Because of the many factors involved in species surviving at the Center, the conservation team is casting a wide net to see which ones are the most resilient. Human Activity and Species CompositionĬonsidering the restoration of habitats, Schlitz Audubon is experimenting with installing southern species, such as pawpaw, a small deciduous tree that produces large, yellowish-green to brown fruit, to adapt to the potential effects of climate change. Another factor in our dominant tree species varying for the region is because emerald ash borer is decimating ash trees. It’s possibly because of the soil – heavy clay – that our forest makeup varies. Interestingly, the Center’s habitat doesn’t have sugar maple as a dominant tree, as it often does in this region. The conservation team is restoring the Center to a mostly southern forest type. These factors affect how we approach conservation and restoration of natural habitats at Schlitz Audubon. Soil, precipitation, hydrology, invasive species, disturbance, and other factors play in role in what reproduces and survives, the keys to a species living in a natural area.

And though climate is very important in determining species composition in the ecological regions, there are other variables as well. Average annual precipitation and temperature play a role in this, as they are different from inland areas. Some features of the Center’s habitats relate to its location near Lake Michigan, which has an effect on climate. Species in this category that are Important for land management are Canada goldenrod, switchgrass, and more. These are called ecotypes, and they are often more robust than the parent generation. Sometimes, similar species from the different climatic regions mate and reproduce to form hybrid species. Here, as well as at other locations on the tension zone, you will notice a mix of northern and southern species of trees and understory plants existing together. Milwaukee County and the Center sit directly on the tension zone. Some of the breeding birds common in moist to dry southern forests are Downy Woodpecker, Blue Jay, Black-capped Chickadee, and Scarlet Tanager.

Wetland communities occur in both the north and the south.Ī couple of the animals found only in the southern region of the state include the southern flying squirrel, and Blanchard’s cricket frog. The dominant tree associations are sugar maple, basswood, and white ash as well as groupings of oak and hickory. Also included are prairie, and oak savanna. Plant communities include the southern mesic forest and conifer forest, like jack pine barrens. The species here are adapted to climates similar to those in Indiana and Ohio. The southern broadleaved forest exists south of the tension zone. Birds more prevalent in the north include Common Raven, Purple Finch, and Pileated Woodpecker. Some of the animals living north of the tension zone include the black bear, snowshoe hare, and northern flying squirrel. In addition to a difference in plant species, animals vary between these ecological regions. Pine needles that fall to the ground and decompose, for example, make a different type of soil than is found in a southern deciduous forest. Though these trees may be found elsewhere in the state, when they are the dominant species in a region, they help determine the floristic composition of the landscape as well as influencing the habitat. In the northern mixed forest, white pine, tamarack, and spruce often appear together as an association, as do sugar maple, hemlock, and yellow birch. There are numerous differences between northern and southern tree species, notably, more conifers existing in the north.ĭominant tree species in both ecological regions tend to live together within group assemblages. These include the boreal forest, northern hardwood swamp, northern mesic forest, and more. The forest is a northern mixed forest, and it contains a number of plant communities. Northern Wisconsin is cooler than the south, and the species that live there are more like those you would find in Northern Minnesota, Northern Michigan, Ontario, and New England. In these regions, you will find different species of plants, as well as animals, mostly because of climate and its effects on the land. This transitional zone stretches in an S-curve from northwestern Wisconsin to the southeastern part of the state. The area where the two regions meet is called the tension zone. It’s because of an interesting climatic feature which creates different ecological regions in the north and south. If you’ve ever driven between northern and southern Wisconsin, you may have noticed a difference in the forests.

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