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<br />meters), straight, single-stemmed trees that lack spreading lower branches. <br />Commonly, mesic fire-sensitive tree species are present with the oaks in these stands, <br />especially in the understory. These species include basswood (Tilia americana), <br />green ash (Fraxinus americana), bitternut hickory, big-toothed aspen (Populus <br />grandidentata), and butternut. <br /> <br />Dry oak forest tends to have pin oak Quercus ellipsoir;Jalis, bur oak Q. macrocarpa, <br />and white oak Q. alba more common as canopy trees. As well, the subcanopy of dry <br />oak forests in Elk River commonly support red maple Acer rub rum. <br /> <br />The shrub layer in mesic stands is sparser than in dry stands and, correspondingly, <br />the forb layer is denser and more diverse and there are more graminoid species. Like <br />the drier stands, however, there is little oak regeneration, and most mesic oak forests <br />appear to be succeeding to maple-basswood forest. Heavy selective logging of the <br />oaks in mesic stands may accelerate this trend, producing young stands of maple- <br />basswood forest. The mesic stands often grade into drier stands of maple-basswood <br />forest, but differ from them by having a somewhat denser shrub layer and the herbs <br />woodrush (Luzula acuminata) and pointed-leaved tick-trefoil (Desmodium glutinosum) <br />in their understory. <br /> <br />Natural stands of mesic oak forest are rare in Minnesota. In much of Minnesota, <br />including Elk River, drier stands are more common, in part because relative to the <br />mesic forests they occur on sites with soils less suitable for cultivation. <br /> <br />Forests (Lowland) <br />Tamarack Swamps (MLCCS Codes 31210, 31213/306 Total Acres) <br />A total of 16 tamarack swamps <br />were documented within Elk River. <br />It should be noted that the quality <br />of these forests and management <br />issues associated with them was <br />mostly either undeterminable or <br />noted from a distance and/or aerial <br />photo interpretation due to issues <br />with property access. <br /> <br /> <br />Tamarack Swamp MN ONR - Big Bog State <br />Recreation Area <br /> <br />. City of Elk River, MN - Natural Resouce Inventory <br />Bonestroo Natural Resources, September 2004 <br /> <br />20 <br />