Name:
Driftless Area Maderate Cliff Vegetation
Reference:
NatureServe Biotics 2019
Description:
This moist maderate cliff community type is found in the Driftless Area of the central midwestern United States. Stands occur on vertical or near-vertical dolomite bedrock exposures, with a northern to northeastern aspect. Maderate cliffs can be up to 60 m in height and may extend up to 0.6 km in length. Generally, the dissected (eroded) fissure and sink system essential in maintaining cold-air flow is small; fissures extend only 0.06 km or so into the rock, and the surface feeder sinks are usually cryptic. The yearly temperatures range only between about -10°C and +10°C. Humidity is fairly high, generally 80% at ground surface. The overall effect is to make the sites cooler than normal in summer and warmer than normal in winter. The vegetation on the cliffs is sparse, but typically herbaceous and shrub species include <i>Cystopteris bulbifera, Dasiphora fruticosa ssp. floribunda, Zigadenus elegans, Cornus canadensis, Galium triflorum, Campanula rotundifolia, Aquilegia canadensis, Solidago sciaphila, Physocarpus opulifolius</i>, and <i>Arabis lyrata</i>. Tree and shrub species in close proximity to maderate cliffs (at the base or overhanging the top) characteristically include <i>Pinus strobus, Abies balsamea, Betula alleghaniensis, Betula papyrifera, Taxus canadensis, Acer saccharum</i> and <i>Tilia americana</i>. Ferns, mosses and liverworts have been poorly characterized. Both maderate cliffs and the closely related algific talus slopes share some relict species that arrived shortly after the glaciers moved further north and the climate gradually ameliorated; both, however, contain their own unique suite of relict species. Among the relict and disjunct plants, <i>Rhodiola integrifolia ssp. leedyi</i> and <i>Draba arabisans</i> occur in the Paleozoic Plateau region only on the maderate cliffs. Several relict land snails are restricted to or occur on maderate cliffs, including two species within the proposed genera <i>Novisuccinea, Catinella gelida</i> and several <i>Vertigo</i> spp.
Accession Code:
urn:lsid:vegbank.org:commConcept:31202-{DC927C02-7EA0-4CEF-88D0-D1BC1D52A5DC}
Plot-observations of this Community Concept:
0
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