Big Woods
Encyclopedia
Big Woods refers to a type of temperate hardwood forest ecoregion
found in south-central Minnesota
. "Big Woods" is a direct translation of the name given to the region by French explorers: Grand Bois.
, sugar maple, and red oak
. The understory
is composed of ironwood, green ash, and aspen
. The Big Woods would have once covered 5000 mi2 in a diagonal strip 100 miles (160.9 km) long and 40 miles (64.4 km) wide. Today most of this region has been cleared for agriculture and urban development. Remnant and secondary stands of Big Woods remain in parks and other protected areas.
, deposited by the Des Moines lobe of the Wisconsin glaciation
10,000 years ago. The landscape is characterized by round hills and numerous undrained lakes left by melting ice blocks. These hills and lakes suppressed fires that were instrumental forces on the prairie
to the west and the oak savanna
to the south and east. The Minnesota
and Crow
Rivers flow through the region, but many of the 100 or so lakes had no inlets or outlets.
The Big Woods have a growing season of about 145–150 days and an average annual precipitation of 30 inches (762 mm).
near Nerstrand, Minnesota
.
Ecoregion
An ecoregion , sometimes called a bioregion, is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than an ecozone and larger than an ecosystem. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of land or water, and contain characteristic, geographically distinct assemblages of natural...
found in south-central Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
. "Big Woods" is a direct translation of the name given to the region by French explorers: Grand Bois.
Trees
The dominant trees are American elm, basswoodTilia americana
Tilia americana is a species of Tilia native to eastern North America, from southeast Manitoba east to New Brunswick, southwest to northeast Texas, and southeast to South Carolina, and west along the Niobrara River to Cherry County, Nebraska...
, sugar maple, and red oak
Northern Red Oak
Quercus rubra, commonly called northern red oak or champion oak, , is an oak in the red oak group . It is a native of North America, in the northeastern United States and southeast Canada...
. The understory
Understory
Understory is the term for the area of a forest which grows at the lowest height level below the forest canopy. Plants in the understory consist of a mixture of seedlings and saplings of canopy trees together with understory shrubs and herbs...
is composed of ironwood, green ash, and aspen
Populus tremuloides
Populus tremuloides is a deciduous tree native to cooler areas of North America, commonly called quaking aspen, trembling aspen, American aspen, and Quakies,. The trees have tall trunks, up to 25 metres, with smooth pale bark, scarred with black. The glossy green leaves, dull beneath, become golden...
. The Big Woods would have once covered 5000 mi2 in a diagonal strip 100 miles (160.9 km) long and 40 miles (64.4 km) wide. Today most of this region has been cleared for agriculture and urban development. Remnant and secondary stands of Big Woods remain in parks and other protected areas.
Ecology
The soil of the Big Woods is thick glacial till of crushed limestoneLimestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
, deposited by the Des Moines lobe of the Wisconsin glaciation
Wisconsin glaciation
The last glacial period was the most recent glacial period within the current ice age occurring during the last years of the Pleistocene, from approximately 110,000 to 10,000 years ago....
10,000 years ago. The landscape is characterized by round hills and numerous undrained lakes left by melting ice blocks. These hills and lakes suppressed fires that were instrumental forces on the prairie
Prairie
Prairies are considered part of the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome by ecologists, based on similar temperate climates, moderate rainfall, and grasses, herbs, and shrubs, rather than trees, as the dominant vegetation type...
to the west and the oak savanna
Oak savanna
An oak savanna is a type of savanna, or lightly forested grassland, where oaks are the dominant tree species. These savannas were maintained historically through wildfires set by lightning, grazing, low precipitation, poor soil, and/or fires set by Native Americans...
to the south and east. The Minnesota
Minnesota River
The Minnesota River is a tributary of the Mississippi River, approximately 332 miles long, in the U.S. state of Minnesota. It drains a watershed of nearly , in Minnesota and about in South Dakota and Iowa....
and Crow
Crow River (Minnesota)
The Crow River is a tributary of the Mississippi River in south-central Minnesota in the United States. It drains a watershed of 2,756 square miles .-Hydrography:The Crow River flows for most of its length as three streams:...
Rivers flow through the region, but many of the 100 or so lakes had no inlets or outlets.
The Big Woods have a growing season of about 145–150 days and an average annual precipitation of 30 inches (762 mm).
Preservation
A fragment of the Big Woods in mostly pristine condition is preserved in Nerstrand-Big Woods State ParkNerstrand-Big Woods State Park
Nerstrand-Big Woods State Park is a state park of Minnesota, USA, northeast of Faribault near the small town of Nerstrand. The park derives its name from the Big Woods, a large, contiguous forested area covering much of central Minnesota prior to the arrival of European settlers...
near Nerstrand, Minnesota
Nerstrand, Minnesota
Nerstrand is a small town in Rice County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 295 at the 2010 census.Minnesota State Highway 246 serves as a main route in the community. Minnesota State Highways 56 and 60 are nearby.- History :...
.