The Ecology of Upland Forest Communities and Implications for Management in Itasca State Park, Minnesota
Year: 1974
Type: article
Abstract: FigurePage 1.This is the location of Itasca State Park and of upland forest communities studied in the park area.Exception: stand 19 is located approximately 9 miles east of the park.8 2.Here is a preliminary outline of Minnesota forest geographical sections (Bakuzis, 1959).The dark inset in section 3designates Itasca State Park.3.This red pine cross section dates the year (1714) of its origin and six fire scars.4. Basal girdling of Itasca State Park old-growth red pine by porcupine is shown here.5.This is the forest cover of Itasca State Park as reconstructed from the general vegetation descriptions in the field notes of the land survey, 1875-1879 (after Frissell, 1971).6.Here is the distribution of pine forest in Itasca State Park in 1966 (after Meyer, 1966and Frissell, 1971).7.This is the distribution of forest communities studied in the edaphic field (moisture-nutrient coordinates) of Itasca State Park's upland forest.8.These are ecological vegetation types in the edaphic field of Itasca State Park's upland forest.9. Paper birch is still an important stand component in the northern hardwood community (ecological vegetation type 1) in Itasca State Park.10.Here is the aspen community (ecological vegetation type 2) in Itasca State Park.Aspen saplings are numerous along the stand margin where adequate light on the forest floor is stimulating root suckering.11.This is the pine-fir-spruce community (ecological vegetation type 3) in Itasca State Park.Tree reproduction, shrubs, and herbaceous growth are present only in stand openings.12. Abundance of tree reproduction and shrubs is shown here by ecological vegetation types in the edaphic field of Itasca State Park's upland forest.13.Balsam fir reproduction is shown here in a pine-fir-spruce community in Itasca State Park.As the stand opens up, hardwood reproduction and shrubs dominate the undergrowth.14.This is the dense shrub canopy in an old-growth red pine stand in Itasca State Park.15.This is advance eastern white pine reproduction in an old-growth jack pine stand along LaSalle Trail in Itasca State Park.16.These are the prevailing trends in primary succession within the sampled upland forest communities in Itasca State Park.The slope of projected development within types indicates approximations of comparative rates of change.17.Locations of treatment areas (a to m) in Itasca State Park are indicated here.18.Here are the locations of treatment areas (a to j) in the edaphic field of Itasca State Park's upland forest as related to the ecological vegetation types 1-5 (a -northeast, b -southeast, c -east lagoon, d -east Squaw Lake I, e Lake Alice Trail, f -Squaw Lake experimental, g -east Squaw Lake II, h -lagoon burn, i-west Squaw Lake, and j -Two Spot Trail burn).19.This fire was the prescribed burn in the pine-hardwood community (western portion of lagoon treatment area) in Itasca State Park in May 1972.20.The pine-hardwood community (western portion of lagoon treatment area) in Itasca State Park is shown here six weeks after a prescribed burn in spring 1972.Prolific shrub sprouting and luxurious growth of herbaceous species are in the foreground.21.These are the germination and survival rates of red pine seeded in spring 1969 in an aspen clear-cut area and under an aspen canopy in Squaw Lake experimental area in Itasca State Park.22.This is the eastern portion of the lagoon treatment area in Itasca State Park in March 1970, after cutting old-growth aspen in winter 1969-70.The area was planted to red pine and some white spruce in May 1970.23.This is the eastern portion of the lagoon treatment area in Itasca State Park in June 1972.Part of the area was sprayed in August 1970.Reduced aspen suckering is noted in the right foreground.Part of the deer exclosure fence can be seen.24.Here is an example of the vigorous growth of red pine seedlings in the southeast treatment area in Itasca State Park in summer 1972.Red pine seedlings were planted in this area in April 1970 after birch and aspen were cut in 1968-69.25.This is vista clearing between the main park drive and the east arm of Lake Itasca in Itasca State Park.Eastern white pine reproduction released from shrub competition may replace the old-growth pines in the future.38 26.This is the Lake Alice Trail aspen conversion test area in Itasca State Park in 1972.The old aspen stand was cut in 1956, and red pine and white spruce, planted in 1957, was released from aspen regrowth in 1969-70.39
Language: English
Subfield: Nature and Landscape Conservation
Field: Environmental Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
SDG: Life on land
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W1532735203