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Boreal forest In Wisconsin, mature stands of this forest community are dominated by white spruce (Picea glauca) and balsam-fir (Abies balsamea), often mixed with white birch (Betula papyrifera), white cedar (Thuja occidentalis), white pine (Pinus strobus), balsam-poplar (Populus balsamifera) and quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides). Mountain-ash (Sorbus spp.) may also be present. Common understory herbs are large-leaved aster (Aster macrophyllus), bluebead lily (Clintonia borealis), Canada mayflower (Maianthemum canadense), wild sarsaparilla (Aralia nudicaulis), and bunchberry (Cornus canadensis). Most Wisconsin stands are associated with the Great Lakes, especially the clay plain of Lake Superior, and the eastern side of the northern Door Peninsula on Lake Michigan. Of potential interest from the perspectives of vegetation classification and restoration, white pine had the highest importance value of any tree in the Lake Superior region, as recorded during the original land survey of the mid-1800’s.
Forested ridge and swale This is a complex of semi- to fully-stabilized, often forested beach / dune ridges alternating with wet open to forested swales, found on the shores of the Great Lakes but best-developed along Lake Michigan. Both parallel the coast and offer exceptionally complex and diverse habitats for wetland, upland, and Great Lakes shoreline plants. Ridges may support assemblages similar to boreal, northern mesic, or northern dry-mesic forests. Water depth is a controlling factor in the swales, and the vegetation may run the gamut from open (emergent marsh, fen, or sedge meadow), shrub (bog birch, alder), or forested wetlands (often white cedar, black ash are prominent in these).
Mesic floodplain terrace These are deciduous forests developed on alluvial terraces along rich, infrequently flooding (or flooding only for a very short period) rivers draining into Lake Superior. The dominant trees are usually sugar maple (Acer saccharum), basswood (Tilia americana), and sometimes ashes (Fraxinus spp.). There is a diverse spring ephemeral flora (which in Wisconsin includes many southern species at their northern range limits), but by late spring, these may be overtopped by dense stands of ostrich fern (Matteuccia struthiopteris) and wood-nettle (Laportea canadensis).
Northern mesic forest This forest complex covered the largest acreage of any Wisconsin vegetation type prior to European settlement. Sugar maple (Acer saccharum) is dominant or co-dominant in most stands, while hemlock (Tsuga canadensis) was the second most important species, sometimes occurring in nearly pure stands with white pine (Pinus strobus). Beech (Fagus grandifolia) can be a co-dominant with sugar maple in the counties near Lake Michigan. Other important tree species were yellow birch (Betula allegheniensis), basswood (Tilia americana), and white ash (Fraxinus americana). The groundlayer varies from sparse and species poor (especially in hemlock stands) with woodferns (especially Dryopteris intermedia), bluebead lily (Clintonia borealis), clubmosses (Lycopodium spp.), and Canada mayflower (Maianthemum canadense) prevalent, to lush and species-rich with fine spring ephemeral displays. After old-growth stands were cut, trees such as quaking and bigtoothed aspens (Populus tremuloides and P. grandidentata), white birch (Betula papyrifera), and red maple (Acer rubrum) became and still are important in many second-growth Northern Mesic Forests. Several distinct associations within this complex warrant recognition as communities, and draft abstracts of these are currently undergoing review.
Pine relict These isolated stands of white pine (Pinus strobus) and red pine (P. resinosa) or, less commonly, jack pine (P.banksiana), that occur on sandstone outcrops or in thin soils over sandstone in the Driftless Area of southwestern Wisconsin, have historically been referred to as relicts. The understories often contain species with northern affinities such as blueberries (Vaccinium spp.), huckleberry (Gaylussacia baccata), wintergreen (Gaultheria procumbens), pipsissewa (Chimaphila umbellata), and partridge-berry (Mitchella repens), sometimes mixed with herbs typically found in southern Wisconsin’s oak forests and prairies.
