The upland hardwood forest of the Cedar-Sauk Field Station

Abstract

As forest communities develop, their composition is molded by many factors—climate, soil, available seed and subtle or catastrophic disturbance both natural and man-made. Given time, the pioneer species that colonize open ground are replaced by others more tolerant of shade and gradually a community develops composed of species suited to the soil and climate of the area and capable of reproduction within the forest environment. Such is the nature of the upland forest on the UWM Field Station. This study of forest composition and structure was designed to establish the nature of the Field Station stand relative to other forest communities in southeastern Wisconsin and to document the essential data to serve as the basis for future comparisons.