Ash Management Guide for Private Forest Landowners
Ash Management Guide for Private Forest Landowners Ash Management Guide for Private Forest Landowners
Chapter 5The Native PlantCommunitiesFloodplainForest SystemAsh in the FloodplainForest SystemGLOSSARYfloodplains: The level ornearly level land with alluvialsoils on either or both sides of astream or river that is subjectto overflow flooding duringperiods of high water.riverine: All wetlands anddeep water habitats containedwithin a natural or artificialchannel that periodically orcontinuously containsmoving water, or that formsa link between two bodies ofstanding water.The statewiderange (darkgreen) of floodplainforests inMinnesota andthose that includeash (dots).The Floodplain Forest (FF) occurs onfloodplains, creek bottoms, and riverineterraces. These landforms are essentiallyflat, following the river’s gradient. Thesoils in a floodplain are developed on riversediment, and the surface is commonlyfluted with shallow channels and levees ina complex, swirling pattern. Floodplainsare annually inundated by spring runoff;terraces and bottoms are inundatedoccasionally during flood events. Evenat low water, the water table is normallywithin reach of tree roots, meaning thatFF trees must solve the same problem ofroot respiration as the trees in the WetForest Plant Community. FF differ fromCanada moonseed is a plantfound in the Floodplain ForestSystemPhoto: J.C. Lucier38
Chapter 5The Native PlantCommunitiesFloodplainForest SystemThe Cerulean warbler hasshown the steepest decline ofany warbler species accordingto the Breeding Bird Survey. Ithas suffered an 83% declineover the last 40 years. Thedecline is attributed, in part, tothe loss of bottomland habitat.WF because organics (non-living materialderived from living organisms) do NOTtend to accumulate on the surface. Thatmeans there is a water flow that deliversincredible amounts of nutrients to the FFsites. To live on an active floodplain, a treemust:• tolerate inundation, root and boleburial by sediments;• resist erosion;• survive wounding from ice floes; and• be able to invade open, fresh-soilhabitats.Common Trees:• Silver maple• Green ash• Black ash (northern MN)• White ash (southern MN only)Occasional Tree:• American elm• Basswood• Box elder• HackberrySilver maple is the tree most adaptedto Minnesota floodplains and it stronglydominates the forest. However, creekPhoto: Greg Lavatybottoms, abandoned terraces, andhigher microsites on the active floodplainapproach WF habitat - and ashdoes well there. Ash seedlings occur in95% of all FF, and ash trees are found in88% of them – indicating that the ashhas good success at recruiting seedlingsto the canopy. Green ash is most common;occurring in 53% of all FF and itcontributes 16% of the trees on average.Black ash is frequent; occurring in 38%of all FF, accounting for about 21% of thetrees on average.In general, black ash is more commonin northern Minnesota and greenash more common in the south. Whiteash is limited to southern Minnesotaand occurs in just trace amounts on FFsites. In addition to silver maple andash, most (95%) floodplain and terraceforests are mixed with some other trees.No Minnesota conifer is tolerantof flooding, and thus you will not findthem in the FF community. Shrubs andsmall trees are essentially absent fromany surface that floods regularly; rathervines are more likely to be found thanare woody understory plants.GLOSSARYmicrosites: A small part ofan ecosystem that differsmarkedly from its immediatesurroundings.conifer: A cone-bearing tree(e.g. pines, firs, spruce, cedars,redwoods, larches etc.).39
- Page 3 and 4: We gratefully acknowledge Melvin Ba
- Page 5 and 6: Table of ContentsChapter 1A History
- Page 7 and 8: The Delphi Survey ProcessThe Univer
- Page 9: The Emerald Ash Borer & Chestnut Bl
- Page 12 and 13: Chapter 1A History of Minnesota’s
- Page 14 and 15: Chapter 2MinnesotaAsh SpeciesIdenti
- Page 16 and 17: How to tell an ash from an ashIdent
- Page 19 and 20: Chapter 3Ash: A 21stCentury Resourc
- Page 21 and 22: Ash wood has been gathered and shap
- Page 23 and 24: igger, then ash is not the first ch
- Page 25 and 26: Photo by Pennsylvania Department of
- Page 27 and 28: Chapter 4The EmeraldAsh BorerA litt
- Page 29 and 30: feed on ash leaves for a few weeks
- Page 31 and 32: will likely reduce population build
- Page 33: Chapter 5The Native PlantCommunitie
- Page 36 and 37: Chapter 5The Native PlantCommunitie
- Page 39 and 40: Wet Forest: Dieback and declineEmer
- Page 44: Chapter 5The Native PlantCommunitie
- Page 49 and 50: Mesic hardwood forests have a diver
- Page 51 and 52: the invasion of undesirable plants
- Page 53 and 54: for ash roots to reach mineral soil
- Page 55 and 56: and re-colonize a burned landscape.
- Page 57: A general overview of ash species d
- Page 61 and 62: Survey Recommendations: WildlifeUnt
- Page 63 and 64: Chapter 7Other Implicationsof EAB a
- Page 65 and 66: Windthrow MortalityAll hardwood for
- Page 67 and 68: • Create conditions favorable for
- Page 69 and 70: Appendix BQuestions & Answers about
- Page 71 and 72: Appendix CMinnesota Department of N
- Page 73 and 74: GLOSSARYabiotic: Nonliving parts of
Chapter 5The Native PlantCommunitiesFloodplain<strong>Forest</strong> System<strong>Ash</strong> in the Floodplain<strong>Forest</strong> SystemGLOSSARYfloodplains: The level ornearly level land with alluvialsoils on either or both sides of astream or river that is subjectto overflow flooding duringperiods of high water.riverine: All wetlands anddeep water habitats containedwithin a natural or artificialchannel that periodically orcontinuously containsmoving water, or that <strong>for</strong>msa link between two bodies ofstanding water.The statewiderange (darkgreen) of floodplain<strong>for</strong>ests inMinnesota andthose that includeash (dots).The Floodplain <strong>Forest</strong> (FF) occurs onfloodplains, creek bottoms, and riverineterraces. These land<strong>for</strong>ms are essentiallyflat, following the river’s gradient. Thesoils in a floodplain are developed on riversediment, and the surface is commonlyfluted with shallow channels and levees ina complex, swirling pattern. Floodplainsare annually inundated by spring runoff;terraces and bottoms are inundatedoccasionally during flood events. Evenat low water, the water table is normallywithin reach of tree roots, meaning thatFF trees must solve the same problem ofroot respiration as the trees in the Wet<strong>Forest</strong> Plant Community. FF differ fromCanada moonseed is a plantfound in the Floodplain <strong>Forest</strong>SystemPhoto: J.C. Lucier38
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