Name:
Pinus banksiana Forest Alliance
Reference:
Midwestern Ecology Working Group...
Description:
This alliance, found from lower Michigan and northwestern Indiana northwest to southern Manitoba, with occasional outliers eastward, is a dry forest. It is characterized by moderately dense to dense stands of trees. The morphology and density of the dominant trees often allows enough light through the canopy to support abundant shrubs. The vegetation is dominated by coniferous trees, often almost entirely Pinus banksiana. Other conifers that may be present include Abies balsamea, Pinus resinosa, Picea glauca, and Picea mariana. Deciduous trees, such as Acer rubrum, Betula papyrifera, Populus balsamifera, Populus grandidentata, Populus tremuloides, Quercus ellipsoidalis, and Quercus rubra, may be scattered throughout stands of this alliance. All of these associated trees, except Betula papyrifera, Pinus resinosa, and Populus tremuloides, are minor canopy components. The latter three species may be codominant in some stands. The associated trees often make up the bulk of the saplings and seedlings. Shrubs may be absent to abundant. Both tall and short shrubs occur in stands of this alliance. These include Alnus viridis (especially in northwest Ontario), Amelanchier spp., Arctostaphylos uva-ursi, Corylus cornuta, Diervilla lonicera, Gaultheria procumbens, Linnaea borealis, and Viburnum rafinesquianum. Vaccinium spp. are very common throughout this alliance. The herbaceous layer is often not well represented. It may include Aralia nudicaulis, Eurybia macrophylla (= Aster macrophyllus), Maianthemum canadense, and Melampyrum lineare. Mosses and lichens, especially Pleurozium schreberi and Cladonia spp., are abundant in some communities of this alliance. Stands may be found on rocky ridgetops and slopes, outwash plains, and lake dunes. These sites are most often dry to dry-mesic with sand, sandy loam, and less commonly, clay soils. The soils are of lacustrine, glaciofluvial, or eolian origin. They may be shallow to deep and are typically somewhat infertile. Bedrock is exposed in some stands. Stands in this alliance require fire or other disturbance to regenerate because Pinus banksiana does not reproduce well in established forests. In the absence of disturbance these stands will succeed to other forest types.
Accession Code:
VB.CC.22053.PINUSBANKSIANAF
Plot-observations of this Community Concept:
0
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