. A final field review, peer review, quality control, and quality assurance reviews of the ESD will be needed to produce the final approved level document. Reviews of the project plan are to be conducted by the Ecological Site Technical Team.

Other references

NatureServe. 2019. NatureServe Explorer: An online encyclopedia of life [web application]. Version 7.1. NatureServe, Arlington, Virginia. Available http://explorer.natureserve.org. (Accessed: March 11, 2020 ).

New York Natural Heritage Program. 2020. Online Conservation Guide for Red maple-hardwood swamp. Available from: https://guides.nynhp.org/red-maple-hardwood-swamp/. Accessed March 11, 2020.

Approval

Nels Barrett, 5/21/2020

Rangeland health reference sheet

Interpreting Indicators of Rangeland Health is a qualitative assessment protocol used to determine ecosystem condition based on benchmark characteristics described in the Reference Sheet. A suite of 17 (or more) indicators are typically considered in an assessment. The ecological site(s) representative of an assessment location must be known prior to applying the protocol and must be verified based on soils and climate. Current plant community cannot be used to identify the ecological site.

Author(s)/participant(s)
Contact for lead author
Date	09/10/2022
Approved by	Nels Barrett
Approval date
Composition (Indicators 10 and 12) based on	Annual Production

Indicators

Number and extent of rills:
Presence of water flow patterns:
Number and height of erosional pedestals or terracettes:
Bare ground from Ecological Site Description or other studies (rock, litter, lichen, moss, plant canopy are not bare ground):
Number of gullies and erosion associated with gullies:
Extent of wind scoured, blowouts and/or depositional areas:
Amount of litter movement (describe size and distance expected to travel):
Soil surface (top few mm) resistance to erosion (stability values are averages - most sites will show a range of values):
Soil surface structure and SOM content (include type of structure and A-horizon color and thickness):
Effect of community phase composition (relative proportion of different functional groups) and spatial distribution on infiltration and runoff:
Presence and thickness of compaction layer (usually none; describe soil profile features which may be mistaken for compaction on this site):
Functional/Structural Groups (list in order of descending dominance by above-ground annual-production or live foliar cover using symbols: >>, >, = to indicate much greater than, greater than, and equal to):

Dominant:

Sub-dominant:

Other:

Additional:
Amount of plant mortality and decadence (include which functional groups are expected to show mortality or decadence):
Average percent litter cover (%) and depth ( in):
Expected annual annual-production (this is TOTAL above-ground annual-production, not just forage annual-production):
Potential invasive (including noxious) species (native and non-native). List species which BOTH characterize degraded states and have the potential to become a dominant or co-dominant species on the ecological site if their future establishment and growth is not actively controlled by management interventions. Species that become dominant for only one to several years (e.g., short-term response to drought or wildfire) are not invasive plants. Note that unlike other indicators, we are describing what is NOT expected in the reference state for the ecological site:
Perennial plant reproductive capability:

Download reference sheet

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Natural ResourcesConservation Service

Ecological site F101XY007NY

Wet Outwash

Last updated: 5/21/2020 Accessed: 04/16/2024

General information

MLRA notes

Classification relationships

Ecological site concept

Associated sites

Table 1. Dominant plant species

Ecosystem states

State 1 submodel, plant communities

State 2 submodel, plant communities

Natural Resources
Conservation Service

Last updated: 5/21/2020
Accessed: 04/16/2024