Dry Mollic or Umbric Upland
Scenario model
Current ecosystem state
Select a state
Management practices/drivers
Select a transition or restoration pathway
-
Transition T1A
Suppression of fire
More details -
Restoration pathway R2A
Return of fire and/or large grazers to the landscape.
More details -
Transition T2A
Continued fire suppression for over 20 years
More details -
Transition T2B
Removal of forest/shrub cover and tilling for agricultural crop production.
More details -
Transition T3A
Cutting, fire, or blowdown removing existing tree canopy.
More details -
Restoration pathway R4A
Low intensity moderate return interval fire removing fire intolerant species and regeneration
More details -
Restoration pathway R4B
Deciduous forest community is slowly invaded by conifers.
More details -
Transition T5A
Removal of forest/shrub cover and tilling for agricultural crop production.
More details -
No transition or restoration pathway between the selected states has been described
Target ecosystem state
Select a state
Description
The Reference State is a grassland state dominated by little bluestem, but also includes side-oats grama, and other short grasses. Leadplant and flowering spurge are common. The reference state for this ES is very rare today and was maintained by frequent fire removing the encroachment of tree and shrub species.
Submodel
Description
A mostly open grassland with sporadic shrubs and trees. As soon as fire is suppressed tree and shrub species invade this ES and various tree and shrub species may take hold resulting in a grassland with sparse and sporadic tree and shrub cover.
Submodel
Description
In absence of stand-leveling disturbances the Stable Forest State Community oscillates between two easily definable community phases, a mature, or late successional, community phase and a rejuvenated community phase. The major difference between these two states being the level and degree of small scale disturbance leading to canopy openings and the resulting abundance and age of canopy tree species as well as the shrub layer. Typically this state is characterized by a mixed forest of White pine, Black, Pin, and White Oak, and Red maple. A mixed presence of Red pine, and Jack pine could occur as well.
Submodel
Description
Pioneer/Mixed Forest state may consist of considerable diversity of pioneer and mid-successional community phases. Here we are describing four, most commonly found under current conditions.
Submodel
Mechanism
Suppression of fire leading to the encroachment of wood species. Continued suppression for 10+ years required for the establishment of woody species.
Mechanism
Reintroduction of fire causing the mortality of encroaching trees and shrubs. This fire must then return at relatively short intervals to continue to suppress the growth of woody vegetation.
Mechanism
Continued fire suppression for several decades will lead to a dominant woody cover on the site.
Mechanism
Removal of forest cover and tilling for agricultural crop production
Mechanism
Major stand-replacing disturbance. In pre-European settlement time, the event was most often a severe blow down, sometimes followed by fires. Such blow downs have been estimated to occur in this part of Wisconsin every 300 to 400 years (Schulte and Mladenoff, 2005). In post settlement virtually every acre has been logged either by clear cutting or successive cuts targeting species marketable at that time. Post logging slash fires also have been a significant factor in most areas. These disturbances created the environment suitable for natural regeneration of many shade-intolerant species and for commercial planting.
Mechanism
Reintroduction of low intensity fire that kills fire intolerant species and most regeneration.
Mechanism
A period of some 70-100 years without major stand disturbance, especially fire, leads to decreased presence, through natural mortality, of early successional species and the dominance of shade tolerant sugar maple with less tolerant associates of red oak and white ash.
Model keys
Briefcase
Add ecological sites and Major Land Resource Areas to your briefcase by clicking on the briefcase (
) icon wherever it occurs. Drag and drop items to reorder. Cookies are used to store briefcase items between browsing sessions. Because of this, the number of items that can be added to your briefcase is limited, and briefcase items added on one device and browser cannot be accessed from another device or browser. Users who do not wish to place cookies on their devices should not use the briefcase tool. Briefcase cookies serve no other purpose than described here and are deleted whenever browsing history is cleared.
Ecological sites
Major Land Resource Areas
The Ecosystem Dynamics Interpretive Tool is an information system framework developed by the USDA-ARS Jornada Experimental Range, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, and New Mexico State University.