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Draft Terrestrial Ecosystems Supplemental Report

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Draft Terrestrial Ecosystems Supplemental Report United States Department of Agriculture Terrestrial Ecosystems Draft Assessment Supplemental Report Wayne National Forest Forest Wayne National Forest Plan January Service Forest Revision 2020 Prepared By: Greg Nowacki (Forest Service - Eastern Region) Randy Swaty (The Nature Conservancy) Jason Stevens (Forest Service - Eastern Region) Jarel Bartig (Forest Service - Wayne National Forest) Melissa Thomas-Van Gundy (Forest Service - Northern Research Station) Patricia Leopold (Forest Service - Northern Institute of Applied Climate Science) Cornelia Pinchot (Forest Service - Northern Research Station) Sierra Dawkins (Forest Service - Eastern Region) Responsible Official: Forest Supervisor Carrie Gilbert Cover Photo: A scenic vista in the Ironton Unit of the Wayne National Forest. USDA photo by Kyle Brooks The use of trade or firm names in this publication is for reader information and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Department of Agriculture of any product or service. In accordance with Federal civil rights law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) civil rights regulations and policies, the USDA, its Agencies, offices, and employees, and institutions participating in or administering USDA programs are prohibited from discriminating based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, gender identity (including gender expression), sexual orientation, disability, age, marital status, family/parental status, income derived from a public assistance program, political beliefs, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity, in any program or activity conducted or funded by USDA (not all bases apply to all programs). Remedies and complaint filing deadlines vary by program or incident. Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of communication for program information (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, American Sign Language, etc.) should contact the responsible Agency or USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TTY) or contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339. Additionally, program information may be made available in languages other than English. To file a program discrimination complaint, complete the USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form, AD-3027, found online at http://www.ascr.usda.gov/complaint_filing_cust.html and at any USDA office or write a letter addressed to USDA and provide in the letter all of the information requested in the form. To request a copy of the complaint form, call (866) 632-9992. Submit your completed form or letter to USDA by: (1) mail: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC. 20250-9410; (2) fax: (202) 690-7442; or (3) email: [email protected]. USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender. Draft Terrestrial Ecosystems Supplemental Report Table of Contents Introduction ................................................................................................................................... 1 Use of Ecological Units ............................................................................................................... 4 Use of the United States National Vegetation Classification (FGDC 2019) ............................... 5 Key Ecological Characteristics ................................................................................................... 5 Southern Unglaciated Allegheny Plateau Section (221E) .......................................................... 6 Geologic Origins and Ecological Conditions ............................................................................. 6 Fire History of Appalachian Ohio ............................................................................................. 12 From Climatic Climax to Disturbance Ecology ........................................................................ 14 Ecological Subsections of Southeastern Ohio ........................................................................... 15 Presettlement Vegetation ........................................................................................................... 16 Witness Trees as Pyroindicators ................................................................................................ 20 Ecological Landtypes .................................................................................................................. 24 Dry Oak Forest Landtype .......................................................................................................... 24 Rare Ecosystems ................................................................................................................................................. 25 Dry-mesic Mixed Oak Hardwood Forest Landtype .................................................................. 30 Rolling Bottomland Mixed Hardwood Forest Landtype ........................................................... 35 Rare Ecosystems ................................................................................................................................................. 35 Connectedness ............................................................................................................................. 41 Climate Change ........................................................................................................................... 44 Summary ...................................................................................................................................... 48 Glossary ....................................................................................................................................... 49 References .................................................................................................................................... 50 List of Figures Figure 1. The Wayne National Forest in Ohio (one of the 15 National Forest System units in the Eastern Region) and 17-county study area (circled in red above) ................................................................................................................... 2 Figure 2. The 17-county study area (red outline) and Wayne National Forest proclamation boundary (yellow outline) superimposed on Ecological Subsections within the Southern Unglaciated Allegheny Plateau Section (black outline) ....................................................................................................................................................................................... 3 Figure 3. Areal extent of 17-county study area with government ownership patterns mapped ..................................... 4 Figure 4. Ecological subsections overlaid on Ohio bedrock geology ............................................................................ 8 Figure 5. Glacial map of Ohio showing the influence of the glaciation. ....................................................................... 9 Figure 6. Changes in major tree species (forest types) in southeastern Ohio and vegetation drivers for southeastern Ohio Climatic periods are designated by background colors: Early Holocene Warming (peach), Holocene Thermal Maximum (red), Neoglacial Cooling (blue), and Anthropocene (yellow) ................................................................... 10 Figure 7. Area from which witness tree data were obtained from two Ohio land surveys conducted in the late 18th century, relative to ecological subsection boundaries of Section 221E ....................................................................... 20 Figure 8. Pyrophilic percentage map for units of the Wayne National Forest ............................................................. 22 Figure 9. Subsections partitioned by pyrophilic percentage class. OVL = Ohio Valley Lowland (221Ec), East Hocking Plateau (221Ed), WHP = Western Hocking Plateau (221Ef) ........................................................................ 23 Figure 10. Landtypes partitioned by pyrophilic percentage class ................................................................................ 23 Figure 11. Distribution of the Dry Oak Landtype across the 17-county study area ..................................................... 26 Figure 12. Current land use acres (percentages) for the Dry Oak Forest Landtype within the 17-county study area.. 27 i | Page Draft Terrestrial Ecosystems Supplemental Report Figure 13. Current land use acres (percentages) for the Dry Oak Forest Landtype within the Wayne National Forest proclamation boundary ................................................................................................................................................ 27 Figure 14. Succession class acres (percentages) for the Dry Oak Forest Landtype within the 17-county study area . 28 Figure 15. Succession class acres (percentages) for the Dry Oak Forest Landtype within the Wayne National Forest proclamation boundary ................................................................................................................................................ 28 Figure 16. Historic annual acres (percentages) burned for the Dry Oak Forest Landtype within the 17-county study area .............................................................................................................................................................................. 29 Figure 17. Historic annual acres (percentages) burned for the Dry Oak Forest Landtype within the Wayne National Forest proclamation boundary ....................................................................................................................................
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