Influence of Cover Type and Soil Type on Understory Plant Biomass and Composition in the Virginia District of the Superior National Forest
File(s)
Date
1986-05Author
Blinkhorn, Dennis L.
Publisher
University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, College of Natural Resources
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
The herbaceous and shrub vegetation of four cover types
on the Virginia District of the Superior National Forest,
St. Louis County, Minnesota, were investigated during July and August 1982. The cover types selected and their Forest Service identification numbers were: young quaking aspen (91-3), young jack pine (01-2), sedge meadow (263) and upland opening (251). Four stands of each cover type were examined. The major objectives of this study were: (1)
the development of compositional and biomass data for the
cover types and stands studied; (2) an examination of the
variation in biomass production between cover types, between
stands of the same cover type and within individual stands;
(3) the determination of the forage value of the species
found. The results provide additional compositional data
for the cover types and will help support sound range
management decisions while establishing a data base for the
long-term evaluation of recently established grazing
programs.
Substantial quantities of herbaceous and shrub biomass
are produced by the cover types and stands examined.
Significant compositional and biomass variation exists
between cover types and between stands of the same cover
type.