Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

The Niobrara River Valley, a postglacial migration corridor and refugium of forest plants and animals in the grasslands of central North America

  • Published:
The Botanical Review Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The Niobrara River Valley of northern Nebraska contains numerous bryophyte, vascular plant, and animal species more typical of forests far to the east, north, and west than to other forests in the grasslands that surround the Valley. Some species are probably relicts of cooler glacial and early postglacial times, when much of what is now grassland was covered by boreal and cool-temperate forests. Others entered the Valley from the east in postglacial times, and some entered from the west as the climate became semi-arid. There is a steep decline in total number of vascular plant species from the mouth of the Missouri River up through the Niobrara Valley, suggesting an environmental gradient and differential migration and extirpation of species at various times since the Pleistocene.

Abstraktum

Das Niobrara Flusstal nördliches Nebraska enthält viele Laubmoose, Gefässpflanzen, und Tiere Arten, die mehr typisch für ostliche, nördliche, und westliche Wälder sind, als andere Wälder auf der umgebenden Wiesen. Manche Arten sind vielleicht Hinterbliebene von kühleren vergletscherten und frühe nach vergletscheten Zeiten. Andere eintraten ins Tal von Osten während nachvergletscherten Zeiten, und manche eintraten von Westen, während das Klima halb dürr wurde. Es gibt eine steile Neige in die Summe Gefässpflanzenarten von der Mündung des Missouri Fluss bis dem Niobrara Tal, die eine Umgebungsteigung und Unterscheidungswanderung und Ausrottung Arten um verschiedene Zeiten seitdem Pleistozän vorschlagen.

Resumen

El Valle del Rio Niobrara, en el norte de Nebraska, contiene un gran número de especies de briofitas, plantas vasculares, y animales que son tipicos de los bosques del este, norte, y oeste de Estado Unidos que de las praderas que rodean al Valle. Alqunas de estas son probablemente vestigios de peridos frios de glaciación y tempranos eventos pos-glaciales, cuando gran parte de lo que es hoy pradera estaba cubierto por bosques boreales y templados. Otras especies entraron al Valle del este en el periodo pos-glacial, y otras entraron del oeste segun el clima se torno semiárido. Hay un alto declive en el número total de plantas vasculares desde le boca del Rio Missouri atravesando el Valle Niobrara, sugiriendo un gradiente ambiental, migración diferencial y extirpación de especies en varias épocas desde el Pleistoceno.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Literature Cited

  • American Ornithologists’ Union. 1983. Checklist of North American birds, 6th ed.

  • Axelrod, D. I. 1985. Rise of the grassland biome, central North America. Bot. Rev.51: 163–201.

    Google Scholar 

  • — &P.H. Raven. 1985. Origin of the cordilleran flora. J. Biogeogr.12: 21–47.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Beal, E. O. &P. H. Monson. 1954. Marsh and aquatic angiosperms of Iowa. State University of Iowa Stud. Nat. Hist.19: 1–95.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bernabo, J. C. &T. Webb, III. 1977. Changing patterns in the Holocene pollen record of northeastern North America: A mapped summary. Quaternary Res.8: 64–96.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bessey, C. E. 1887. A meeting-place for two floras. Bull. Torrey Bot. Club14: 189–191.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bliss, Q. P. &S. Schainost. 1973. Niobrara Basin stream inventory report. Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, Lincoln.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bradbury, J. P. 1980. Late Quaternary vegetation history of the central Great Plains and its relationship to eolian processes in the Nebraska Sand Hills. U.S. Geol. Survey Prof. Paper1120C: 25–36.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bragg, T. B. &L. C. Hulbert. 1976. Woody plant invasion of unburned Kansas bluestem prairie. J. Range Managern.29: 19–24.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brogie, M. A. &M. J. Mossman. 1983. Spring and summer birds of the Niobrara Valley Preserve area, Nebraska: An annotated checklist. Nebraska Bird Rev.51: 44–51.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brooks, R. E. &L. A. Hauser. 1978. Aquatic vascular plants of Kansas. I. Submersed and floating-leaved plants. State Biol. Survey Kansas, Tech. Pub.7: 1–70.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brown, D. A. &P. J. Gersmehl. 1985. Migration models for grasses in the American midcontinent. Ann. Assoc. Amer. Geogr.75: 383–394.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cardé, R. T., A. M. Shapiro &H. K. Clench. 1970. Sibling species in theEurydice group ofLethe (Lepidoptera: Satyridae). Psyche77: 70–103.

    Google Scholar 

  • Catalogue of American Amphibians and Reptiles. 1962 et seq. Amer. Soc. Ichthyologists and Herpetologists (1962–1971), Amer. Soc. for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles (1971-).

