Ash Management Guide for Private Forest Landowners

and animals need to survive into thefuture. In this Guide, the NPC classificationis used as a framework for organizingthoughts and facts that concern the ashresource. The classification is used to helplandowners understand why ash treesgrow where they do and to provide guidanceon management strategies.For some Systems, there is much todo; for others, there is little that we can do.So, what is a native plant community?A native plant community is a group ofnative plants that interact with each otherand with their environment in ways notgreatly altered by modern human activityor by introduced organisms. These groupsof native plant species form recognizableunits. For instance, if you were walkingthrough a woodland, you might immediatelyidentify that you were walkingthrough an oak savanna, a pine forest, ormaybe sloshing through a marsh.Native plant communities are namedfor the characteristic plant species or for acharacteristic environmental feature containedwithin them. Examples of nativeplant communities in Minnesota includeDry Barrens Oak Savanna, Red Pine-White Pine Forest, Bulrush Marsh, SedgeMeadow, and Mesic Sandstone Cliff. Forpurposes of this Guide, you should knowthat ash will potentially be found in one offive native plant communities or systems.Two systems: Forest Rich Peatlandsand Fire Dependent typically containminimal ash, but were included in thesurvey so are included here. The five systems,or native plant communities, are:• Wet Forest System• Floodplain System• Mesic Hardwood System• Forested Rich Peatland System• Fire Dependent SystemChapter 5The Native PlantCommunitiesPage 30: Floodplain ForestSystem, Somerset WildlifeManagement AreaPhoto: Brian Lockhart, USDA ForestService, Bugwood.orgGLOSSARYMesic: Sites or habitatscharacterized by intermediatemoisture conditions.Hydrology and Minnesota Native Plant CommunitiesSoil moisture in forest soils is definedby conditions during the summer growingseason. The order from dry to wet in forestsdominated by ash or with a significantcomponent of ash is: Fire-Dependent,Mesic Hardwood, Floodplain Forests, WetForests, and Forested Peatlands. FlooplainForests are, of course, flooded duringthe spring runoff period and occasionallyduring other times; however, in mostyears during the summer months, soilsare less wet than summer soils in the WetForest system where mucks, peats, clays,and high water tables maintain wet-mesicto wet soil moisture regimes. FloodplainForest soils tend to dry some as the waterlevel in the river drops from flood stage(bankfull) to summer, low flow conditions.The average position of the growing seasonwater table below the soil surface alsodetermines the tree species and herbaceousspecies associated with ash. Forestedpeatlands are wet year round becauseof restricted outflow from the peat basin.Peatlands with the highest peatland slopeshave the tallest trees because the downslope movement of water is quickenedand the peat soil is thus better aeratedduring the summer growing season.Photo: MN DNRGreen ash leaflet, showingthe compound leaf31