Vegetation-Site Relationships in the Lake Katharine State Nature Preserve, Ohio: A Northern Outlier of the Mixed Mesophytic Forest

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1987-03

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Research Projects

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Eighteen 0.1-ha plots were sampled for woody vegetation in the Lake Katharine State Nature Preserve in southeastern Ohio. These plots were selected to cover a great variety of topographic positions. Ordination (DECORANA) and classification (TWINSPAN) techniques were used to group the plots into seven site-types: ridge tops, slope edges, upper slopes, lower slopes, flood plains by small creeks, coves, and terraces by large creeks. Soil nutrients generally were higher for the lower slopes and terraces. Vegetation varied from oak-dominated upland sites to mixed mesophytic coves to floodplain stands of Platanus occidentalis, Betula nigra, and Ulmus americana. The distributions of species suggest that soil moisture is primarily responsible for determining where species occur. The low level of soil nutrients may limit the occurrence of the more nutrient-demanding mesophytic species in the area.

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Author Institution: Department of Biological Sciences, Wright State University

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The Ohio Journal of Science. v87, n1 (March, 1987), 36-40