Forest Transition Landscape

Map showing the Forest Transition Ecological Landscape

General Description

The Forest Transition Ecological Landscape lies along the northern border of Wisconsin's Tension Zone, through the central and western part of the state, and supports both northern forests and agricultural areas. The central portion of the Forest Transition lies primarily on a glacial till plain deposited by glaciation between 25,000 and 790,000 years ago. The eastern and western portions are on moraines of the Wisconsin glaciation. The growing season in this part of the state is long enough that agriculture is viable, although climatic conditions are not as favorable as in southern Wisconsin. Soils are diverse, ranging from sandy loam to loam or shallow silt loam, and from poorly drained to well drained.

Vegetation

The historic vegetation of the Forest Transition was primarily northern hardwood forest. These northern hardwoods were dominated by sugar maple and hemlock, and contained some yellow birch, red pine and white pine. Currently, over 60% of this Ecological Landscape is non-forested. Forested areas consist primarily of northern hardwoods and aspen, with smaller amounts of oak and lowland hardwoods. The eastern portion of the Ecological Landscape differs from the rest of the area in that it remains primarily forested, and includes some ecologically significant areas. Throughout the Ecological Landscape, small areas of conifer swamp are found near the headwaters of streams, and associated with lakes in kettle depressions on moraines. Ground flora show characteristics of both northern and southern Wisconsin, as this Ecological Landscape lies along the Tension Zone.

Hydrologic Features

Small kettle lakes are common on the moraines in the western and eastern parts of the Ecological Landscape, but there are few lakes in the central glacial till plain. Several streams have their headwaters in the moraines. Many small creeks and rivers flow across the plain, in a dendritic pattern; these include the Big Rib, Little Rib, Trappe, St. Croix, and Wisconsin. This Ecological Landscape is near average in levels of watershed pollution, according to Wisconsin DNR rankings

Land Use

The Ecological Landscape's total land area is approximately 4.7 million acres, of which 43% is classified as timberland. About 6% of the Ecological Landscape is public land, including county, state, and federally managed areas.

Socioeconomics

Socioeconomic data are summarized based on county-level approximations of the Ecological Landscape (referred to as a "region"). Economic data are available only on a political unit basis with counties as the smallest unit. The counties included in this socioeconomic region are Barron, Chippewa, Clark, Langlade, Lincoln, Marathon, Menominee, Polk, Portage, Shawano, Taylor, Washburn, Waupaca and Wood ("Forest Transition Region"). The counties are quite diverse. Agriculturally, several counties stand out as top producers. Clark and Marathon lead in milk production, and Portage leads in potato, pea, and snap bean production. This region has the third highest number of fishery and wildlife areas compared with others in the state. Less timberland is sold or diverted to other uses as compared with the average for other regions in the state. There is a fairly high per capita water use, mostly for industrial and thermoelectric power generation. Population density of the region is slightly less than half (44 persons/sq. mile) than that of the state as a whole (96 persons/sq. mile). The population is younger on average, less racially diverse, and less educated compared other regions. It has the second lowest percentage of high school and college graduates. Economically, it ranks near average for all indicators. The manufacturing sector has a relatively more important role, while the percentage of service and government jobs is somewhat below average.

For any questions regarding the maps presented on this site or the "DNR Ecological Landscapes of Wisconsin" handbook, please contact Jeff Schimpff at Jeff.Schimpff@wisconsin.gov. Suggested Citation for Handbook: Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. In Prep. DRAFT Ecological Landscapes of Wisconsin. State of Wisconsin, Dept. of Nat. Resources, Handbook. 1805.1. Madison, WI.

Last Revised: Thursday February 08 2006