Regional Landscape Ecosystems of Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin
SUBSECTION IX.4. Lincoln Formation Till Plain
DISCUSSION: Subsection IX.4, characterized by silt-capped ground moraine, has been heavily used for agriculture, in contrast to Sub-subsections IX.3.3 and IX.3.4; Hole and Germain (1994) treat Sub-subsections IX.3.3 and IX.4.1 as part of the same subdivision.
SUB-SUBSECTIONS: Marshfield (IX.4.1), Rib Mountain (IX.4.2), Neillsville Sandstone Plateau (IX.4.3). (See figure 4.)
ELEVATION: 886 to 1,924 feet (270 to 586 m).
AREA: 5,247 square miles (13,594 sq km).
STATES: Wisconsin.
CLIMATE: Annual precipitation averages 32 to 33 inches and annual snowfall is 44 to 52 inches (Wisconsin Statistical Reporting Service 1967, Wendland et al. 1992). Extreme low temperatures are -45½F to -50½F (Wisconsin Statistical Reporting Service 1967). Growing season is between 115 and 135 days.
>BEDROCK GEOLOGY: There are local exposures of bedrock throughout the subsection; weathered Cambrian sandstone and shale are near the surface or exposed in the west, and Precambrian granites are in the east, especially in Sub-subsection IX.4.2. Other Precambrian bedrock types found in the east include gneiss, amphibolite, and felsic and mafic metavolcanic rock (Morey et al. 1982).
LANDFORMS: Ground moraine, with outwash deposits in Sub-subsection IX.4.2. The till was deposited 25,000 to 790,000 years ago; as a result, the topography is more dissected than more recent ground moraines from the Wisconsin Glaciation in the three States.
LAKES AND STREAMS: The Big Eau Pleine and the Wisconsin Rivers flow through the subsection. Outwash deposits associated with the Wisconsin River are extensive to the southeast. Streams are numerous, but generally small. The drainage system is much more dendritic than that of Sub-subsection IX.3.3, where many of the streams are parallel.
SOILS: Bedrock is within 50 feet over much of the subsection. Soils are generally shallow, silt loams over bedrock. Much of Sub-subsection IX.4.1 is underlain by Cambrian sandstone; Sub-subsection IX.4.2 is underlain by granite. Poor drainage characterizes the soils on the undulating topography of Sub-subsections IX.4.1 and IX.4.3. Much of Sub-subsection IX.4.2 is well drained.
PRESETTLEMENT VEGETATION: Northern hardwood forest, dominated by sugar maple, hemlock, yellow birch, white pine, and red pine, covered most of the subsection; conifer swamps were concentrated in Sub-subsection IX.4.3.
NATURAL DISTURBANCE: Windthrows were quite common in Sub-subsections IX.4.1 and IX.4.3, but much less common in the more dissected, well-drained landscape of IX.4.2 (my interpretation of Canham and Loucks 1984).
PRESENT VEGETATION AND LAND USE: Agriculture, including both row crops and pasture, is intensive within Sub-subsection IX.4.1. Forestry is more important in the remaining sub-subsections.
RARE PLANT COMMUNITIES: None identified to date.
RARE ANIMALS: None identified to date.
NATURAL AREAS: See sub-subsections.
PUBLIC LAND MANAGERS:
RARE PLANTS: None identified to date.
CONSERVATION CONCERNS: Forest fragmentation is severe in much of this subsection.
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