Open Uplands Key

This is a dichotomous key to open uptland natural communities

Dichotomous keys work by making one of two choices. Start at number 1, and determine which of the descriptions best suits what you are looking at. Then click on the link under the "go to" column to take you to the next choice, and ultimately to the natural community description.

Number	Description	Go To
1	Vegetation along rivershores, lakeshores, or the immediate Atlantic coast	2
1	Vegetation not associated with shores, most often on mountains, lower summits and rocky slopes	8
2	Vegetation along the immediate Atlantic coast, subject to salt spray or occasional storm tides	3
2	Inland vegetation	7
3	Sandy or gravelly beach vegetation, either sparse or grass-dominated	4
3	Vegetation on shoreline bedrock, or with >25% shrub cover	5
4	Sparse forb-dominated vegetation on loose sand, gravel or cobble near and above the high tide line; sea-kale and beach-pea characteristic	Beach Strand
4	Grass-dominated dune and tidal-edge vegetation on sand, dominated by beach grass or (Downeast) Virginia wild rye	Dune Grassland
5	Sparse herb-dominated vegetation in bedrock crevices and depressions; seaside goldenrod and goosetongue typical	Seaside Goldenrod - Goosetongue Open Headland
5	Cover more extensive, with shrubs or dwarf shrubs >25% cover	6
6	Mats of dwarf shrubs, such as crowberry, lowbush blueberry, velvet-leaf blueberry and cranberries punctuated by sparse taller shrubs and forbs; more common Downeast	Crowberry - Bayberry Headland
6	Mat-forming shrubs limited, most shrubs 1 m or so tall (or taller); bayberry and roses most characteristic; coastwide	Rose - Bayberry Maritime Shrubland
7	Lakeshore with broad bands of vegetation zones, sometimes associated with sandy or gravelly berms	Lakeshore Sand/Cobble Beach
7	Shoreline rock outcrops, mostly along rivers, with sparse forb-dominated vegetation; bluebell, three-toothed cinquefoil, tufted hairgrass characteristic; substrate typically vertically fissured slaty or shaly rock (Note: for steep cliff faces, along streams and gorges, see couplet #22, these are usually on granitic rock as compared to vertically fissured slate)	Bluebell - Balsam Ragwort Shoreline Outcrop
8	Open talus slopes (talus slopes with tree cover will key here, as well as in Wooded Uplands key)	9
8	Substrate not talus	13
9	Vegetation dominated by carpets of heath shrubs, such as Labrador tea, sheep laurel, pale laurel, over Sphagnum mosses and/or reindeer lichens, with scattered conifers	10
9	Vegetation sparse, conditions more xeric	11
10	Vegetation cover nearly continuous over the talus, with Sphagnum dominating the bryoid layer; wetland vegetation in an upland subalpine setting, near treeline	Heath - Lichen Subalpine Slope Bog
10	Vegetation very patchy, much exposed talus; bryoid layer has reindeer lichens more extensive than Sphagnum cover; usually at lower elevations, though in cool microsites (type may be partially forested, primarily with spruce, or open)	Labrador Tea Talus Dwarf-shrubland
11	Sparsely vegetated patches in partially forested talus, trees primarily coniferous	Spruce Talus Woodland
11	Sparsely vegetated patches in partially forested talus, trees primarily broad-leaved	12
12	Ironwood, sugar maple, and/or basswood present in the tree layer; open spots with enriched site indicators e.g. round-leaved dogwood, herb Robert, hepatica, columbine, blue-stem goldenrod, wide-leaved sedge	Ironwood - Oak - Ash Woodland
12	Paper birch, yellow birch, and/or red oak are the major trees; enriched site indicators absent or very incidental	Birch - Oak Talus Woodland
13	Substrate sandy outwash; flat or rolling plains with lowbush blueberry and/or velvet-leaf blueberry among the dominant plants	14
13	Substrate rocky; mountains or hills	15
14	Blueberry (mostly lowbush blueberry) growing with little bluestem, other grasses, forbs, and occasional pitch pine; southern Maine	Little Bluestem - Blueberry Sandplain Grassland
14	Blueberry (mostly lowbush blueberry) growing among extensive carpets of reindeer lichens; pitch pine absent; spruces, red pine, or white pine may be scattered; Downeast and extreme northwestern Maine	Blueberry - Lichen Barren
