Regional Landscape Ecosystems of Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin
SUB-SUBSECTION IX.4.1. Marshfield
DISCUSSION: This Sub-subsection is a silt-capped till plain, with shallow soils over bedrock.
ELEVATION: 885 to 1,675 feet (270 to 511 m).
AREA: 3,370 square miles (8,732 sq km).
STATES: Wisconsin.
CLIMATE: See subsection.
BEDROCK GEOLOGY: In the west, underlying bedrock is Cambrian sandstone, with some shale and dolomite (Morey et al. 1982). The eastern half is underlain by Precambrian gneiss, amphibolite, and felsic and mafic metavolcanic bedrock.
LANDFORMS: A till plain, with glacial deposits 25,000 to 790,000 years old. Stream erosion has created a plain that is more dissected than more recent Wisconsinan-age till plains. The topography is largely inherited from the underlying bedrock surface, which is only thinly mantled with glacial drift (Hole 1976). The plain has received recent deposits of late Wisconsinan-age loess.
LAKES AND STREAMS: Many small creeks and rivers dissect the plain, creating a dendritic drainage system. Few lakes.
SOILS: Bedrock is within 50 feet over much of the sub-subsection. Soils are generally poorly drained silt loams, shallow over compact acidic loamy till (Hole 1976).
PRESETTLEMENT VEGETATION: Northern hardwoods, dominated by sugar maple and hemlock, covered most of the landscape. Small areas of conifer swamps were common, especially near the headwaters of streams.
NATURAL DISTURBANCE: Windthrows were common throughout (Canham and Loucks 1984).
PRESENT VEGETATION AND LAND USE: Sub-subsection IX.4.1 has been more extensively converted to dairy farms and crop lands than any other part of Section IX.
RARE PLANT COMMUNITIES: None identified to date.
RARE PLANTS: None identified to date.
RARE ANIMALS: None identified to date.
NATURAL AREAS: State Natural Areas: Schmidt Maple Woods.
PUBLIC LAND MANAGERS:
CONSERVATION CONCERNS: Because of the extensive conversion to dairy farms and crop lands, there are few high-quality occurrences of natural plant communities.
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