  • Churchill, S. P. 1982. Mosses of the Great Plains, VI. The Niobrara River Basin of Nebraska. Trans. Kansas Acad. Sci.85: 1–12.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • —. 1985a. Mosses of the Great Plains, X. The Niobrara Valley Preserve and adjacent area in Nebraska. Trans. Nebraska Acad. Sci.13: 13–19.

    Google Scholar 

  • —. 1985b. A synopsis of the Kansas mosses, with keys and distribution maps. Univ. of Kansas Sci. Bull.53: 1–64.

    Google Scholar 

  • Conover, W. J. 1971. Practical nonparametric statistics. Wiley & Sons Inc., New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cooperrider, T. S. 1958. The ferns and other pteridophytes of Iowa. State Univ. Iowa Stud. Nat. Hist.20: 1–66.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cross, F. B. 1970. Fishes as indicators of Pleistocene and Recent environments of the central plains. Pages 241–257in W. Dort, Jr. & J. K. Jones, Jr. (eds.), Pleistocene and Recent environments of the central plains. University of Kansas Press, Lawrence.

    Google Scholar 

  • Davis, M. B. 1983. Quaternary history of deciduous forests of eastern North America and Europe. Ann. Missouri Bot. Gard.70: 550–563.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Delcourt, P. A. & H. R. Delcourt. 1980. Vegetation maps for eastern North America: 40,000 yr B. P. to the present. Pages 123–165in R. C. Romans (ed.), Geobotany II: 123–165.

  • Dorn, R. D. &J. L. Dorn. 1972. The ferns and other pteridophytes of Montana, Wyoming, and the Black Hills of South Dakota. Dept. of Botany, University of Wyoming, Laramie.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eckenwalder, J. E. 1984. Natural intersectional hybridization between North American species ofPopulus (Salicaceae) in sectionsAigeiros andTacamahaca. II. Taxonomy. Canad. J. Bot.62: 325–335.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ferris, C. D. &F. M. Brown. 1981. Butterflies of the Rocky Mountain states. University of Oklahoma Press, Norman.

    Google Scholar 

  • Flake, R. H., L. Urbatsch &B. L. Turner. 1978. Chemical documentation of allopatric introgression inJuniperus. Syst. Bot.3: 129–144.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ford, N. L. 1959. Notes on summer birds of western Nebraska. Nebraska Bird Rev.27: 6–12.

    Google Scholar 

  • Freeman, C. C. &S. P. Churchill. 1983. Noteworthy pteridophyte records for Nebraska. Amer. Fern J.73: 29–30.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gier, L. J. 1955. Missouri bryophytes. Trans. Kansas Acad. Sci.58: 24–49.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gleason, H. A. 1913. The relation of forest distribution and prairie fires in the Middle West. Torreya13: 173–181.

    Google Scholar 

  • —. 1922. The vegetational history of the Middle West. Ann. Assoc. Amer. Geogr.12: 39–85.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Great Plains Flora Association. 1977. Atlas of the flora of the Great Plains. Iowa St. University Press.

  • —. 1986. Flora of the Great Plains. University Press of Kansas, Lawrence.

    Google Scholar 

  • Grimm, E. C. 1983. Chronology and dynamics of vegetation change in the prairie-woodland region of southern Minnesota, U. S. A. New Phytol.93: 311–350.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Grüger, J. 1973. Studies on the late Quaternary vegetation history of northeastern Kansas. Bull. Geol. Soc. Amer.84: 239–250.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hall, E. R. 1981. The mammals of North America. 2 vols. John Wiley & Sons, New-York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hesse, L. W., Q. P. Bliss &G. P. Zuerlein. 1982. Some aspects of the ecology of adult fishes in the channelized Missouri River, with special reference to the effects of two nuclear power generating stations. Pages 225–276in L. W. Hesse et al. (eds.), The middle Missouri River. Missouri River Study Group, Norfolk, Nebraska.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hibbard, C. W. 1970. Pleistocene mammalian local faunas from the Great Plains and central lowland provinces of the United States. Pages 395–433in W. Dort, Jr. & J. K. Jones, Jr. (eds.), Pleistocene and Recent environments of the central plains. University of Kansas Press, Lawrence.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hoffman, R. S. &J. K. Jones, Jr. 1970. Influence of late-glacial and post-glacial events on the distribution of Recent mammals in the northern Great Plains. Pages 355–394in W. Dort, Jr. & J. K. Jones, Jr. (eds.), Pleistocene and Recent environments of the central plains. University of Kansas Press, Lawrence.

    Google Scholar 

  • Johnsgard, P. A. 1978. The ornithogeography of the Great Plains states. Prairie Naturalist10: 97–112.

