Wetland, Woodland, Wildland: A Guide to the Natural Communities of Vermont, 2nd Edition
550
Wetland, Woodland, Wildland: A Guide to the Natural Communities of Vermont, 2nd Edition
550Paperback
-
PICK UP IN STORECheck Availability at Nearby Stores
Available within 2 business hours
Related collections and offers
Overview
This book is a must-have for anyone wanting to understand Vermont’s forests, wetlands, mountaintops, and shores. Richly illustrated with beautiful line drawings and stunning color photographs, this accessible field guide will delight outdoor explorers and armchair naturalists alike. The book starts with an introduction to the natural community concept and the factors influencing our natural systems, from wind and water to soil and rocks. Then, the book offers a lucid and enjoyable journey into Vermont’s geologic past, with stories of colliding continents, sea floor sediments, and mysterious whale bones. This follows with a journey through all of Vermont’s nine distinct biophysical regions, from the cold and wild Northeastern Highlands to the warm and dry Taconic Mountains.
The bulk of the book describes Vermont's natural communities—its northern hardwood forests, dry oak woodlands, alpine tundra, cedar swamps, bogs, and marshes—in comprehensive detail. Ecological settings, including geology, soils, climate, and natural disturbance processes, are described for each community, along with complete lists of characteristic plants and animals, as well as places to visit. Wetland, Woodland, Wildland is the definitive guide to Vermont’s natural communities, and is packed with information unavailable elsewhere. It offers practical information for naturalists, teachers, students, landowners, land managers, foresters, conservation planners, and all those with a love of nature who want to learn more about their surroundings.
The first edition of this book, published in 2000, has become a mainstay for naturalists and students throughout Vermont and surrounding states and provinces. This second edition is completely updated to incorporate new research and a growing knowledge about natural communities, as well as a deeper understanding of climate change and its implications for conservation into the future.
This newly updated book will be a prized addition to your natural history library, but it won’t remain on the shelf. You will want to take it with you every time you explore the outdoors. Each paragraph will bring new insights and will deepen your understanding and appreciation of wild nature around you. You will surely want to share this book with friends.
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9780977251735 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department |
| Publication date: | 11/18/2019 |
| Pages: | 550 |
| Sales rank: | 1,079,732 |
| Product dimensions: | 6.20(w) x 9.40(h) x 1.00(d) |
About the Author
Eric Sorenson works on natural community inventory and protection, and on conservation planning for Vermont and the Northeast. He is passionate about exploring the natural world, especially wild places, calcareous wetlands, and old forests. He is an ecologist with the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department’s Natural Heritage Inventory. Eric studied wildlife biology at the University of Michigan, and plant and peatland ecology at the University of Michigan Biological Station and the University of Maine.
Bob Zaino is an ecologist who revels in exploring the natural world. As a scientist with the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department, he works to understand the patterns and distributions of natural communities, and the myriad species they comprise. As a hiker, climber, and paddler, he relishes spruce-clad mountains, granite cliffs, and remote northern waters. Bob strives to connect people to nature, and to protect plants, animals, and wild places for the future. He is a graduate of Bowdoin College and has a master’s degree from the University of Vermont’s Field Naturalist Program.
