Central Hardwoods Ecological Potential Vegetation

Dec 19, 2017 (Last modified Dec 20, 2017)
Uploaded by Cara Joos
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Description:
Title:
Modeling the Ecological Potential of the Central Hardwoods Bird Conservation Region
Abstract:
Conservation planning at landscape and eco-regional scales requires an assessment of habitat restoration opportunities, including what are “natural” communities, where can they be restored where, how much land is required and available. To meet this need for the Central Hardwoods Bird Conservation Region (CHBCR), we developed a model to predict where the best ecological potential is for restoring 11 broadly-defined natural vegetation communities. The distribution of communities was modeled using Land Type Associations (LTAs), subdivisions of (Bailey’s) subsections, and the landforms within them. We delineated LTAs using topography, geology and soils to define different ecological communities. Landform types were developed by The Missouri Resource Assessment Partnership (MoRAP) using a 30m digital elevation model, derived solar insolation values and relative land positions to describe local sites. Given maps and descriptions of LTAs and landforms, local community ecologists were asked to predict the potential natural vegetation that would occur at each landform type within each LTA, assuming “natural” disturbance regimes. This matrix of potential natural vegetation types was then spatially mapped in a GIS. The result is a spatially explicit, 30 m raster grid of the distribution of the “ecological potential” of the Central Hardwoods Region. The model can be used to help guide management actions by comparing current conditions to the ecological potential of a site and identify locations for community restoration efforts, as well as the maximal extent of each community within the region. And, used with habitat suitability models, the ecological potential model can be used to estimate the capacity of the CHBCR to accommodate wildlife populations under different habitat management scenarios.


Vegetation category descriptions:
Prairie/Grassland - Dominated by perennial warm-season grasses and forbs with scattered shrubs and very few trees. Fire frequency: 1-3 yrs.

Prairie/Savanna - Dominated by prairie grasses and forbs with open-grown scattered trees, groupings of trees of various age, and shrubs; generally less than 20% tree canopy. Fire frequency: 1-3 yrs.

Prairie/Savanna (Barrens)

Glade/Savanna Mosaic (< 20% canopy) - Woodland/savanna landscape with open rocky barren areas that have shallow soils and are dominated by drought-adapted forbs, warm-season grasses and specialized fauna. Fire frequency: 2-5 yrs.

Oak Open Woodland (20-50% canopy) - Mosaic patches of oak shrubs, saplings and mature trees at irregular intervals with tree canopies between 20 and 50%, sparse midstory and dense ground flora of forbs, grasses and sedges that occur and bloom throughout the growing season. Fire frequency: 2-5 yrs. Flatwoods variant....

Oak Closed Woodland (50-80% canopy) - Mosaic patches of oak shrubs, saplings and mature trees with tree canopies between 50 and 80%, with a well developed small tree and and shrub layer along with scattered forbs and grasses. Fire frequency: 3-15 yrs.

Pine/Bluestem Open Woodland (20-50% canopy) - Open shortleaf pine stands with a sparse midstory and a ground layer dominated by little bluestem and other perennial grasses, forbs, sedges, lichens and mosses. Fire frequency: 3-15 yrs.

Pine/Oak Closed Woodland (50-80% canopy) - Mosaic patches of shortleaf pine and oak trees with canopies between 50 and 80%; generally a poorly developed midstory consisting of scattered open-grown small trees or shrubs and sparse to moderate ground cover. Fire frequency: 5-30 yrs.

Forest (> 80% canopy) - Dominated by trees forming a closed canopy and interspersed with multilayered shade-tolerant sub-canopy trees, shrubs, vines, ferns and herbs where fires are infrequent.

Floodplain Forests - Dry to mesic bottomland forests with 80 to 100% canopy closure and dense to sparse understory depending on flood frequency, along streams and stream terraces.

Herbaceous Wetlands - Areas where perennial herbaceous vegetation accounts for 75 to 100% of the cover and the soil or substrate is periodically saturated with or covered with water.
Credits



Data Provided By:
Lee E. O’Brien, Timothy A. Nigh, C. Diane True, Jane A. Fitzgerald, and D. Todd Jones-Farrand
Content date:
not specified
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Password to download from abcbirds.egnyte.com: 6d6Un5ctya
Spatial Resolution:
60 (Meter)
Contact Organization:
http://www.chjv.org/modeling.html
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Creative Commons LicenseThis work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
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Tags:
central hardwoods joint venture, ecological potential, potential vegetation
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About the Uploader

Cara Joos
Science Coordinator with Central Hardwoods Joint Venture

Cara brings over 10 years of experience conducting research on migratory bird populations. She has worked in various ecosystems including Chihuahuan Desert shrublands, Eastern shrublands and forests, and west Mexican Dry tropical forest. She earned a B.S. in Biology from Northern Illinois University...