Wisconsin's Natural Communities: How to Recognize Them, Where to Find Them
by Randy Hoffman
University of Wisconsin Press, 2002 Cloth: 978-0-299-17080-6 | Paper: 978-0-299-17084-4 | eISBN: 978-0-299-17083-7 Library of Congress Classification QH105.W6H64 2002 Dewey Decimal Classification 577.8209775
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ABOUT THIS BOOK
Cattails grow in a marsh, pitcher plants grow in a bog, jewelweed grows in a swamp, right? Do sandhill cranes live among sandy hills? Frogs live near lakes and ponds, but can they live on prairies, too? What is a pine barrens, an oak opening, a calcareous fen? Wisconsin’s Natural Communities is an invitation to discover, explore, and understand Wisconsin’s richly varied natural environment, from your backyard or neighborhood park to stunning public preserves.Part 1 of the book explains thirty-three distinct types of natural communities in Wisconsin—their characteristic trees, beetles, fish, lichens, butterflies, reptiles, mammals, wildflowers—and the effects of geology, climate, and historical events on these habitats. Part 2 describes and maps fifty natural areas on public lands that are outstanding examples of these many different natural communities: Crex Meadows, Horicon Marsh, Black River Forest, Maribel Caves, Whitefish Dunes, the Blue Hills, Avoca Prairie, the Moquah Barrens and Chequamegon Bay, the Ridges Sanctuary, Cadiz Springs, Devil’s Lake, and many others.
Intended for anyone who has a love for the natural world, this book is also an excellent introduction for students. And, it provides landowners, public officials, and other stewards of our environment with the knowledge to recognize natural communities and manage them for future generations.
AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY Randy Hoffman is a natural-areas management specialist with the Bureau of Endangered Resources, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. A past president of the Wisconsin Society for Ornithology, he was the first person in Wisconsin to record sightings of more than 300 species of birds in one calendar year. He lives in Waunakee.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Tables xi
Acknowledgments xiii
Introduction 3
Part 1. Communities and Characteristic Species
FORESTS 13
Southern Oak Forest-Oak Woodland 15
Southern Red Oak-Mixed Forest 22
Sugar Maple-Basswood Forest 28
Floodplain Forest and Ash Swamps 34
Dry Pine Forest 40
White Pine-Hardwood Forest 45
Northern Hardwood-Hemlock Forest 49
Forested Swamps 54
Northern Forested Bogs and Fens 60
Great Lakes Shoreland Forest 66
PRAIRIES 71
Dry Prairie 73
Dry-Mesic Prairie 78
Mesic Prairie 81
Wet-Mesic Prairie 85
Wet Prairie 89
TALL SHRUB COMMUNITIES 93
Shrub-Carr 95
Alder Thicket 98
SEDGE MEADOWS AND FENS 101
Calcareous Fen 103
Southern Sedge Meadow 106
Northern Sedge Meadow 109
SAVANNAS 113
Bur Oak Opening 115
Black Oak-Hill's Oak Barrens 119
Pine Barrens 122
Sand Barrens 126
AQUATIC COMMUNITIES 129
Shallow Marsh 131
Cattail Marsh 135
Deep Marsh and Lake Communities 136
Lake Superior and Lake Michigan Reefs and Benthos 140
River Communities 141
Springs 146
SMALL COMMUNITIES 147
Lake Dunes 149
Lake Beaches 151
Cliffs 153
Caves 155
OLD FIELDS AND AGRICULTURE AND URBAN AREAS 157
Part 2. Sites
WESTERN WISCONSIN 165
Avoca Prairie 167
Black River State Forest 170
Blue River Sand Barrens 173
Governor Dodge State Park 175
Lake Pepin 179
Nelson Dewey State Park 184
Perrot State Park 188
Wildcat Mountain State Park 192
Wyalusing State Park 195
NORTHWEST WISCONSIN 199
Apostle Islands 201
Blue Hills 207
Brule River 211
Copper Falls State Park-Penokee Range 214
Crex Meadows 218
Douglas County Sharptail Barrens 221
Interstate State Park 224
Moose Junction 227
Moquah Barrens-Chequamegon Bay 231
Northern Bayfield County 234
Wisconsin Point 237
NORTHEAST WISCONSIN 241
Dunbar Barrens-Grandma Lake 243
Lakewood Area 247
Marathon County 251
Mead Wildlife Area 254
Newport State Park 257
Powell Marsh 260
Ridges Sanctuary 263
Rock-Washington Islands 267
Three Lakes Area 270
Vilas County 273
Whitefish Dunes State Park 277
SOUTHEAST WISCONSIN 281
Chiwaukee Prairie 283
Harrington Beach State Park 287
Horicon Marsh 290
Kohler-Andrae State Park 294
Maribel Caves 297
North Kettle Moraine 300
Point Beach State Forest 305
South Kettle Moraine 308
Upper Mukwonago River 312
SOUTH CENTRAL WISCONSIN 315
Avon Bottoms 317
Baraboo Hills 322
Buena Vista Marsh 327
Cadiz Springs State Recreation Area 330
Devil's Lake State Park 334
Green County Preserves 338
Lower Wisconsin River Valley 341
Muir Park 345
Necedah National Wildlife Refuge 348
White River Marsh 352
Appendix 359
Glossary 367
Bibliography 369
Index 373
REQUEST ACCESSIBLE FILE
If you are a student who cannot use this book in printed form, BiblioVault may be able to supply you
with an electronic file for alternative access.
Please have the accessibility coordinator at your school fill out this form.
