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Conservation Service

Ecological site RX141X506

Calcareous Till Slope

Last updated: 10/03/2024
Accessed: 11/13/2024

Home / Esd catalog / MLRA 141X / Ecological site RX141X506

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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): 141X–Tug Hill Plateau

MLRA 141 is entirely in New York and makes up about 1,173 square kilometers (3,037 square kilometers). It consists of a relatively small but unique upland that lies just off the eastern end of Lake Ontario and west of the Black River Valley and Adirondack Mountain region. It is essentially a north- and east-facing glaciated cuesta scarp and is underlain by thick Wisconsin till and small areas of outwash. Most of the plateau is woodland, so forestry and recreation are the primary uses, but small isolated dairy operations and hobby farms are located around the perimeter.

The area is bordered on the east by the Black River Valley, on the north by the St. Lawrence Lowland, on the west by the Ontario Lowland, and on the south by the Upper Mohawk Valley. The northern and eastern boundaries of MLRA 141 are distinct where they contact the physiographically dissimilar southwestern part of MLRA 142 (St. Lawrence-Champlain Plain). The western and southern boundaries are also distinct where they contact the physiographically dissimilar MLRA 101 (Ontario-Erie Plain and Finger Lakes Region).

Ecological site concept

This site occurs mostly on well- to moderately well-drained loam soils and associated somewhat poorly-drained soils. Bedrock is greater than 20 inches below the mineral soil surface. Soils are semi-rich due to calcareous bedrock material from which they are derived. This site is commonly found on backslope and footslope positions but may occur on flats or any number of landforms. The vegetation is characterized by northern hardwoods, particularly sugar maple, yellow birch, and beech, with basswood, ash, and northern white cedar as less-abundant indicators of these semi-rich soils. Shallower and wetter inclusions in this site typically produce more of these indicator species. On gentler slopes, these soils are often farmed.

Table 1. Dominant plant species

Tree	(1) Quercus rubra (2) Fraxinus americana
Shrub	Not specified
Herbaceous	Not specified

Legacy ID

F141XY506NY

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Physiographic features

Table 2. Representative physiographic features

Landforms	(1) Alluvial fan (2) Drumlinoid ridge (3) Drumlin (4) Hill (5) Till plain (6) Valley train
Elevation	246 – 1,801 ft
Water table depth	13 – 72 in
Aspect	Aspect is not a significant factor

Climatic features

Throughout the year precipitation is evenly distributed around most of this area with slightly less rainfall occurring around the lower margins of the plateau. Rainfall occurs as high-intensity, convective thunderstorms during the summer. Lake-effect snowfall is heavy from late autumn to early spring with the summit of the plateau having the lowest temperatures and the shortest freeze-free periods.

Climate stations Watertown and Old Forge are adjacent to the MLRA and were used to tabulate additional representative climate data.

Table 3. Representative climatic features

Frost-free period (characteristic range)	92-124 days
Freeze-free period (characteristic range)	129-159 days
Precipitation total (characteristic range)	47-53 in
Frost-free period (actual range)	86-131 days
Freeze-free period (actual range)	119-164 days
Precipitation total (actual range)	44-57 in
Frost-free period (average)	108 days
Freeze-free period (average)	143 days
Precipitation total (average)	50 in

Characteristic range

Actual range

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Figure 1. Monthly precipitation range

Characteristic range

Actual range

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Figure 2. Monthly minimum temperature range

Characteristic range

Actual range

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Figure 3. Monthly maximum temperature range

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Figure 4. Monthly average minimum and maximum temperature

Figure 5. Annual precipitation pattern

Figure 6. Annual average temperature pattern

Climate stations used

(1) BOONVILLE 4 SSW [USC00300785], Boonville, NY
(2) CAMDEN [USC00301110], Camden, NY
(3) WATERTOWN [USC00309000], Watertown, NY
(4) OLD FORGE [USC00306184], Eagle Bay, NY

Soil features

Table 4. Representative soil features

Parent material	(1) Glaciofluvial deposits – limestone (2) Alluvium – calcareous shale (3) Till – sandstone (4) Till – calcareous shale
Surface texture	(1) Gravelly loamy sand (2) Loam (3) Loam (4) Loam
Drainage class	Moderately well drained to well drained
Permeability class	Very slow to moderately slow
Soil depth	17 – 72 in
Surface fragment cover <=3"	Not specified
Surface fragment cover >3"	Not specified
Available water capacity (2-7in)	Not specified
Soil reaction (1:1 water) (4.5-8.4in)	Not specified
Subsurface fragment volume <=3" (18-25in)	Not specified
Subsurface fragment volume >3" (2-5in)	Not specified

Ecological dynamics

[Caveat: The vegetation information contained in this section and is only provisional, based on concepts, and future projects support validation through field work. *] The vegetation groupings described in this section are based on the terrestrial ecological system classification and vegetation associations developed by NatureServe (Comer 2003) and localized associations provided by the New York Natural Heritage Program (Edinger et al. 2014).

