NE Resilience Report - Conservation Gateway

help users understand how the characteristics lay out on the landscape and further explanation of the
landform model is given in Chapter 4. Additionally, greater detail about the process of defining and
mapping each attribute is provided in Appendix II and in Anderson (1999) and Anderson and Ferree
(2010).
The geophysical categories used to define the setting were:
Elevation Zones (Map 3.1)
These zones correspond to major changed in vegetation patterns (see Anderson 1999)
Low: 0’ to 800’ elevation, includes coastal (0-20’) and very low oak-pine zones
Mid: 800’ to 2500’ elevation, includes current northern hardwood and transition zones
High: 2500’ to 3600’+, includes current spruce-fir and alpine zones
Geology Classes (Map 3.2)
To create a regional geology map, the state and provincial digitized geological maps were compiled and
synthesized; the large array of individual bedrock and surficial sediment types were grouped into one of
these major classes. The nine categories were based on the chemical and physical properties of the soils
derived from them, and are correlated with regional biodiversity patterns (see Anderson and Ferree 2010
and appendix for full listing).
Acidic sedimentary: Fine to coarse-grained, acidic sedimentary or meta-sedimentary rock, this group
included: mudstone, claystone, siltstone, non-fissile shale, sandstone, conglomerate, breccia, greywacke,
and arenites. Metamorphic equivalents: slates, phyllites, pelites, schists, pelitic schists, granofels.
Acidic shale: This group included any fine-grained loosely compacted acidic fissile shale.
Calcareous: Alkaline, soft, sedimentary or metasedimentary rock with high calcium content, this group
included: limestone, dolomite, dolostone, marble, other carbonate-rich clastic rocks.
Moderately Calcareous: Neutral to alkaline, moderately soft sedimentary or meta-sedimentary rock with
some calcium but less so than the calcareous rocks, this group included: calcareous shales, pelites and
siltstones, calcareous sandstones, lightly metamorphosed calcareous pelites, quartzites, schists and
phyllites, calc-silicate granofels.
Acidic Granitic: Quartz-rich, resistant acidic igneous and high grade meta-sedimentary rock, this group
includes: granite, granodiorite, rhyolite, felsite, pegmatite, granitic gneiss, charnockites, migmatites,
quartzose gneiss, quartzite, quartz granofel.
Mafic: Quartz-poor alkaline to slightly acidic rock, this group includes: (ultrabasic) anorthosite (basic),
gabbro, diabase, basalt (intermediate), quartz-poor: diorite/ andesite, syenite/ trachyte, greenstone,
amphibolite, epidiorite, granulite, bostonite, essexite.
Ultramafic: Magnesium-rich alkaline rock, this group includes: serpentine, soapstone, pyroxenites,
dunites, peridotites, talc schist.
Coarse Surficial Sediment: This group includes deep unconsolidated sand and gravel.
Fine Surficial Sediment: This group includes deep unconsolidated silt and mud.
4 Resilient Sites for Terrestrial Conservation in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic Region
The Nature Conservancy • Eastern Conservation Science • Eastern Division • 99 Bedford St • Boston, MA 02111