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1994 Midwest Oak Savanna Conferences

MIDWEST OAK ECOSYSTEMS RECOVERY PLAN

DRAFT - September 1994

APPENDIX A

ATTACHMENTS

 

 

 

CLASSIFICATION
Attachment 1: Savanna/Woodland Classification Systems
Attachment 2: Midwest Savanna-Woodland Classification (The Nature Conservancy and Midwest Heritage Programs)
Attachment 3: Vascular Plants Characteristic of Oak Barrens on sand in the Central Midwest
ILLINOIS
Attachment 4: Historic Illinois Plant Species List
Attachment 5: Illinois Savanna Birds
Attachment 6: Illinois Mammals, Amphibians, and Reptiles observed in oak savannas or woodlands of Northeastern Illinois
INDIANA
Attachment 7: Plants and Animals of Sand Savannas of Indiana
MINNESOTA
Attachment 8: Birds of Oak Savanna in Northwestern Minnesota
WISCONSIN
Attachment 9: Wisconsin Savanna and Open Woodland Plant Species

 

 

 

 

 

ATTACHMENT 1: Savanna/Woodland Classification Systems

Savanna/Woodland Classification Systems

Rich Henderson of the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources provided a descriptive view of the categories of savanna and woodland, and in the process refined them. He distinguishes a simple two layered forest (which he called woodland) from multi-layered forest, and brush prairie from prairie.

  • Forest (multi-layered)

80-100% canopy; well developed woody understories (sub-canopy and/or shrub layers); prevalence of spring ephemerals and fire sensitive herbs; absence or reduced importance of summer and fall blooming groundlayer plants (if present rarely blooming and only in areas of extra sunlight); infrequent to rare fire.

  • Forest (two-layered)

70-100% canopy; little or no woody shrub or understory layers (plants present but kept low and weak by frequent fire and shading); summer and fall blooming groundlayer plants prevalent and very productive; ground layer dominated by the same families, and often the same genera but different species, that dominate the prairies and open savannas (i.e. grass, sedge, composite, legume, milkweed, and rose families); absence or low importance of sun-loving prairie/savanna species; frequent, but low intensity, fire; Walpole Island Indian Reservation contains prime examples.

  • Savanna

5-70% canopy; blend of prairie and savanna plants, but prairie (especially grasses) dominating (e.g. essentially prairie vegetation with scattered oak trees); shrubs infrequent to rare; frequent, moderate to high intensity fire.

  • Brush Prairie

<5% canopy; blend of prairie, "grub" forming trees and shrubs under 6 ft. in height, and some woodland/savanna plants; frequent and intense fire.

  • Prairie

<5% canopy; nearly all treeless prairie vegetation; shrubs spotty; frequent, high intensity fire.

ATTACHMENT 2: Midwest Savanna-Woodland Classification (The Nature Conservancy/Midwest Heritage Programs)

A PROPOSED CLASSIFICATION FOR SAVANNAS AND WOODLANDS IN THE MIDWEST
Don Faber-Langendoen, Regional Ecologist
The Nature Conservancy, Midwest Office

A classification is introduced for Midwest savannas as part of an effort sponsored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and The Nature Conservancy to outline an ecosystem recovery plan for Midwest oak savannas and woodlands. The classification emphasizes how a number of different community types are currently being grouped under the phrase "Midwest oak savannas". Having done so, an attempt is made to construct meaningful distinctions based on physiognomy (outward structure or appearance of the vegetation). Physiognomy must be combined with other criteria to adequately define community types; hence physiognomic criteria will need to be somewhat flexible. A detailed classification combining physiognomic-(ecologic) and floristic criteria is presented that could help define the scope of restoration. A review of the classification's application in the Midwest is provided, including its application to state Heritage programs.

Appreciation is expressed to Pat Comer, Hannah Dunevitz, Eric Epstein, Mike Homoya, Max Hutchison, Tim Nigh, and John Pearson for their comments on this draft and the definition of savanna.

A Definition for Midwest Savannas

Based on discussions at the oak savanna conference, and the papers presented by R. Henderson and D. Nyberg as part of the conference, the proposal is made that we limit the use of the term savanna to tree canopies of (5) 10-25 (50)%. The term savanna will be used in the popular sense as a physiognomic category, but in the classification below will technically be called either "wooded grassland" or "shrub grassland."

