Natural Resources
Conservation Service
Ecological site F145XY010CT
Moist Outwash
Accessed: 05/19/2024
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): 145X–Connecticut Valley
The nearly level floor of the Connecticut River Valley makes up most of the area. Nearly level to sloping lowlands are at the outer edges of the river valley. These lowlands are broken by isolated, north- to south-trending trap-rock ridges that are hilly and steep. Elevation ranges from sea level to 330 feet in the lowlands and from 650 to 1,000 feet on ridges.
Recent alluvium has been deposited on the nearly level flood plain along the Connecticut River since the glacial retreat about 10,000 to 12,000 years ago. These deposits created some of the most productive agricultural soils in New England. Glacial lake deposits, outwash, and recent alluvial deposits dominate.
The area primarily supports central hardwoods. Habitat loss and fragmentation are widespread throughout the lower part of the Connecticut River Valley. The major tree species in the rest of the forested areas are sugar maple, birch,beech, oaks, and hickory. White pine and hemlock are the dominant conifers, but pitch pine and red pine are more common on sandy soils. Red maple grows on the wetter sites.
The most common understory plants are moosewood and hobblebush in the northern part of the area and dogwood in the southern part. Abandoned agricultural land is dominated by white pine and paper birch in the northern part and red cedar and gray birch in the southern part. The important upland habitats include trap-rock ridges and sand plains. Oak woodlands and cedar glades are common on the ridges. Black oak savannas mixed with pitch pine and varying amounts of little bluestem are common on the sand plains. Other habitats of significance include wetlands associated with the Connecticut River freshwater marshes, swamps, flood plains, and lowlands. The dominant trees on the flood plains are black willow, cottonwood, and sycamore.
Classification relationships
USDA NRCS:
LRR: Northeastern Forage and Forest Region
MLRA 145 Connecticut Valley
USDA USFS:
Province221: Eastern Broadleaf Forest
Section 221A: Lower New England
Subsection 221Af: Lower Connecticut River Valley
EPA Ecoregions:
Level III: 59 Northeast Coastal Zone
Level IV: 59a Connecticut Valley
Ecological site concept
This site consists of very deep, moderately well drained soils formed in loamy over sandy and gravelly glacial outwash. They are nearly level to strongly sloping soils on glaciofluvial landforms, typically in slight depressions and broad drainageways. Representative soil is Ellington.
The representative plant communities are varied but consist largely of oaks (chestnut, black, scarlet, and white), and occasional pines (pitch, white) and red maple e.g., “red oak / mapleleaf viburnum forest” (Metzler and Barrett 2006); plus open sites include big bluestem - indian grass (Metzler and Barrett 2006). These sites are very similar to the sandy moderately well-drained counterpart, but have fewer pines and a greater abundance of ferns in the understory.
These moderately well-drained sandy sites are subject to many disturbances including conversion by agricultural cropping - plantations, as well as development, burning, cutting from occasional tree harvests, and invasive species such as buckthorn and honeysuckles.
Table 1. Dominant plant species
Tree |
(1) Quercus rubra |
---|---|
Shrub |
(1) Viburnum acerifolium |
Herbaceous |
Not specified |
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