Ohio subset of Plant Communities of the Midwest ... - NatureServe

OVERVIEW
APPENDIX: PLANT COMMUNITY
(ASSOCIATION) DESCRIPTIONS
This appendix includes all natural and semi-natural associations currently described for the
Midwest. 1 The concepts and development of the classification are described in the main report. The 588
associations (including 21 of uncertain status described in Addendum I) and 7 complexes are organized
by ecological groups. Ecological groups are defined based on habitat, ecological processes, vegetation,
and biogeography (see Chapter IV in the main report for a detailed description). The list of all
associations by ecological group on page 7 provides an organizational overview, as well as page
numbers for individual association descriptions. In addition, the sections for each of the 15 “Level 2”
ecological groups (e.g., Acid Peatlands, Wet Prairies and Wet Meadows, Forests and Woodlands,
Prairies/Grasslands) begin with a list of all the associations encompassed within them, along with page
numbers for the association descriptions. Each association is then presented with its own description.
The format for each description is as follows (see Box 1 for a summary of the fields):
• The ecological group name is given on the top right corner of the page, in the form Level 2:Level 4.
(See Chapter IV in the main report for a description of ecological groups.)
• Within and directly below the lines, the various names of the association are given: first, the global
scientific name; second, the translated scientific name; and third, a common name. To the right of
the common name is the database code used to track the type (see Addendum II).
• The Description field provides information on the vegetation characteristics of the association,
followed by a paragraph on its environmental setting. Where available, information is also provided on
the dynamic features of the association, including natural disturbance regimes. Vascular plant
nomenclature follows the nationally standardized list of Kartesz (1999).
• The Comments field first gives the level of confidence in the association, ranked from 1 (highest
confidence) to 3 (lowest). The definition for each level is as follows:
1 = STRONG. Classification based on recent field data. Information is based on Element
Occurrences or other data based on occurrences that can be relocated. Classification considers
information collected across the entire range or potential range of the Element. Classification
may be based on quantitative or qualitative data.
2 = MODERATE. Classification is based on data that is of questionable quality, limited numbers of
sample points, or data from a limited range.
3 = WEAK. Classification is based on secondary or anecdotal information or a new type for which
data has only been collected at a very small number of sites.
The confidence level is followed by the code for the region that has responsibility for the association
record in the database:
MCS = Midwest
ECS = East
SCS = Southeast
WCS = West
These are the four regional centers responsible for maintaining the classification of the association and
the associated database records (see Figure 3 in the main report). Thus, some associations found in the
1 State-specific subsets are also available in electronic format. See the copyright page for more information.
PLANT COMMUNITIES OF THE MIDWEST – 2001. APPENDIX: ASSOCIATION DESCRIPTIONS
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