Natural Resources
Conservation Service
Ecological site F111XE101OH
Lacustrine Flatwood
Last updated: 9/11/2024
Accessed: 11/13/2024
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): 111X–Indiana and Ohio Till Plain
111E – Indiana and Ohio Till Plain, Eastern Part. Most of this area is in the Till Plains Section of the Central Lowlands Province of the Interior Plains. The northeast tip of the area is in the Southern New York Section of the Appalachian Highlands. The entire area has been glaciated. It is dominated by ground moraines that are broken in places by kames, lake plains, outwash plains, terraces, and stream valleys. Narrow, shallow valleys commonly are along the few large streams in the area. Elevation ranges from 580 to 1,400 feet (175 to 425 meters), increasing gradually from west to east. Relief is mainly a few meters, but in some areas hills rise as much as 100 feet (30 meters) above the adjoining plain.
The extent of the major Hydrologic Unit Areas (identified by four-digit numbers) that make up this MLRA is as follows: Scioto (0506), 33 percent; Muskingum (0504), 31 percent; and Western Lake Erie (0410), 28 percent; Upper Ohio (0503), 5 percent; and Southern Lake Erie (0411), 3 percent. The headwaters of many rivers in central Ohio, including the Vermillion, Black Fork, Sandusky, Little Scioto, and Olentangy Rivers, are in this MLRA.
This MLRA is underlain by late Devonian shale and sandstone. Surficial materials include glacial deposits of till, glaciolacustrine sediments, and outwash from Wisconsin and older glacial periods.
Classification relationships
Major Land Resource Area (USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service, 2006)
USFS Ecological Regions (USDA, 2007):
Sections –Central Till Plains, Beech Maple (222H), Western Glaciated Allegheny Plateau (221F)
Subsections – Allegheny Plateau (221Fa), Bluffton Till Plains (222Ha), Miami-Scioto Plain – Tipton Till Plain (222Hb)
NatureServe Systems anticipated (NatureServe, 2011): Agriculture - Cultivated Crops and Irrigated Agriculture, Agriculture – Pasture/Hay, North-Central Interior Beech-Maple Forest, North-Central Interior Wet Flatwoods, Ruderal Forest, Ruderal Upland - Old Field
LANDFIRE Biophysical Settings anticipated (USGS, 2010): North-Central Interior Beech-Maple Forest
Ecological site concept
This site is a wetland site formed on lacustrine parent materials. It is located on lake plains, glacial lake relicts, and flats. The soils have very dark surfaces with a subsurface that is in the loamy textural group, and are very poorly or poorly drained. These soils generally occur on nearly level to depressional areas of stream terraces, till plains, and glacial lake plains. The site is occasionally flooded for a brief duration, but ponding occurs frequently to a depth of 15 inches for up to more than a month.
The characteristic vegetation of the site is that of a flatwoods type dominated by pin oak and swamp white oak. Black and green ash are also common in the canopy, with silver maple also being present in lower amounts. The large, seasonal fluctuation of water on the site allows for the co-existence of upland and lowland trees. Inundation of the site generally occurs in the spring which leads to a sparse and patchy understory. Fire did occur on the site, but high intensity fires were rare. Low intensity surface fires were more common on sites that are adjacent to more fire prone sites such as prairies and savannas. Ponding in the spring followed by summer drought along with windthrow were the most dominant disturbance factors. The High Graded state occurs after a selective timber harvest that removes the more desirable species, specifically oak species. That results in a site where the canopy is dominated by ash species, silver maple, and black gum. The understory stays relatively unchanged except for the younger age classes of oaks that are either reduced greatly in number or missing completely. A large portion of this site has been drained and is in agricultural production. The majority of the converted acres is used for small grain rotations, specifically corn and soybeans. A much smaller amount of the site is also used for growing forage that is used for pasture or hay production. These sites are predominately cool season grass species and legumes such as tall fescue and clover species.
Associated sites
F111XE102OH |
Lacustrine Forest Somewhat poorly drained or drier |
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F111XE501OH |
Till Depression Located on till parent materials |
Similar sites
F111XE501OH |
Till Depression Located on till parent materials |
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F111XE102OH |
Lacustrine Forest Somewhat poorly drained or drier |
F111XE201OH |
Wet Alluvium Floodplain Located on alluvium parent materials; soils are very poorly drained. |
Table 1. Dominant plant species
Tree |
(1) Quercus palustris |
---|---|
Shrub |
Not specified |
Herbaceous |
Not specified |
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