02-22-2024 PRF Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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Mounds View Silver View Park Pond 3.1 Dry-Mesic Oak Woodland Existing Cover Type Two small upland wooded areas near Pond EW-4.P3 comprise a total of about 0.5-acre of dry-mesic oak woodland with canopy cover dominated by bur and pin oaks that range from 8 inches to over 24 inches in diameter at breast height(DBH).A few oaks southwest of the pond are over 30-inch DBH. The oaks in this cover type are visible in a 1940 aerial photo, Figure 3, when the site was farmed, and the woodland areas were likely grazed. Boxelder was common in the canopy during the 2023 survey, along with a few black cherry and invasive, nonnative white mulberry. Some of the oaks had a somewhat open-grown growth habit, reflecting the more open historic growing conditions. Boxelder occurred occasionally beneath the oak canopy as well, along with a few American elm, pin oak, nonnative Norway maple, and nonnative, invasive Amur maple. The shrub/sapling layers of the woodlands were dominated by common buckthorn, with occasional green ash. Native shrubs such as black raspberry and red-berried elder were present but infrequent. Ground cover was generally sparse, but most often composed of the native vine Virginia creeper and the native forb white snakeroot, with occasional native violets and nonnative, invasive garlic mustard. Overall, the oak canopy and old-growth oak trees are unique and notable features for upland vegetation within the project area. Due to the old-growth oaks in this cover type, restoration towards a native plant community(NPC) resembling Pin Oak—Bur Oak Woodland (FDs37b) is recommended. This woodland NPC has been mapped and described based on vegetation plots sampled by the Minnesota Biological Survey. The following weblink provides a MN DNR fact sheet describing the vegetation structure and composition, landscape setting and soils, and natural history of Pin Oak—Bur Oak Woodlands. https.//files.dnr.state.mn.us/natural resources/npc/fire dependent forest/fds37.pdf Vegetation Management Goal • Restore to a plant community resembling Pin Oak—Bur Oak Woodland (FDs37b)with improved wildlife habitat, native plant diversity, and water infiltration capacity. Vegetation Management Objectives • Canopy cover is over 50% and dominated by bur oak and pin oak, with occasional black cherry. Boxelder and American elm are removed from the canopy and understory to reduce competition with oaks and increase light to ground layer vegetation. • All invasive, nonnative trees (white mulberry, Norway maple, and Amur maple)and saplings are removed. • Native shrub cover is about 25-50% and composed of species such as black raspberry, red- berried elder, gooseberry, chokecherry,American hazelnut, and gray dogwood. Tree saplings of green ash, boxelder, hackberry, and elm are eliminated. Project Number: 193806465 8