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Monkey Run Vegetation Communities
Appalachian oak-hickory forest
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A hardwood forest with more than 60% canopy cover of trees that occurs on
well-drained sites, usually on flat hilltops, upper slopes, or south and west facing
slopes. Dominant trees include one or more of red oak, white oak, and black oak.
Mixed with oaks, are one or more of pignut, shagbark, and sweet pignut hickory.
Common associates are white ash, red maple, and hop hornbeam. Small trees include
flowering dogwood, witch hazel, shadbush, and choke cherry. Shrubs and groundlayer
flora are diverse. Shrubs include maple-leaved viburnum, blueberries, red raspberry,
gray dogwood, and beaked hazelnut.
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Conifer plantation
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A planted stand of commercial trees species, usually for timber purposes. Usually a
monoculture, but they may be mixed stands with two or more species. Species
typically planted include white pine, red pine, Scotch pine, Norway spruce, Douglas fir,
European larch, and Japanese larch.
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Floodplain forest
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A hardwood forest found on alluvial gravels on low terraces of floodplains of larger
creeks and creek deltas. Characteristic trees include sycamore, cottonwood, box
elder, silver and red maple, butternut, crack and white willow. American elm was once
present. Characteristic vines and shrubs are Virginia creeper, poison ivy, and
spicebush. Characteristic herbs are white snake root, green dragon, jewelweed,
ostrich fern, and jumpseed.
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Intermittent stream
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The aquatic community of a small ephemeral streambed with a moderate to steep
gradient where the water flows only during the spring or after a heavy rain. The
streambed may be covered with mosses such as Bryhnia novae-angliae.
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Midreach stream
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The aquatic community of a stream that has a well-defined pattern of alternating pool,
riffle, and run sections. Waterfalls and springs may be present. Typical aquatic
macrophytes include waterweed and pondweeds. Persistent emergent vegetation is
lacking.
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Orchard
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A stand of cultivated fruit trees such as apples, cherries, peaches, pears, etc. An
orchard may be under cultivation or recently abandoned. Sumac and poison ivy may
be common.
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Successional northern hardwoods
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A forest with more than 60% canopy cover of trees that occurs on sites that have been
cleared or otherwise disturbed. Dominant trees are usually two or more of the
following: red maple, white pine, white ash, gray birch, quaking aspen, big-tooth
aspen, and, less frequently, sugar maple and white ash. Tree seedlings and saplings
may be of more shade tolerant species. Shrubs and ground cover species may be
those of old-fields. In abandoned pasturelands apples and hawthorns may be present
in the understory.
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Successional old field
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A meadow on sites cleared, plowed, and then abandoned. The ragweed type occurs on
fields 1 to 3 years after last cultivation; ragweed, daisy, Queen Anne's lace, crab
grass, golden foxtail, and chickweed are common. The goldenrod subtype occurs 3 -
15 years after last cultivation. Dominant species are perennial composites:
goldenrods and asters. Other herbs include timothy, orchard grass, smooth brome,
bluegrasses, quackgrass, sweet vernal grass, evening primrose, old-field cinquefoil,
wild strawberry, and hawkweeds. Shrubs and trees represent less than 50% cover but
include gray dogwood, arrowwood, raspberries, blackberries, sumac, red maple and white pine.
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Successional shrubland
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A shrubland with at least 50% cover of shrubs that occurs on agricultural fields 10 - 25
years after abandonment, following other disturbance, and especially on sites with
restricted drainage. Characteristic shrubs include gray dogwood, raspberries,
hawthorn, serviceberries, chokecherry, sumac, nannyberry, arrowwood and buckthorn.
Herbs are those of old-fields. Seedlings of white pine, red maple and white ash are
usually present.
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