Following Eiten (1986) and others, savanna (both wooded and shrub grassland) is defined as follows: "A savanna is any area where scattered trees and/or shrubs and other large persistent plants occur over a continuous and permanent groundlayer visually dominated by herbs, usually graminoids."

Woodlands, by contrast have an open to partially closed canopy where shrubs, forbs and other non-graminoid plants may dominate or codominate with the graminoids. The groundlayer is no longer the clear dominant. In this way the range of physiognomic classes for all vegetation can be defined as follows:

  1. FOREST = 60 (80) - 100% tree cover
  2. WOODLAND = 25 (30) - 60 (80) % tree cover
  3. WOODED GRASSLAND (savanna, barrens) (5) 10-25 (30) % tree cover
  4. HERBACEOUS (grassland), with tree cover 0 - (5) 10%

Additional categories can be recognized for SHRUBLAND (25-100%, including shrub thickets) and SHRUB GRASSLAND (10-25%). An outline of the limits of savanna are presented in Table 1.

This classification is offered for several reasons:

  1. 1. In this way savanna is narrowed to one end of the canopy continuum and placed more firmly within the herbaceous-dominated vegetation. It is hard to conceive that with 60-80% tree cover, the groundlayer of grasses are still the dominants, or that trees are scattered.
  2. The application of the woodland category to much of the partially open canopy area (25-60%) may be a more realistic term for those oak-dominated and grassland systems that more typically were closed over.

The application of these categories to specific sites does not require that a wooded grassland type fit the physiognomic definition exactly. Types, as reviewed below, are defined by their most characteristic physiognomy, but it will require knowledge of the site's characteristics and landscape processes to determine how best to manage the site. A certain amount of flexibility is also required because other criteria are used to define community types, such as dominant plant species or complete floristic data.

It should be stressed that the types proposed here are based on geographic patterns of major dominant species and their responses along ecological gradients. Thus they are intended to serve as initial guides for the diversity of savanna types in the Midwest. However, virtually all of these types have received little documentation. A concerted effort needs to be expended to characterize the distribution of these types throughout the Midwest.

Regional Relationships of Savanna Types

Classification of savanna is one step in the effort to identify where recovery activities should be focused. Another step is link the classification units into their ecological relationships on the landscape. An effort has been made to provide a very preliminary framework for undertaking such an analysis. The classification types presented here are grouped by broad categories geographically and structurally (Fig. A.).

Figure A

Schematic representation of the relationship of savanna and woodland vegetation types in the Midwest. Relationships are portrayed geographically and are presented only as a means to further discussion on the relationships of vegetation to landscapes and ecological processes. See table 2 for a definition of the codes. SG=Shrub Grassland, WG=Wooded Grassland, W=Woodland

Figure A: Schematic representation of the relationship of savanna and woodland vegetation types in the Midwest

 

Table 1. The physiognomic levels that define the major types of Midwest savanna.

Table 1. The Physiognomic Levels that Define the Major Types of Midwest Savanna

Table 2. The floristic levels that define the types of savanna and woodland within the major physiognomic groups. (see Table 1 for definitions of formations).

I.A.1 WOODED TALL GRASSLANDS WITH BROAD-LEAVED DECIDUOUS TREES (Tree savannas, Barrens)

    POPULUS DELTOIDES WOODED GRASSLAND SERIES
    (Eastern Cottonwood wooded grassland series)

      WG.1. Populus deltoides/Panicum virgatum-Sorghastrum nutans-Schizachyrium scoparium type
      (Cottonwood/Mixed tallgrass savanna)

      WG 2. Populus deltoides-(Salix nigra)/Spartina pectinata type
      (Cottonwood-(Black Willow)/Prairie Cordgrass savanna

    POPULUS TREMULOIDES WOODED GRASSLAND SERIES
    (Trembling Aspen wooded grassland series)

      WG 3. Populus tremuloides-Salix spp/Andropogon gerardii shrub grassland type
      (Trembling Aspen-Prairie Parkland)

    QUERCUS MACROCARPA-(Q. ALBA-Q.VELUTINA-Q.STELLATA) WOODED GRASSLAND SERIES
    (Bur Oak-Mixed Oak wooded grassland series)

      WG 4. Quercus macrocarpa-(Q. alba-Q. velutina)/Andropogon gerardii type
      (Bur Oak-Mixed Oak/Big Bluestem Opening)

      WG 5. Quercus macrocarpa/Andropogon gerardii type
      (Bur Oak/Big Bluestem E. Great Plains Savanna)