    Google Scholar 

  • —. 1979a. The breeding birds of Nebraska. Nebraska Bird Rev.47: 3–16.

    Google Scholar 

  • —. 1979b. Birds of the Great Plains: Breeding species and their distribution. University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln.

    Google Scholar 

  • Johnson, K. 1972. The butterflies of Nebraska. J. Res. Lepidoptera11: 1–64.

    Google Scholar 

  • —. 1975. Post-Pleistocene environments and montane butterfly relicts. J. Res. Lepidoptera14: 216–232.

    Google Scholar 

  • —. 1977. A new subspecies ofPieris sisymbrii (Pieridae) from western Great Plains relict forests. J. Lepidoptera Soc.31: 167–172.

    Google Scholar 

  • — &G. Balogh. 1977. Taxonomy and evolution of the NearcticLycaena rubidus Complex, with description of a new species. Bull. Allyn Mus.43: 1–62.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jones, J. K., Jr. 1964. Distribution and taxonomy of mammals of Nebraska. Univ. Kansas Publ., Mus. Nat. Hist.16: 1–356.

    Google Scholar 

  • —,D. M. Armstrong, R. S. Hoffman &C. Jones. 1983. Mammals of the northern Great Plains. University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kantak, G. E. 1983. Niobrara Preserve inventory. 1982 Annual Report. The Nature Conservancy, Minneapolis, Minnesota.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kaul, R. B. 1975. Vegetation of Nebraska circa 1875. Map, 1:1,000,000, 13 colors. Conservation and Survey Division, University of Nebraska, Lincoln.

    Google Scholar 

  • —,Challaiah &K. H. Keeler. 1983. Effects of grazing and juniper-canopy closure on the prairie flora in Nebraska high-plains canyons. Proc. VII Prairie Conf. (1980): 95–105.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kohler, S. 1977. Revision of North AmericanBoloria selene (Nymphalidae) with description of a new species. J. Lepidoptera Soc.31: 243–268.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lakela, O. 1965. A flora of northeastern Minnesota. University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis.

    Google Scholar 

  • Larson, G. E. 1979. The aquatic and wetland plants of North Dakota. Ph.D. Dissertation. North Dakota State University, Fargo. 453 pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lawson, M. P., K. F. Dewey &R. E. Neild. 1977. Climatic atlas of Nebraska. University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lee, D. S., C. R. Gilbert, C. H. Hocurt, R. E. Jenkins, D. E. Jenkins, D. E. McAllister &J. R. Stauffer, Jr. 1980. Atlas of North American freshwater fishes. North Carolina St. Mus. Nat. Sci., Raleigh.

    Google Scholar 

  • Little, E. L., Jr. 1971. Atlas of United States trees. 1. Conifers and important hardwoods. U.S.D.A. Forest Serv. Misc. Publ. 1146.

  • ---. 1976. Atlas of United States trees. 3. Minor western hardwoods. U.S.D.A. Forest Serv. Misc. Publ. 1314.

  • ---. 1977. Atlas of United States trees. 4. Minor eastern hardwoods. U.S.D.A. Forest Serv. Misc. Publ. 1342.

  • Lynch, J. D. 1985. Annotated checklist of the amphibians and reptiles of Nebraska. Trans. Nebraska Acad. Sci.13: 33–57.

    Google Scholar 

  • Madsen, T. I. 1985. The status and distribution of the uncommon fishes of Nebraska. M.A. Thesis. University of Nebraska at Omaha.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mayden, R. L. 1987. Faunal exchange between the Niobrara and White River systems of the North American Great Plains. Prairie Naturalist19: 173–176.

    Google Scholar 

  • Maze, J. 1968. Past hybridization betweenQuercus macrocarpa andQuercus gambelii. Brittonia20: 321–333.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McAndrews, J. H. 1966. Postglacial history of prairie, savanna, and forest in northwestern Minnesota. Mem. Torrey Bot. Cl.22: 1–72.

    Google Scholar 

  • Melhus, I. E. 1936. Native ferns of Iowa. Iowa St. Coll. Extension Circ. 225.

  • Mengel, R. M. 1970. The North American Central Plains as an isolating agent in bird speciation. Pages 279–340in W. Dort, Jr. & J. K. Jones, Jr. (eds.), Pleistocene and Recent environments of the central Great Plains. University of Kansas Press, Lawrence.

    Google Scholar 

  • Miller, L. D. &F. M. Brown. 1981. A catalogue/checklist of the butterflies of America north of Mexico. The Lepidopterists’ Society Mem. 2. Serbin Printing Inc., Sarasota, Florida.

