Full ecoregional plan - Conservation Gateway
Full ecoregional plan - Conservation Gateway Full ecoregional plan - Conservation Gateway
Limited: Occurs in the ecoregion of interest, but also within a few other adjacentecoregions (i.e., its core range is in one or two ecoregions, yet it may be found inseveral other ecoregions).Widespread: Is distributed widely in several to many ecoregions and is distributedrelatively equally among those ecoregions in which it occurs. A ecosystem thatis widespread is not necessarily “common” in the ecoregion.Peripheral: The ecosystem is more commonly found in other ecoregions (generallyless than 10% of its total distribution is in the ecoregion of interest). Thedistribution in the ecoregion of interest is continuous with that in adjacentecoregions. Disjunct ecosystems were considered a special case, where theoccurrence of the ecosystem in the ecoregion was disjunct from its coredistribution outside the ecoregion.Ecosystem scale and patch size: Ecosystems were categorized as matrix-forming, largepatch-forming, or small patch-forming depending on their scale of occurrence in theecoregion and based on the following definitions.Matrix-forming: Dominant systems (they are all forest types in the Northeast) thatform extensive and contiguous cover on the scale of 1000s to millions of acres.Matrix forests occur on the most extensive landforms and typically have wideecological tolerances. They may be characterized by a complex mosaic ofsuccessional stages resulting from characteristic disturbance processes (e.g.,New England northern hardwood-conifer forests) or they may be relativelyhomogeneous. Matrix-forming ecosystems are influenced by large-scale climaticprocesses and cross broad elevation and topographic gradients. They areimportant habitat for wide-ranging or large area-dependent fauna, such as largeherbivores or forest interior birds. Specific examples include red spruce–balsamfir montane forest, maple-beech-birch northern hardwood forest, white pine –red oak mixed forest and a variety of successional types. In some ecoregions, theaggregate of all matrix forest types covers, or historically covered, 75-80% ofthe natural vegetation of the ecoregion.Large Patch-forming: Ecosystems that form large (50–5000 acres) but discretelydefined areas of cover (several orders of magnitude smaller than the matrixtypes). Large patch systems are associated with environmental conditions thatare more specific than those of matrix forests. Thus they are subsequently lesscommon or less extensive in the landscape. Large-scale processes influencelarge-patch systems, but their influence tends to be overridden by specific sitefeatures that drive the local processes (e.g. hydrology or soil erosion). Examplesinclude red maple swamps, cattail marshes, black spruce bogs, alpine krumholtz,or pine barrens. We considered linear systems, which most often occur alongrivers (e.g. floodplain forests or alluvial marshes), to be a special form of largepatch systemsSmall Patch-forming: Ecosystems that form small, discrete patches of cover.Individual occurrences of these systems range in size from 1 to 50 acres. Smallpatch ecosystems occur in very specific ecological settings, such as onspecialized landform types or in unusual microhabitats. They are oftendependent on the maintenance of ecological processes in the surrounding matrixand large patch communities. Small patch ecosystems often contain aREVISED 7/2003COMM-6
disproportionately large percentage of the total flora, and may support a specificand restricted set of associated fauna (e.g. reptiles, amphibians, or invertebrates)dependent on specialized conditions. Examples include calcareous fens,calcareous cliffs, acidic rocky summits, enriched cove forests and rivershoregrasslands.Explicit links to ecological land units: Each system was ranked as to its degree ofassociation with each of several bedrock types, topographic positions and elevationclasses (see table below). Development of these ecological land units or ELUs 3 is thesubject of a separate chapter, Ecology of the Ecoregion, and details may be found there. 4Table COMM2. Ecological Land Unit variablesECOLOGICAL LAND UNITS: generalized example. An ELU is any combination of thesethree variables.TOPOGRAPHY GEOLOGY ELEVATION ZONECliff Acidic sedimentary Very Low (0-800’)Steep Slope Acidic shale Low (800-1700’)Slope Crest Calcareous Medium (1700-2500’)Upper slope Moderately Calcareous High (2500-4000’)Sideslope –N facing Acidic granitic Alpine (4000+’}Sideslope – S facingCove or toeslope-N facingCove or toeslope–S facingLow hilltopGently sloping flatDry flatValley bottomWet flatSlope bottom flatStreamRiverLake or pondIntermediate or maficUltra maficDeep fine-grained sedimentsDeep coarse-grained sedimentsNew systems: Some associations were described in the NVC, but not formallyrecognized as occurring in the focal ecoregion; others were not yet described. For these“new” associations, the team created a standard name and wrote a description. The newsystem is intended to be combined and coordinated with other newly identifiedassociations from other ecoregions in an update of the NVC. (Until the process has beencompleted the ecoregion-specific name for the new ecosystem should be consideredprovisional.)3 While the variables that we used are physical ones, the classes were based on biological considerations(e.g., tree distribution, for Elevation Zone).4 Incomplete as of July 2003, but see Ferree 2003.REVISED 7/2003COMM-7