      WG 6. Quercus macrocarpa-Q. prinoides/Schizachyrium scoparium-Sorghastrum nutans type
      (Bur Oak-Dwarf Chestnut Oak/Little Bluestem-Indian Grass savanna)

      WG 7. Quercus macrocarpa-Q. stellata/Andropogon gerardii type
      (Bur Oak-Post Oak/Big Bluestem savanna)

    QUERCUS STELLATA-QUERCUS MARILANDICA WOODED GRASSLAND SERIES
    (Post Oak-Blackjack Oak wooded grassland series)

      WG 8. Quercus stellata-Q. marilandica/Andropogon gerardii type
      (Post Oak-Blackjack Oak/Big Bluestem cross timbers)

    QUERCUS ELLIPSOIDALIS-Q.VELUTINA WOODED GRASSLAND SERIES
    (Northern Pin Oak-Black Oak wooded grassland series)

      WG 9. Quercus ellipsoidalis-Q. macrocarpa/Schizachyrium scoparium-Koeleria cristata type
      (N. Pin Oak-Bur Oak/Little Bluestem-June grass barrens)

      WG 10. Quercus velutina/Schizachyrium scoparium-Lupinus perennis type
      (Black Oak/Little Bluestem-Wild Lupine barrens)

    QUERCUS PALUSTRIS-QUERCUS MACROCARPA WOODED GRASSLAND SERIES
    (Pin Oak-Bur Oak wooded grassland series)

      WG 11. Quercus palustris-Q. macrocarpa/Andropogon gerardii type
      (Pin Oak-Bur Oak/Big Bluestem lakeplain openings)

I.A.2 WOODED TALL GRASSLANDS WITH BROAD-LEAVED DECIDUOUS and NEEDLE-LEAVED EVERGREEN TREES

    PINUS SPP-QUERCUS SPP. WOODED GRASSLAND SERIES

      WG 12. Pinus strobus-Quercus alba wooded grassland
      (White Pine-White Oak barrens)

      WG 13. Pinus banksiana-Quercus velutina wooded grassland
      (Jack Pine-Black Oak barrens)

II.A.1 SHRUBBY TALL GRASSLAND WITH BROAD-LEAVED DECIDUOUS SHRUBS (Shrub savannas, scrub barrens)

    CORYLUS AMERICANA SHRUB GRASSLAND SERIES
    (American Hazel-nut shrub grassland series)

      SG 1. Corylus americana-Aronia melanocarpa/A. gerardii-Schizachyrium scoparium type
      (American Hazel-nut-Black Chokecherry/Big Bluestem-Little Bluestem Barrens)

    POPULUS TREMULOIDES-QUERCUS SPP. SHRUB GRASSLAND SERIES
    (Trembling Aspen-Oak shrub grassland series)

      SG 2. Populus tremuloides-Quercus spp./Andropogon gerardii shrub grassland type
      (Trembling Aspen-Oak/Big Bluestem Scrub)

III.A.1. TEMPERATE DECIDUOUS WOODLAND WITH EVERGREEN NEEDLE-LEAVED TREES

    JUNIPERUS VIRGINIANA-QUERCUS MUEHLENBERGII-QUERCUS SPP. WOODLAND SERIES
    (Red Cedar-Chinquapin Oak-Oak spp. woodland series)

      W 1. J. virginiana-Quercus spp. (Q. rubra, Q. alba, Q. velutina) woodland
      (Red Cedar-Mixed Oak bluff woodland)

      W 2. J. virginiana-Quercus muehlenbergii woodland
      (Red Cedar-Chinquapin Oak woodland)

      W 3. J. virginiana-Q. muehlenbergii/Bumelia lanuginosa-Celtis laevigata woodland
      (Red Cedar-Chinquapin Oak/Woolly Southern Buckthorn woodland)

      W 4. Juniperus ashei-Q. muehlenbergii woodland
      (Ashe's Juniper-Chinquapin Oak woodland)

    PINUS BANKSIANA-QUERCUS VELUTINA-Q.ELLIPSOIDALIS WOODLAND SERIES
    (Jack Pine-Black Oak-Northern Pin Oak woodland series)

      W 5. P. banksiana-Q. ellipsoidalis/Schizachyrium scoparium-Carex pennsylvanica woodland
      (Jack pine-Black oak/Little Bluestem-Penn Sedge woodland)

    PINUS ECHINATA-QUERCUS SPP. (Q. velutina-Q. stellata-Q. coccinea) WOODLAND SERIES
    (Shortleaf Pine-Oak woodland series)

