7# ?`````n    x"\ |c*`ccc 3ccccccRaco Supersite Description The Raco Supersite is located in Chippewa County at the eastern end of Michigans Upper Peninsula. The center coordinate for imaging of this site is 84.885 longitude and 46.392 latitude and is about 25 miles west southwest of Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. Most of the test site is contained within the Hiawatha National Forest just south of Whitefish Bay on Lake Superior. Michigan was totally covered by ice during the Wisconsinian glaciation and the Upper Peninsula became ice-free about 10,000 years ago. Todays physiography and soils are the result of glacial erosion and deposition. The rock and soil materials carried by the glacial ice were redeposited as moraines, drumlins, eskers, kames and outwash plains. Many lakes were formed when large blocks of ice surrounded by outwash sands finally melted. Following deglaciation, the area was revegetated by waves of species migrating from the south and east. The present climate of the area is dominated by the proximity to Lake Superior. The lake effect leads to a late spring with cool summers followed by a cold winter. There is much snowfall, particularly along the Lake Superior shore. The region is characterized by low elevations with flat, glacial plain topography. Most of this area was deforested by logging operations 70 years ago. Todays secondary forests are primarily (1) northern conifers (white spruce, balsam fir and northern white-cedar) common in the swampy areas and (2) northern hardwood forests (red maple, sugar maple and beech) common in the well-drained areas. Excessively well-drained, sandy soils are dominated by jack pines. South of Sault Ste. Marie in the vicinity of Rudyard, MI is a large roughly circular flat clay plain formed by a glacial lake. Within this plain are areas of ground moraine and sandy lake plain. Today, the clay plain is extensively used for pasture and hay production. The poorly drained clay soils have been ditched to improve drainage in these farmlands. Shrub willows, speckled alder, tamarack, young American elm and black ash are common on abandoned pasture land which indicates poor drainage conditions. The clay soils of the lake plain are deeply eroded by rivers and creeks. Unfarmed parts of the plain are dominated by spruce forests and marshes. The areas of ground moraine are forested with northern hardwoods (primarily red maples and red oak) and some plantations of red pine. To the west of the clay plain is an 80' rise to a sandy outwash plain known as the Raco Plain. Along this rise, diverse stands of red and white pine, aspen and some northern hardwoods are common. The sand soils of the Raco Plain are excessively well drained and presently support plantations of jack pines and some red pines. The jack pines are used for pulpwood and many recent clearcuts are present. The cuts are generally irregular in shape. Many of these cuts have been replanted to jack pine or red pine; a few are being maintained as prairie. North of the Raco Plain, near the Lake Superior shore, are end moraine ridges dominated by northern hardwood forests of red maple, sugar maple, beech and hemlock. Low-lying swampy areas along the lake shore are dominated by northern white-cedar or spruce and tamarack forests. Localized patches of aspens occur in clearcuts or other areas of disturbance with bigtooth aspen dominant in dry sites and trembling aspen dominant in wet sites. Older aspen stands are generally in successional transition to the northern hardwood community. South of the moraines and west of the Raco Plain are a mixture of swampy areas dominated by spruce conifer bogs, marshes and some red pine plantations. Figure Captions for Photographs: (1) High school students assist University of Michigan graduate students measure forest stands in the Hiawatha National Forest near Raco, Michigan. (2) Nutrient rich areas with good soil drainage support the northern hardwoods forest community of maples and beech. (3) In presettlement times, much of the region supported large pineries of white and red pine. Today most of the red pines are found in plantations. (4) Much of the clay lake plain in the Rudyard, Michigan area has been ditched to improve drainage and now provides pasture and hay production. w  tu uvw./;<!  ! ! ! ! ! ! !@v@0! ! !    + HH(FG(HH(d'@=/R@H -:LaserWriter ChicagoNew YorkGenevaMonacoLondon Los AngelesPalatinoTimes HelveticaCourierSymbolMobile+ International MiniBoston MicroBoston MT ExtraE(|3Raco supersite.desc Craig Dobson Craig Dobson