- Page 1 and 2: Lower New England - Northern Piedmo
- Page 3 and 4: TABLE OF CONTENTSCOVERINTRODUCTIONA
- Page 5 and 6: IntroductionEcoregional Planning in
- Page 7 and 8: AcknowledgementsEdited Version and
- Page 9 and 10: combinations based on surficial geo
- Page 11 and 12: Priorities and Leadership Assignmen
- Page 13 and 14: Portfolio SummaryA total of 1,028 s
- Page 15 and 16: each local population with respect
- Page 17 and 18: potential target list for future co
- Page 19 and 20: iteration ecoregional plans, specie
- Page 21 and 22: RESULTS FOR SPECIES *Modification t
- Page 23 and 24: documented in BCD making analysis v
- Page 25 and 26: PLANNING METHODS FOR ECOREGIONAL TA
- Page 27 and 28: sandy outwash and forested swamps a
- Page 29: and distribution pattern for each e
- Page 33 and 34: to that ecoregion alone. Those syst
- Page 35 and 36: Locating examples of patch-forming
- Page 37 and 38: systems. Conversely, high elevation
- Page 39 and 40: The minimum goals based on generic
- Page 41 and 42: Results for Terrestrial Communities
- Page 43 and 44: Table 6. Minimum conservation bench
- Page 45 and 46: • The National Vegetation Classif
- Page 47 and 48: of ecoregions, from the Northern Ap
- Page 49 and 50: How much larger than the severe dam
- Page 51 and 52: Scaling factors for Matrix Forest S
- Page 53 and 54: Roads are also source areas for noi
- Page 55 and 56: ungulates. We simply discussed thes
- Page 57 and 58: conservation plan must be done to r
- Page 59 and 60: position, its geology and its eleva
- Page 61 and 62: this block, miles of streams, dams
- Page 63 and 64: Connecting Area or Ecological Backd
- Page 65 and 66: MATRIX SITE:NAME:STATE/S:SIZE:Total
- Page 67 and 68: Block developmentTwo sets of ecoblo
- Page 69 and 70: Table 12. A description of the elev
- Page 71 and 72: There are 27 ELU types entirely mis
- Page 73 and 74: Freshwater Ecoregions and Ecologica
- Page 75 and 76: classes: size 1) headwaters to smal
- Page 77 and 78: Figure 2: Watershed Aquatic System
- Page 79 and 80: targets should also include conside
disproportionately large percentage of the total flora, and may support a specificand restricted set of associated fauna (e.g. reptiles, amphibians, or invertebrates)dependent on specialized conditions. Examples include calcareous fens,calcareous cliffs, acidic rocky summits, enriched cove forests and rivershoregrasslands.Explicit links to ecological land units: Each system was ranked as to its degree ofassociation with each of several bedrock types, topographic positions and elevationclasses (see table below). Development of these ecological land units or ELUs 3 is thesubject of a separate chapter, Ecology of the Ecoregion, and details may be found there. 4Table COMM2. Ecological Land Unit variablesECOLOGICAL LAND UNITS: generalized example. An ELU is any combination of thesethree variables.TOPOGRAPHY GEOLOGY ELEVATION ZONECliff Acidic sedimentary Very Low (0-800’)Steep Slope Acidic shale Low (800-1700’)Slope Crest Calcareous Medium (1700-2500’)Upper slope Moderately Calcareous High (2500-4000’)Sideslope –N facing Acidic granitic Alpine (4000+’}Sideslope – S facingCove or toeslope-N facingCove or toeslope–S facingLow hilltopGently sloping flatDry flatValley bottomWet flatSlope bottom flatStreamRiverLake or pondIntermediate or maficUltra maficDeep fine-grained sedimentsDeep coarse-grained sedimentsNew systems: Some associations were described in the NVC, but not formallyrecognized as occurring in the focal ecoregion; others were not yet described. For these“new” associations, the team created a standard name and wrote a description. The newsystem is intended to be combined and coordinated with other newly identifiedassociations from other ecoregions in an update of the NVC. (Until the process has beencompleted the ecoregion-specific name for the new ecosystem should be consideredprovisional.)3 While the variables that we used are physical ones, the classes were based on biological considerations(e.g., tree distribution, for Elevation Zone).4 Incomplete as of July 2003, but see Ferree 2003.REVISED 7/2003COMM-7