      W 6. P. echinata-Q. velutina-Q. stellata-Q. coccinea/Schizachyrium woodland
      (Shortleaf Pine-Mixed Oak Ozark woodland)

III.A.2. TEMPERATE DECIDUOUS WOODLAND WITHOUT EVERGREEN TREES

    QUERCUS ALBA WOODLAND SERIES?
    (White Oak woodland series)

      W 7. Quercus alba woodland
      (White Oak woodland)

    QUERCUS ALBA-Q. COCCINEA-Q. FALCATA-CARYA SPP. WOODLAND SERIES
    (White Oak-Scarlet Oak-Southern Red Oak-Hickory woodland series)

      W 8. Quercus alba-Q. falcata/Crotonopsis linearis woodland
      (White Oak-Southern Red Oak/Rush-Foil woodland)

      W 9. Quercus alba-Q. falcata/Schizachyrium scoparium-Danthonia spicata woodland
      (White Oak-Southern Red Oak/Little Bluestem-Poverty grass woodland)

    QUERCUS MACROCARPA-MIXED OAK WOODLAND SERIES
    (Bur Oak-Mixed Oak woodland series)

      W 10. Quercus macrocarpa-Q. alba woodland
      (Bur Oak-White Oak woodland)

      W 11. Quercus macrocarpa bluff woodland
      (Bur Oak Bluff woodland)

    QUERCUS MACROCARPA-QUERCUS MUEHLENBERGII WOODLAND SERIES
    (Bur Oak-Chinquapin Oak woodland series)

      W 12. Quercus macrocarpa-Q. muehlenbergii/Andropogon gerardii mesic ravine woodland
      (Bur Oak-Chinquapin Oak mesic ravine woodland)

      W 13. Quercus macrocarpa-Q. muehlenbergii/rock outcrop limestone woodland
      (Bur Oak-Post Oak/rock outcrop limestone woodland)

    QUERCUS STELLATA-QUERCUS MARILANDICA WOODLAND SERIES
    (Post Oak-Blackjack Oak woodland series)

      W 14. Quercus stellata-Quercus marilandica/Andropogon gerardii woodland
      (Post Oak-Blackjack Oak/Big Bluestem Cross Timbers woodland)

      W 15. Q. stellata-Q. marilandica-Carya texana/Danthonia spicata-S. scoparium woodland
      (Post Oak-Blackjack Oak-Ozark Hickory/Poverty grass-Little bluestem woodland)

      W 16. Quercus stellata-Q. alba-Q. velutina/Schizachyrium scoparium woodland
      (Post Oak-White Oak-Black Oak/Little Bluestem woodland)

      W 17. Quercus stellata/Danthonia spicata-Crotonopsis elliptica woodland
      (Post Oak/Poverty grass-Rush foil woodland)

      W 18. Quercus marilandica/Danthonia spicata-Antennaria plantaginifolia woodland/scrubland
      (Blackjack Oak/Poverty grass-Pussytoes woodland/scrubland)

      W 19. Quercus stellata-Quercus marilandica (Q. falcata)/Schizachyrium scoparium woodland
      (Post Oak-Blackjack Oak (Southern Red Oak)/Little Bluestem woodland)

III.B.3 TEMPERATE ALLUVIAL WOODLAND WITHOUT EVERGREEN TREES

    QUERCUS MACROCARPA ALLUVIAL WOODLAND SERIES
    (Bur Oak alluvial woodland series)

      W 20. Quercus macrocarpa-Mixed Hardwoods/ woodland
      (Bur Oak-Mixed Hardwoods floodplain woodland)

    QUERCUS PALUSTRIS-QUERCUS BICOLOR WOODLAND SERIES

      W 21. Quercus palustris-Q. bicolor/ woodland
      (Pin Oak-Swamp White Oak floodplain woodland)

      W 22. Quercus palustris-Q. bicolor/Spartina pectinata-Carex spp. woodland
      (Pin Oak-Swamp White Oak/Cordgrass-Sedge floodplain woodland)

       

Table 3. A crosswalk of the major tree and shrub savanna types with state Heritage program classifications. Woodland classification is not fully crosswalked yet.

