The Barrens Flora of Wisconsin’s Northwest Sands Ecological Landscape

Abstract

The barrens of Wisconsin’s Northwest Sands Ecological Landscape are a dynamic mosaic shifting between dry forests and woodlands to open, prairie-like communities depending on the frequency of disturbance. We examined the floristics of eight sites within the barrens that were selected to represent the full latitudinal gradient of the ecological landscape. In the course of this study, we collected 2,213 voucher specimens representing 71 plant families, 217 genera, and 404 taxa. We compared the sites to one another using floristic quality assessments, the Sørensen–Dice similarity index, and various qualitative comparisons. The barrens flora becomes less diverse as you move from the southwest to the northeast. Prairie species are more common and dominant in the southwestern sites, and northern dry forest species are more common and dominant in the northeastern sites.