Wisconsin's Natural Communities: How to Recognize Them, Where to Find Them
by Randy Hoffman
University of Wisconsin Press, 2002 Cloth: 978-0-299-17080-6 Paper: 978-0-299-17084-4 eISBN: 978-0-299-17083-7
Cattails grow in a marsh, pitcher plants grow in a bog, jewelweed grows in a swamp, right? Do sandhill cranes live among sandy hills? Frogs live near lakes and ponds, but can they live on prairies, too? What is a pine barrens, an oak opening, a calcareous fen? Wisconsin’s Natural Communities is an invitation to discover, explore, and understand Wisconsin’s richly varied natural environment, from your backyard or neighborhood park to stunning public preserves.Part 1 of the book explains thirty-three distinct types of natural communities in Wisconsin—their characteristic trees, beetles, fish, lichens, butterflies, reptiles, mammals, wildflowers—and the effects of geology, climate, and historical events on these habitats. Part 2 describes and maps fifty natural areas on public lands that are outstanding examples of these many different natural communities: Crex Meadows, Horicon Marsh, Black River Forest, Maribel Caves, Whitefish Dunes, the Blue Hills, Avoca Prairie, the Moquah Barrens and Chequamegon Bay, the Ridges Sanctuary, Cadiz Springs, Devil’s Lake, and many others.
Intended for anyone who has a love for the natural world, this book is also an excellent introduction for students. And, it provides landowners, public officials, and other stewards of our environment with the knowledge to recognize natural communities and manage them for future generations.
AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY Randy Hoffman is a natural-areas management specialist with the Bureau of Endangered Resources, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. A past president of the Wisconsin Society for Ornithology, he was the first person in Wisconsin to record sightings of more than 300 species of birds in one calendar year. He lives in Waunakee.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Tables xi
Acknowledgments xiii
Introduction 3
Part 1. Communities and Characteristic Species
FORESTS 13
Southern Oak Forest-Oak Woodland 15
Southern Red Oak-Mixed Forest 22
Sugar Maple-Basswood Forest 28
Floodplain Forest and Ash Swamps 34
Dry Pine Forest 40
White Pine-Hardwood Forest 45
Northern Hardwood-Hemlock Forest 49
Forested Swamps 54
Northern Forested Bogs and Fens 60
Great Lakes Shoreland Forest 66
PRAIRIES 71
Dry Prairie 73
Dry-Mesic Prairie 78
Mesic Prairie 81
Wet-Mesic Prairie 85
Wet Prairie 89
TALL SHRUB COMMUNITIES 93
Shrub-Carr 95
Alder Thicket 98
SEDGE MEADOWS AND FENS 101
Calcareous Fen 103
Southern Sedge Meadow 106
Northern Sedge Meadow 109
SAVANNAS 113
Bur Oak Opening 115
Black Oak-Hill's Oak Barrens 119
Pine Barrens 122
Sand Barrens 126
AQUATIC COMMUNITIES 129
Shallow Marsh 131
Cattail Marsh 135
Deep Marsh and Lake Communities 136
Lake Superior and Lake Michigan Reefs and Benthos 140
River Communities 141
Springs 146
SMALL COMMUNITIES 147
Lake Dunes 149
Lake Beaches 151
Cliffs 153
Caves 155
OLD FIELDS AND AGRICULTURE AND URBAN AREAS 157
Part 2. Sites
WESTERN WISCONSIN 165
Avoca Prairie 167
Black River State Forest 170
Blue River Sand Barrens 173
Governor Dodge State Park 175
Lake Pepin 179
Nelson Dewey State Park 184
Perrot State Park 188
Wildcat Mountain State Park 192
Wyalusing State Park 195
NORTHWEST WISCONSIN 199
Apostle Islands 201
Blue Hills 207
Brule River 211
Copper Falls State Park-Penokee Range 214
Crex Meadows 218
Douglas County Sharptail Barrens 221
Interstate State Park 224
Moose Junction 227
Moquah Barrens-Chequamegon Bay 231
Northern Bayfield County 234
Wisconsin Point 237
NORTHEAST WISCONSIN 241
Dunbar Barrens-Grandma Lake 243
Lakewood Area 247
Marathon County 251
Mead Wildlife Area 254
Newport State Park 257
Powell Marsh 260
Ridges Sanctuary 263
Rock-Washington Islands 267
Three Lakes Area 270
Vilas County 273
Whitefish Dunes State Park 277
SOUTHEAST WISCONSIN 281
Chiwaukee Prairie 283
Harrington Beach State Park 287
Horicon Marsh 290
Kohler-Andrae State Park 294
Maribel Caves 297
North Kettle Moraine 300
Point Beach State Forest 305
South Kettle Moraine 308
Upper Mukwonago River 312
SOUTH CENTRAL WISCONSIN 315
Avon Bottoms 317
Baraboo Hills 322
Buena Vista Marsh 327
Cadiz Springs State Recreation Area 330
Devil's Lake State Park 334
Green County Preserves 338
Lower Wisconsin River Valley 341
Muir Park 345
Necedah National Wildlife Refuge 348
White River Marsh 352
Appendix 359
Glossary 367
Bibliography 369
Index 373
REQUEST ACCESSIBLE FILE
If you are a student who cannot use this book in printed form, BiblioVault may be able to supply you
with an electronic file for alternative access.
Please have the accessibility coordinator at your school fill out this form.
It can take 2-3 weeks for requests to be filled.
ABOUT THIS BOOK | AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY | TOC | REQUEST ACCESSIBLE FILE