Table 3

Table 3 concluded

ATTACHMENT 3: VASCULAR PLANTS CHARACTERISTIC OF OAK BARRENS ON SAND IN THE CENTRAL MIDWEST

This list reflects an attempt to identify plants consistently associated with oak barrens on sand in the central Midwest. It is by no means complete. It includes plants from those portions of the barrens ecosystem that are exceptionally dry, as well as those inclusions that are seasonally wet, e.g., sandy swales. Those marked with an asterisk are more or less restricted to sandy oak barrens, at least in the region. Several of the others also occur in other environments, but many reach their greatest expression in the barrens. This list is compiled from species lists of Indiana nature preserves, and information from Vegetation of Wisconsin (Curtis 1959), and Plants of the Chicago Region (Swink and Wilhelm 1979).

Compiled by Michael Homoya, Indiana Department of Natural Resources, 1993.

  • Agalinis gattingeri*
  • Aletris farinosa*+
  • Ammophila breviligulata*+
  • Andropogon gerardi+
  • Andropogon scoparius+
  • Anemone caroliniana*+
  • Anemone cylindrica
  • Apocynum androsaemifolium+
  • Arabis lyrata*+
  • Aralia hispida*
  • Aristida pupurascens+
  • Aristida tuberculosa*+
  • Asclepias amplexicaulis*+
  • Artemisia caudata+
  • Aster linariifolius*+
  • Aureolaria pedicularia*+
  • Baptisia tinctoria*+
  • Calamovilfa longifolia*
  • Carex cumulata*
  • Carex muhlenbergii*+
  • Carex pensylvanica+
  • Carex tonsa*
  • Cassia nictitans+
  • Ceanothus americanus+
  • Chrysopsis camporum*
  • Comptonia peregrina*+
  • Comandra unbellata+
  • Coreopsis lanceolata+
  • Coreopsis palmata
  • Corydalis sempervirens*+
  • Corylus americana+
  • Cyperus filiculmis*+
  • Cyperus schweinitzii *
  • Euphorbia corollata+
  • Fragaria virginiana+
  • Helianthemum canadense*+
  • Helianthus occidentalis+
  • Hieracium canadense
  • Hieracium longipilum*
  • Hypericum adpressum*+
  • Koeleria cristata*
  • Krigia biflora+
  • Krigia virginica*+
  • Lechea leggettii*+
  • Lechea minor*
  • Lechea villosa*+
  • Leptoma cognatum*+
  • Lespedeza capitat*+
  • Lespedeza hirta+
  • Lespedeza virginica+
  • Liatris aspera+
  • Linaria canadensis*+
  • Linum intercursum*+
  • Lithospermum canescens+
  • Lithospermum caroliniense*+
  • Lupinus perennis*+
  • Lysimachia quadrifolia+
  • Monarda punctata*+
  • oenothera rhombipetala*+
  • Opuntia humifusa*+
  • Panicum depauperatum+
  • Panicum columbianum*+
  • Panicum spretum*+
  • Panicum villosissimum*+
  • Panicum virgatum+
  • Phlox bifida
  • Pinus banksiana*
  • Platanthera flava var. herbiola*
  • Polygala cruciata*+
  • Polygala polygama*+
  • Polygonella articulata*+
  • Polygonum tenue+
  • Pteridium aquilinum+
  • Quercus cossinea *+
  • Quercus velutina*+
  • Rhexia virginica*+
  • Rhynchospora capitellata+
  • Rhunchospora globularis+
  • Rubus flagellaris+
  • Rubus hispidus+
  • Sabatia campanulata*+
  • Sassafras albidum+
  • Scleria pauciflora*+
  • Scleria reticularis*+
  • Scleria triglomerata+
  • Selaginella rupestris*+
  • Sistrinchium atlanticum*+
  • Smilacina stellata
  • Solidago speciosa+
  • Solidage simplex var. gillmanii*
  • Sorghastrum nutans+
  • Sporobolis cryptandrus
  • Stachys hyssopifolia*+
  • Stipa avenacea*+
  • Stipa spartea
  • Talinum Rugospermum*
  • Tephrosia virginiana*+
  • Tradescantia ohiensis+
  • Trichostema dichotomum*+
  • Triplasis purpurea*+
  • Vaccinium anfustifolium*
  • Vaccinium vacillans+
  • Viola lanceolata+
  • Viola pedata+
  • Viola primulifolia*+
  • Viola sagittata*+
  • Xyris caroliniana+
  • Xyris torta+

+ = These species have ranges in common with the eastern and southeastern flora (taken from Radford et al. 1968). They occur in a variety of habitats, but most are in dry, sandy or rocky habitats (barrens or barren-like environments).

 
 
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