7. PRSR 04-11-2007 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

facing slopes making these areas more hospitable to prairie or dry oak communities. North-facing slopes tend to be moister and have a tendency to be occupied by woodlands/forests. Vegetation at the Time of Settlement According to the original land survey notes (compiled in this area of Minnesota between 1853 and 1856), the presettlement vegetation of southeastern Sherburne County was comprised primarily -of prairie and savanna in the south. Oak forest was more common in the northeastern part of the city where it was interspersed with tamarack swamp, and wet meadow, with small inclusions of wet prairie and lakes. Based on this information from these original survey notes, ecologists have determined that the area around Top of the World Park was "oak openings and barrens" - a description generally interpreted to be Oak Savanna, including scattered trees and groves of oaks of scrubby form with some brush and thickets and prairie openings. Native Americans Ideas about the history of American Indians and their influence on the local landscape are still evolving. American Indians have probably inhabited and hunted in the area for about 10,000 years. While the level of impacts were not as great as those of European settlers, American Indians used a wide variety of plants and animals for food, and altered vegetation patterns by cultivation and frequently burning the landscape. The Indians (and European fur traders) used fire to hunt game; create game habitat; clear the landscape for travel, communication and defense; and to obtain firewood. While some fires in the region occurred naturally, the activities of American Indians increased the frequency of fires, such that prairies in much of south and southeastern Minnesota may have been burned annually. Prairies and savannas are fire-dependent plant communities, and may not have been present in much of the Twin Cities Area at the time of European settlement without the influence of fire acting in concert with large grazers. The Anoka Sandplain has been better able to resist encroachment by trees compared with other landscapes due to the prevalence of droughty soils that limit tree growth. At the time of settlement, around 1840-50, the landscape around Top of the World Addition included a rich variety of plant communities including various types of wetlands and floodplain forest in low areas and oak woodlands, savanna and prairies on drier uplands. Forests would have been largely confined to wetlands, north-facing slopes on hills to the west, and river bottoms.. After settlement, a patchwork of agricultural uses of the land developed and more intense human activities began to change the landscape and natural communities. The second great change in land use started in the mid to late-20th century and is ongoing, as the landscape shifts away from agriculture and towards suburban and rural Top of the World Park Addition Natural Area Management Plan 4