Soils, Fire, and Landscape Ecology

Soils provide the basis on which forests develop and fire, for many forest ecosystem types, creates and maintain conditions; although often viewed as a negative force, fire is a critical ecosystem process for many of our coniferous forests in the northern Lower Peninsula. Finally, landscape ecology is a field of scientific inquiry that aids forest management by investigating patterns and processes (such s fire) at broader scales than a single forest ownership.

Soil Habitat Types by Burger and Kotar (2003)

Soil habitat types for the northern Lower Peninsula help the user understand successional pathways a forest may go through on a given site. Some soils are a little drier and are more apt to produce pine ecosystem types, depending on disturbance regime such as fire. Others are a little more mesic and may produce forests of sugar maple, American beech, and associated species.

Regional Landscape Ecosystems

This US Forest Service publication provides a description of nested landscape ecosystems of Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan. It covers factors such as pre-European vegetation, geology/soils, Threatened/Endangered species, etc.

Climate Change and Forests: A Tree Atlas

This work from the US Forest Service suggests where habitat for individual tree species may be in the future under different climate change scenarios. 

Silvicultural Handbook
This work from the Wisconsin DNR provides information on the art and science of growing trees, termed silviculture.. 

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