15	Alpine areas: rocky summits and slopes near or above treeline, usually >3500' elevation; if tree species present, then less than 2 m tall; vegetation may be patchy or more continuous	16
15	Open areas with patchy vegetation on hills or low mountains, below treeline; scattered trees often present	22
16	Vegetation dense masses or patches of stunted conifers, mostly 1 - 2 meters tall, forming a band between treeline and more open summit areas	Spruce - Fir - Birch Krummholz
16	Vegetation not krummholz	17
17	Vegetation dominated by deciduous non-heath shrubs >0.5 m tall; shrublands on subalpine tablelands or somewhat protected slopes between treeline and the dwarf - heath alpine zone, sometimes around subalpine pondshores; dominants include mountain alder, bush-honeysuckle and meadowsweet	Mountain Alder - Bush-honeysuckle Subalpine Meadow
17	Vegetation mixed dwarf shrubs and herbs; shrubs mostly <0.5 m tall, often <0.2 m tall, forming low mats, and primarily heath shrub species subalpine to alpine elevations	18
18	Alpine bilberry and crowberry common, highland rush often present, strictly alpine species (see list in next half of couplet) absent; patches of vegetation over bare rock, usually below or near treeline, but may extend higher	Crowberry - Bilberry Summit Bald
18	One or more strictly alpine species present (not necessarily dominant): diapensia, boreal bentgrass, Bigelow's sedge, alpine bearberry, Lapland rosebay, bearberry willow, tundra dwarf birch, moss plant, mountain heath, star saxifrage or alpine bistort	19
19	Herb-dominated cliffs and narrow benches on steep slopes (typically cirque walls), with constant seepage; rare alpine/boreal plants such as star saxifrage, alpine bistort, hairy arnica, and/or northern painted cup typically present though not abundant	Alpine Cliff
19	Vegetation primarily dwarf shrubs; not on seepy cirque walls	20
20	Protected areas where snow lingers, such as at summit edge, upper slopes, or base of cliffs; alpine bilberry typically dominant and mountain-heath, tundra dwarf birch, or moss-plant characteristic	Bilberry - Mountain-heath Alpine Snowbank
20	More exposed areas; alpine bilberry may be prominent but mountain-heath, tundra dwarf birch, and moss-plant absent	21
21	Cushions of diapensia dominate vegetation (>30% cover, or >40% relative cover), with alpine bilberry; herbs <10% cover	Diapensia Alpine Ridge
21	Diapensia if present is not dominant; vegetation a variable mixture of dwarf evergreen shrubs and herbs, with graminoid cover (especially Bigelow's sedge) locally extensive	Dwarf Heath - Graminoid Alpine Ridge
22	Sparsely vegetated, nearly vertical rock faces	23
22	Summits or upper slopes, more extensive and not cliffs	24
23	Sparsely vegetated circumneutral rock faces, usually small in area; composition variable but includes some species indicative of higher pH, such as shrubby cinquefoil, ebony sedge, rock whitlow-cress, lance-leaved draba, bird's-eye primrose, smooth woodsia, etc.	Boreal Circumneutral Open Outcrop
23	Cliff faces with sparse vegetation and without circumneutral indicator species; granitic or other acidic bedrock	Acidic Cliff - Gorge
24	Vegetation a mosaic of tree or tall shrub islands within the predominant heath shrub cover; tree cover 5-25%; tall shrub and stunted tree patches form 10% - 70% cover and typically include mountain holly; at moderate elevations (usually >2000') inland, or at lower elevations near the coast	Rocky Summit Heath
24	Patches of heath shrubs and herbs over bare rock, almost all under 0.5 m tall, with shrub and tree cover (>1 m tall) <10%	25
25	Bald summits or upper slopes of inland hills or mountains, >1800', with patchy vegetation dominated by crowberry and/or alpine bilberry; herbs, other than three-toothed cinquefoil, are subalpine species such as highland rush, mountain sandwort or dwarf rattlesnake root	Crowberry - Bilberry Summit Bald
25	Bald summits, mostly near the coast, without crowberry and bilberry (broom-crowberry may be present); a mixture of dwarf shrubs and herbs, including lower-elevation species such as common hairgrass, Rand's goldenrod, pinweed, orange-grass, or smooth sandwort	Three-toothed Cinquefoil - Blueberry Low Summit Bald

 

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