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): 120B–Kentucky and Indiana Sandstone and Shale Hills and Valleys, Northwestern Part

120B-Kentucky and Indiana Sandstone and Shale Hills and Valleys, Northwestern Part is located in Indiana and covers about 3,040 sq.mi. This area is in the Highland Rim Section of the Interior Low Plateaus Province of the Interior Plains. Tributaries of the Ohio River dissect the uplands. The major streams and rivers have well defined valleys with broad flood plains and numerous stream terraces. The geologic materials in this area are of Early and Middle Pennsylvanian and Late Mississippian age. The rocks consist mainly of flat-lying, interbedded sandstone, shale, coal, and siltstone with minor areas of limestone. Bedrock outcrops are common on river bluffs. The dominant soil orders in this MLRA are Alfisols, Ultisols, and Inceptisols. The soils in the area have a mesic soil temperature regime, a udic or aquic soil moisture regime, and dominantly mixed mineralogy. They formed dominantly in less than 40 inches of loess and in residuum or colluvium derived from sandstone, shale, and siltstone. The soils range from moderately deep to very deep and from poorly drained to somewhat excessively drained and are loamy, silty, or clayey. Fragiudalfs (Apalona, Zanesville) and Hapludalfs (Wellston) are the dominant soils on ridgetops and upper slopes. Hapludults (Adyeville) and Dystrudepts (Tipsaw) are on side slopes, and Hapludults (Tulip) are on footslopes. Hapludalfs (Deuchars, Ebal, Kitterman) are on structural benches and scarps. Endoaquepts (Zipp), Epiaqualfs (McGary), and Hapludalfs (Shircliff, Markland) are formed in lacustrine sediments. Hapludults (Millstone), Hapludalfs (Elkinsville), Fragiudalfs (Sciotoville), and Epiaqualfs (Hatfield) are on terraces along the Ohio River. Hapludolls (Huntington), Eutrudepts (McAdoo, Lindside), and Endoaquepts (Newark) are on flood plains along the major streams. Dystrudepts (Cuba, Steff), Eutrudepts (Gatchel, Haymond), Endoaquepts (Belknap, Stendal), and Fluvaquents (Birds, Bonnie) are on local flood plains.

Classification relationships

Quercus stellata - Quercus marilandica - Carya (glabra, texana) / Vaccinium arboreum Forest CEGL002075

Ecological site concept

The Sandy Dune ecological sites are located on upland hills and ridges. Representative soils include: Alvin, Bloomfield, Princeton, Tobinsport.

The communities described in this provisional document reflect plant communities that are likely to be found on these soils and have not been field verified. This PES describes hypotheses based on available data of many different scales and sources and has not been developed utilizing site-specific ecological field monitoring. This PES does not encompass the entire complexity or diversity of these sites. Field studies would be required to develop a comprehensive and science-based restoration plan for these sites.

Ecological Dynamics:
Post oak –blackjack oak forests are found throughout the Interior Highlands and Interior Low Plateau including southern Indiana. Stands tend to be isolated and occur on shallow, dry, and/or rapidly drained soils. This community is expressed best on south and southwest facing slopes of dry clay and sandy, fast draining soils. Northern aspects may have a mix of dry to dry-mesic species including white oak, chestnut oak, pignut hickory, scarlet oak, and black oak.

The overstory is usually short in comparison to other forest communities and range from 25- 50 feet. Trees are slow-growing and the canopy is open with a scattering of shrubs and a poorly developed herbaceous layer. Shrub species may include Vaccinium spp., Amelanchier arborea, and Ostrya virginiana. Mosses and lichens may be abundant.

State 1, Phase 1.1.
Forestland. Plant species dominants:
post oak (Quercus stellata) – Blackjack oak (Quercus marilandica) / blueberry (Vaccinium spp.) / poverty oat grass (Danthonia spicata)

State 2, Phase 2.1:
Pasture. Plant species dominants: Schedonorus arundinaceus (tall fescue).
Species present would be dependent upon seeding and management.

State 3, Phase 3.1:
The transitional phase plant community composition will depend upon previous land uses – pasture type, management while in pasture (high quality pasture versus minimal managed grass-shrub –sapling community), and adjacent seed sources. State 3 listed below is assuming a transition from a fescue pasture. This phase is best described as an old field habitat with a mixture of native and introduced grasses and a variety of native and non-native herbs, forbs, seedlings, and saplings. Nearby available seed sources will greatly influence the makeup of this successional community.

Transitional (abandoned) field. Plant species dominants: eastern red cedar (Juniperus virginiana) – red maple (Acer rubrum)/ sumac (Rhus spp.) / broomsedge bluestem (Andropogon virginicus) -fescue (Schedonorus arundinaceus)

Cropland was not included as a major state in this ecological model.

Restoration of states to the reference community would require long-term, intensive management inputs.

Table 1. Dominant plant species