Read an Excerpt
From detailed descriptions of the eight biophysical regions of Vermont to descriptions of each upland and wetland community's characteristics and how they can be identified, this book seeks to make practical familiarity with the Vermont landscape available to everyone. It is such a familiarity with the landscape that allows a meaningful understanding of not only the region's past, but its possible futures. -- from the Foreword by Stephen C. Trombulak
Table of Contents
Foreword xi
Acknowledgements xii
What's New in This Edition xiv
Introduction 1
Why We Classify and Describe Natural Communities 2
Making Sense of Nature 2
Land Management Planning 2
Conservation Planning 3
How This Book Can Help You 4
What This Book Does Not Cover 4
How to Use This Book 5
Our Vision for the Future 7
Part 1 Understanding Natural Communities
The Natural Community Concept 10
Climate Change 11
National and Local Classifications 12
Ecological Influences on Natural Communities 13
Climate 13
The Physical Setting and Environment 14
Bedrock 14
Surficial Deposits 14
Topography 15
Hydrology 15
Soils 16
Natural Disturbance 19
Wind 19
Single Tree Fall 20
Ice and Snow Loading 20
Fire 20
Downslope Movement 21
Flooding 21
Water and Ice Movement 21
Insects and Diseases 22
Succession 22
Human Influences on Natural Communities 23
How Natural Communities are Arrayed on the Landscape: A Question of Scale 24
Rarity of Natural Communities 27
Part 2 The Physical Setting
The Physical Setting 30
The Rock Beneath Us 31
Sand and Silt, Clay and Cobble: The Work of Glaciers 36
Winter Snow and Summer Rain: Vermont's Climate 38
People in Vermont 41
Part 3 Biophysical Regions of Vermont
Biophysical Regions of Vermont 44
Champlain Valley 46
Champlain Hills 51
Taconic Mountains 54
Vermont Valley 58
Northern Green Mountains 61
Southern Green Mountains 65
Northern Vermont Piedmont 69
Southern Vermont Piedmont 73
Northeastern Highlands 77
Part 4 A Guide to the Natural Communities of Vermont
Classifying Vermont's Natural Communities 84
How to Use This Guide 84
How to Identify: Upland and Wetland Natural Communities 86
Upland Natural Communities 88
How to Identify: Upland Forests and Woodlands and Open Upland Natural Communities 89
Upland Forests and Woodlands 90
Natural Forests 91
The Trees in Our Forest 91
The History of Vermont's Forest 94
Old Forests 94
Succession and Natural Disturbance in Vermont's Forests 96
Our Threatened Forests 97
Managing Forests with Nature in Mind 98
Forest Formations of Vermont and the Classification Hierarchy 100
How to Identify: Upland Forest and Woodland Natural Communities 101
Spruce-Fir-Northern Hardwood Forest Formation: Forests of Vermont's Cooler Climate Area 111
How to Identify: Spruce-Fir-Northern Hardwood Forest Formation Communities 113
Subalpine Krummholz 114
Montane Spruce-Fir Forest 117
Lowland Spruce-Fir Forest 121
Montane Yellow Birch-Red Spruce Forest 125
Red Spruce-Northern Hardwood Forest 128
Red Spruce-Heath Rocky Ridge 131
Boreal Talus Woodland 134
Cold Air Talus Woodland 136
Northern Hardwood Forest Formation: Forests of Widespread Distribution in Vermont's Moderate Climate Areas 138
How to identify: Northern Hardwood Forest Formation Natural Communities 140
Northern Hardwood Forest 141
Rich Northern Hardwood Forest 148
Red Oak-Northern Hardwood Forest 154
Hemlock Forest 157
Hemlock-Northern Hardwood Forest 160
Red Pine Forest 163
Northern Hardwood Talus Woodland 166
Oak-Pine-Northern Hardwood Forest Formation: Forests of Vermont's Warmer Climate Areas 169
How to Identify: Oak-Pine-Northern Hardwood Forest Formation Natural Communities 170
Limestone Bluff Cedar-Pine Forest 172
Dry Oak-Maple Limestone Forest 175
Dry Oak-Hickory-Hophornbeam Forest 179
Pitch Pine-Oak-Heath Rocky Summit 182
Red Cedar Woodland 185
Dry Chestnut Oak Woodland 188
Dry Oak Forest 191
Dry Red Oak-White Pine Forest 194
Dry Transition Hemlock Forest 197
