ot
es and are
r tree
ed for
( Eagle,
ed). It is
y level of
that it is a
mplexity of
| in basal
meter at
cy level
species.
major
recorded
ch column
nd the
ation of
ellow
est species.
lots.
i-fir is not
)CCUIS.
many forest
red maple
y occur in
shows a
e
tion if the
r
r, and
forest
ninant.
d mountain
about 10%
ost of the
'ood, Bear,
listribution
hin the
abundant
n the
and fires
Van
on). Red
minant
and
S,
t species in
ly high
> balsam-
fir, it takes the forms of associated species in
many forest types.
70—
| mAdult tree
Seedling and Sapling
Frequency Level (96)
balsam-fir Em
black spruce
white pine
red pine
white cedar Eis EET
big-tooth aspen : a
Figure 4. Frequencies of major tree species,
White pine, red pine, ironwood, basswood, big-
tooth aspen, and black spruce are rare
dominants. They occur in less than 2% of plots.
Most white pine and red pine occurs in scattered
stands or as super canopy individuals, especially
along the coast, except for a relatively large
patch on the Stockton Island tombolo, Outer
Island south tip, and the Mainland Unit.
Basswood and big-toothed aspen are locally
common, basswood on Raspberry Island and
big-tooth aspen only on Oak Island.
Hemlock and white pine, which were the
dominant forest species in the pre-settlement
stage (Swain and Winkler, 1983), are not as
common as the they used to be, although they
both have relatively high seedling and sapling
frequency. Sugar maple will surpass paper birch
to become the first common species in the
future; it currently comprises a high portion of
seedlings and saplings. The commonness of
paper birch and yellow birch will tend to decline
65
quaking aspen
yellow birch
paper birch
red oak
mountain ash
ironwood
sugar maple
red maple
basswood EI
Apostle Islands National Lakeshore
since they have relatively low seedling and
sapling generation, assuming no major
perturbations.
CONCLUSIONS
Unlike the traditional hard copy mapping of
vegetation inventories, the GIS vegetation
coverage can meet different mapping
requirements. Figure 3 presents the overall
vegetation map of the Apostle Islands at “forest
type level” of vegetation coverage. This
information may be relevant when considering
overall planning and management. Trying to
present the plant community level at this scale
would provide too much information. Detailed
data may be very useful when considering a
specific island for management, such as bird
habitat studies or potential fire risk prediction.
In these cases, we are able to provide