Forested watershed
Northern hardwoods occur on mesic soils that provide consistent moisture and nutrients. Gap-sized disturbances are common, but stand-replacing events are very infrequent. Common species include sugar maple, red maple, American beech, American basswood, and eastern hemlock.
Aspen-birch forests occur on a wide range of soil types and landforms, and are favored by frequent disturbance or management. Common species include quaking aspen, bigtooth aspen, paper birch, and balsam poplar.
This forest system occurs on peat or mineral soils that are saturated throughout growing season. Common tree species include northern white-cedar, black spruce, tamarack, and other boreal species.
Red and white pine forests occur on sandy to dry-mesic soils, with fire return intervals between 50 and 250 years. Common tree species include red and white pine, red maple, black cherry, and bigtooth aspen.
Jack pine forests occur on coarse-textured, droughty soils with fire return intervals between 50 and 250 years. Common tree species include jack, red, and white pine, and northern red, northern pin, and black oak.
This forest system occurs on nutrient-poor soils or glacial lake plains, and is often restricted to high snowfall areas with short growing seasons. Common tree species include balsam fir, white spruce, white pine, and other boreal species.
This website is designed to help landowners develop forest management goals and objectives for their property.
Thinning can reduce competition for moisture, nutrients, and light in managed stands. Undermanaged stands are typically overstocked and more susceptible to a variety of stressors.
Managed Red Pine forests typically have low diversity of species, age classes, and structures, which may make them less resilient to changing conditions. Higher diversity and complexity in all of these features can give a forest more possible pathways to respond to changing or unexpected conditions. Additionally, red pine has low genetic diversity as a species, so there may be limited possibility to favor more suited genotypes or for the species to evolve greater tolerance for future climate conditions.
