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): 140X–Glaciated Allegheny Plateau and Catskill Mountains

This area is primarily in the Southern New York Section of the Appalachian Plateaus Province of the Appalachian Highlands. The top of the dissected plateau in this MLRA is broad and is nearly level to moderately sloping. The narrow valleys have steep walls and smooth floors. The Catskills in the east have steep slopes. Elevation is typically 650 to 1,000 feet on valley floors; 1,650 to 2,000 feet on the plateau surface; and 3,600 feet or more in parts of the Catskills.

The average annual precipitation in most of this area is 30 to 45 inches. Rainfall occurs as high-intensity, convective thunderstorms during the summer, but most of the precipitation in this area occurs as snow. The average annual temperature is 40 to 50 degrees F.

The dominant soil order in this MLRA is Inceptisols. The soils in the area dominantly have a mesic soil temperature regime, an aquic or udic soil moisture regime, and mixed mineralogy. Frigid soils are found within the higher elevations.

This area supports forest vegetation, particularly hardwood species. Beech-birch-maple and elm-ash-red maple are the potential forest types. The extent of oak species increases from east to west, particularly in areas of shallow and dry soils. In some areas conifers, such as white pine, are important. Aspen, hemlock, northern white-cedar, and black ash grow on the wetter soils. In some parts of the area, sugar maple has potential economic significance. Some of the major wildlife species in this area are white-tailed deer, cottontail, turkey, pheasant, and grouse.

Classification relationships

USDA-NRCS (USDA, 2006):
Land Resource Region (LRR): L — Lake States Fruit, Truck Crop, and Dairy Region
Major Land Resource Area (MLRA): 101— Ontario-Erie Plain and Finger Lakes Region

USDA-FS (Cleland et al., 2007)
Province: 211 — Northeastern Mixed Forest Province (in part)
Section: 211F —Northern Glaciated Allegheny Plateau
Subsection: 211Fa — Cattaraugus Highlands
Subsection: 211Fb — Central Allegheny Plateau
Subsection: 211Fc — Eastern Allegheny Plateau
Subsection: 211Fd — Pocono Plateau
Subsection: 211Ff — Glaciated High Plateau
Section: 211I — Catskill Mountains
Subsection: 211Ia — Catskill Mountains
211Ib — Catskill Highlands
Province: 221 — Eastern Broadleaf Forest Province (in part)
Section: 221B — Hudson Valley (in part)
Subsection: 221Bd — Kittatinny-Shawangunk Ridges


EPA Ecoregions:
Level III: 60 - Northern Allegheny Plateau and 58 - Northeastern Highlands
Level IV: 60a - Glaciated Low Allegheny Plateau, 60b - Delaware-Neversink Highlands, 60c - Catskills Transition, and 58y - Catskill High Peaks

USDA USFS:
200 Humid Temperate Domain
212 Laurentian Mixed Forest Province
M212 Adirondack - New England Mixed Forest - Coniferous Forest - Alpine Meadow Province

NY Natural Heritage Program Plant Community Classification:
Spruce-Fir Swamp
Hemlock Hardwood Swamp
Red Maple-Hardwood Swamp

International Vegetation Classification Associations:
Red Spruce - Balsam Fir / Creeping Snowberry / Cinnamon Fern / Peatmoss species Swamp Forest (CEGL006312)
Eastern Hemlock - Yellow Birch / Common Winterberry / Peatmoss species Swamp Forest (CEGL006226)
Eastern Hemlock / Great Laurel / Peatmoss species Swamp Forest (CEGL006279)
Yellow Birch - Red Maple - (Eastern Hemlock, Balsam Fir) / Cinnamon Fern Swamp Forest (CEGL006380)

NatureServe Ecological Systems
North-Central Appalachian Acidic Swamp (CES202.604)
Northern Appalachian-Acadian Conifer-Hardwood Acidic Swamp (CES201.574)

Ecological site concept

Climate:
Mean annual precipitation is 46 inches and evenly distributed throughout the year. Most of the rainfall occurs as high intensity, convective thunderstorms during the summer. Snowfall is heavy from late in autumn to early spring. Average frost-free and freeze-free days are 98 and 132, respectively.

Landform/Landscape Position:
The site occurs in upland upland depressions and on bedrock controlled benches and steps on mountain sides and upland flats. Slopes range from 0 to 8 percent.

Soils:
The soils consists of very deep to shallow, poorly drained and very poorly drained soils formed in loamy till derived from sandstone, siltstone, and shale. Soil temperature regime is frigid. Reaction is very strongly acid or strongly acid throughout the mineral soil. Soil components include Suny, Norchip, Torull, Greenwood, and Wonsqueak.

Vegetation:
Reference community is a forested wetland. Characteristic vegetation includes:

Trees: hemlock (Tsuga canadensis), red spruce (Picea rubens), red maple ( (Acer rubrum), yellow birch (Betula alleghaniensis), and blackgum (Nyssa sylvatica).

Shrubs: highbush blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum), great rhododendron (Rhododendron maximum), and winterberry (Ilex verticillata).

Herbaceous: cinnamon fern (Osmunda cinnamomea) and sensitive fern (Onoclea sensibilis), Jack-in-the-pulpit (Arisaema triphyllum), skunk-cabbage (Symplocarpus foetidus), three-fruited sedge (Carex trisperma).

Associated sites

Similar sites

Table 1. Dominant plant species