The vegetation is characterized by northern hardwoods, particularly sugar maple, yellow birch, and beech, with basswood, ash, and northern white cedar as less-abundant indicators of these semi-rich soils. Christmas fern is often present in the understory. Wetter inclusions in this site typically produce more of these indicator species. Historically, American chestnut would also be dominant on this site, but currently it has been all but eliminated from the region by chestnut blight.

When forested, treethrow and logging are the most common disturbances on this site. The site is resilient following these disturbances and succeeds through an herbaceous and shrubby phase prior to tree establishment and eventual return to the reference community.
On gentler slopes, this site is often cultivated for crop or pasture given the richness of the soil. When cropland or pastureland management ceases, as occurred across most of the area in the late 19th century, the site either returns to hardwoods or may transition to a white pine forest. Once white pine is established, it tends to form a single age stand with low diversity and little understory.

State and transition model

Custom diagram

Standard diagram

More interactive model formats are also available. View Interactive Models

Supporting information

Inventory data references

Future work is needed, as described in a future project plan, to validate the information presented in this provisional ecological site description. Future work includes field sampling, data collection and analysis by qualified vegetation ecologists and soil scientists. As warranted, annual reviews of the project plan can be conducted by the Ecological Site Technical Team. A final field review, peer review, quality control, and quality assurance reviews of the ESD are necessary to approve a final document.

Other references

Comer, P., D. Faber-Langendoen, R. Evans, S. Grawler, C. Josse, G. Kittel, S. Menard, M. Pyne, M. Reid, K. Schultz, K. Snow, and J. Teague. 2003. Ecological Systems of the United States: A Working Classification of U.S. Terrestrial Systems. NatureServe, Arlington, Virginia

Edinger, G. J., D. J. Evans, S. Gebauer, T. G. Howard, D. M. Hunt, and A. M. Olivero (editors). 2014. Ecological Communities of New York State. Second Edition. A revised and expanded edition of Carol Reschke’s Ecological Communities of New York State. New York Natural Heritage Program, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, Albany, NY.

Gawler, S. and A. Cutko. 2010. Natural Landscapes of Maine: A Guide to Natural Communities and Ecosystems. Maine Natural Areas Program, Maine Department of Conservation, Augusta, Maine.

NatureServe. 2021. NatureServe Explorer: An online encyclopedia of life [web application]. NatureServe, Arlington, Virginia. https://explorer.natureserve.org/. (accessed 10 July. 2021).

Soil Survey Staff, Natural Resources Conservation Service, United States Department of Agriculture. 2006. Land Resource Regions and Major Land Resource Areas of the United States, the Caribbean, and the Pacific Basin. Agricultural Handbook 296

Soil Survey Staff, Natural Resources Conservation Service, United States Department of Agriculture. Official Soil Series Descriptions. Available online. (accessed 11 Aug. 2021).

Soil Survey Staff, Natural Resources Conservation Service, United States Department of Agriculture. Soil Climate Research Station Data. Available online. (accessed 23 June. 2021).

Soil Survey Staff, Natural Resources Conservation Service, United States Department of Agriculture. Soil Survey Geographic (SSURGO) Database for [MLRA 141, Maine]. Available online. (accessed 14 Oct. 2021).

USNVC [United States National Vegetation Classification]. 2017. United States National Vegetation Classification Database V2.01. Federal Geographic Data Committee, Vegetation Subcommittee, Washington DC. Available The U.S. National Vegetation Classification (usnvc.org) (accessed 2 July. 2021).

Contributors

Christopher Mann

Approval

Greg Schmidt, 10/03/2024

Acknowledgments

Nels Barrett and Nick Butler provided considerable review of this ecological site concept.

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	10/04/2024
Approved by	Greg Schmidt
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:

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Natural ResourcesConservation Service

Ecological site RX141X506

Calcareous Till Slope

Last updated: 10/03/2024 Accessed: 11/13/2024

General information

MLRA notes

Ecological site concept

Table 1. Dominant plant species

Legacy ID

Natural Resources
Conservation Service

Last updated: 10/03/2024
Accessed: 11/13/2024