Dry Hemlock-Oak Forest 200
Mesic Maple-Ash-Hickory-Oak Forest 203
Mesic Clayplain Forest 207
Sand-Over-Clay Forest 211
Dry Pine-Oak-Heath Sandplain Forest 215
Mesic Pine-Oak Sandplain Forest 220
Oak-Black Birch Talus Woodland 223
Oak-Maple Limestone Talus Woodland 226
Open Uplands 229
How to Identify: Open Upland Natural Communities 230
Upland Shores 231
How to Identify: Upland Shore Natural Communities 233
Riverside Outcrop 234
Erosional Bluff 238
Lake Shale or Cobble Beach 241
Lake Sand Beach 244
Sand Dune 248
Outcrops and Upland Meadows 251
How to identify: Outcrop and Upland Meadow Natural Communities 252
Alpine Meadow 253
Boreal Outcrop 257
Serpentine Outcrop 259
Temperate Acidic Outcrop 262
Temperate Calcareous Outcrop 265
Cliffs and Talus 268
How to identify: Cliff and Talus Natural Communities 269
Boreal Acidic Cliff 270
Boreal Calcareous Cliff 273
Temperate Acidic Cliff 276
Temperate Calcareous Cliff 279
Open Talus 282
Wetland Natural Communities 287
The Physical Environment of Wetlands 288
Hydrology 288
Nutrients 289
Soils 290
Ecological Functions of Wetlands 290
Water Storage for Flood Water and Storm Runoff 291
Surface and Ground Water Protection 291
Fish Habitat 292
Wildlife Habitat 292
Habitat for Rare, Threatened, and Endangered Species 292
Erosion Control 292
Beavers and Wetland Communities 292
How to identify: Forested Wetland and Open and Shrub Wetland Natural Communities 293
Forested Wetlands 294
How to Identify: Forested Wetland Natural Communities 295
Floodplain Forests 297
How to Identify: Floodplain Forest Natural Communities 300
Boreal Floodplain Forest 301
Silver Maple-Ostrich Fern Floodplain Forest 304
Silver Maple-Sensitive Fern Floodplain Forest 308
Sugar Maple Floodplain Forest 311
Lakeside Floodplain Forest 314
Hardwood Swamps 318
How to Identify: Hardwood Swamp Natural Communities 319
Calcareous Red Maple-Tamarack Swamp 321
Red Maple-Northern White Cedar Swamp 325
Red Maple-Black Ash Seepage Swamp 329
Maple-Green Ash Swamp 333
Red Maple-Sphagnum Basin Swamp 337
Red Maple-Black Gum Basin Swamp 340
Red Maple White Pine-Huckleberry Swamp 344
Wet Clayplain Forest 347
Wet Sand-Over-Clay Forest 350
Northern Hardwood Seepage Forest 353
Softwood Swamps 357
How to Identify: Softwood Swamp Natural Communities 357
Northern White Cedar Swamp 359
Northern White Cedar Seepage Forest 364
Boreal Cedar-Sphagnum Basin Swamp 367
Red Spruce-Cinnamon Fern Swamp 370
Spruce-Fir-Tamarack Swamp 373
Black Spruce Swamp 376
Hemlock-Balsam Fir-Black Ash Seepage Swamp 379
Hemlock-Sphagnum Basin Swamp 383
Woodland Seeps and Vernal Pools 386
How to Identify: Woodland Seeps and Vernal Pools 386
Woodland Seep 387
Vernal Pool 390
Open and Shrub Wetlands 394
How to Identify: Open and Shrub Wetland Natural Communities 395
Open Peatlands 396
How to Identify: Open Peatland Natural Communities 398
Dwarf Shrub Bog 399
Black Spruce Woodland Bog 403
Pitch Pine Woodland Bog 406
Alpine Peatland 409
Poor Fen 412
Intermediate Fen 416
Rich Fen 420
Marshes and Sedge Meadows 424
How to Identify: Marsh and Sedge Meadow Natural Communities 425
Shallow Emergent Marsh 426
Sedge Meadow 430
Cattail Marsh 433
Deep Broadleaf Marsh 437
Wild Rice Marsh 440
Deep Bulrush Marsh 443
Wet Shores 446
How to Identify: Wet Shore Natural Communities 447
Outwash Plain Pondshore 448
River Mud Shore 451
River Sand or Gravel Shore 454
River Cobble Shore 457
Calcareous Riverside Seep 461
Rivershore Grassland 464
Lakeshore Grassland 467
Shrub Swamps 470
How to Identify: Shrub Swamp Natural Communities 470
Alluvial Shrub Swamp 471
Alder Swamp 474
Sweet Gale Shoreline Swamp 477
Lakeside Buttonbush Swamp 480
Basin Shrub Swamp 483
Works Cited 486
Glossary 488
Appendices:
Appendix A Mapping Natural Communities 493
Appendix B Synonymy of Natural Community Types and the National Vegetation Classification 496
Index to Natural Community Types 508
Quick Guide to the Natural Community Groups back page