    Google Scholar 

  • Morley, T. 1969. Spring flora of Minnesota. University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis.

    Google Scholar 

  • Morris, J., L. Morris & L. Witt. 1972. The fishes of Nebraska. Nebraska Game and Parks Commission.

  • Moss, E. H. 1983. Flora of Alberta, second ed. rev. by J. G. Packer. University of Toronto Press, Toronto.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mossman, M. J. &M. A. Brogie. 1983. Breeding status of selected bird species in the Niobrara Valley Preserve area, Nebraska. Nebraska Bird Rev.51: 52–62.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nebraska Natural Resources Commission. 1976. Niobrara River Basin water quality management plan. Nebraska Environmental Control, Nebraska State Office of Planning and Programming, Lincoln.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nixon, E. S. 1967. A vegetational study of the Pine Ridge of northwestern Nebraska. Southw. Nat.12: 134–145.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Opler, P. A. &G. O. Krizek. 1984. Butterflies east of the Great Plains. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, Maryland.

    Google Scholar 

  • Perkins, S. G. &E. M. Perkins, Jr. 1967. Revision of theLimenitis weidemeyerii complex, with description of a new subspecies (Nymphalidae). J. Lepidoptera Soc.21: 213–234.

    Google Scholar 

  • Petrik-Ott, A. J. 1979. The pteridophytes of Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, and North Dakota. Beih. Nova Hedwigia 61. J. Cramer, Vaduz.

  • Pound, R. &F. E. Clements. 1900. The phytogeography of Nebraska, 2nd ed. Univ. Nebraska Bot. Seminar, Lincoln.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ritchie, J. C. 1976. The late-Quaternary vegetational history of the western interior of Canada. Canad. J. Bot.54: 1793–1818.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rolfsmeier, S. B., R. B. Kaul & D. M. Sutherland. 1987. New and corrected records of the flora of Nebraska. Trans. Nebraska Acad. Sci. 15 (in press).

  • Rosche, R. C. 1986. Nebraska butterfly distribution maps. Privately published by the author. B & B Printing, Chadron, Nebraska.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schaffner, J. H. 1926. Grasslands of the Central United States. Ohio State Univ. Stud., Contr. Bot.178: 5–56.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schultz, C. B., L. D. Martin &M. R. Schultz. 1985. A Pleistocene jaguar from north-central Nebraska. Trans. Nebraska Acad. Sci.13: 93–98.

    Google Scholar 

  • Scott, J. S. 1986. The butterflies of North America. Stanford University Press, Stanford, California.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sears, P. B. 1935. Glacial and postglacial vegetation. Bot. Rev.1: 37–51.

    Google Scholar 

  • Short, L. L., Jr. 1961. Notes on bird distribution in the central plains. Nebraska Bird Rev.19: 2–22.

    Google Scholar 

  • —. 1965. Hybridization in the flickers (Colaptes) of North America. Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist.129: 307–428.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sibley, C. G. &L. L. Short, Jr. 1959. Hybridization in the bunting (Passerina) of the Great Plains. Auk76: 443–463.

    Google Scholar 

  • ——. 1964. Hybridization in the orioles of the Great Plains. Condor66: 130–150.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stasiak, R. H. 1986. New record of the lake chub (Couesius plumbeus) from Nebraska. Proc. Nebraska Acad. Sci. 1986: 29–30.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stebbins, R. C. 1985. A field guide to western reptiles and amphibians. Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston, Massachusetts.

    Google Scholar 

  • Steinauer, E. M. & T. B. Bragg. Ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) invasion of Nebraska sandhills prairie. Amer. Midl. Naturalist118 (in press).

  • Steyermark, J. A. 1963. Flora of Missouri. Iowa State University Press, Ames.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sutherland, D. M. &R. B. Kaul. 1986. Nebraska plant distribution. Trans. Nebraska Acad. Sci.14: 55–59.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tolstead, W. L. 1942a. Vegetation of the northern part of Cherry County, Nebraska. Ecol. Monogr.12: 255–292.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • —. 1942b. A note on unusual plants in the flora of northwestern Nebraska. Amer. Midl. Naturalist28: 475–481.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • —. 1947. Woodlands in northwestern Nebraska. Ecology28: 180–188.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Transeau, E. N. 1935. The prairie peninsula. Ecology16: 423–437.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tryon, R. 1980. Ferns of Minnesota, 2nd ed. University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis.

    Google Scholar 

  • Van Bruggen, T. 1985. The vascular plants of South Dakota, 2nd ed. Iowa State University Press, Ames.

    Google Scholar 

  • van der Linden, J. O., D. R. Farrar &S. P. Churchill. 1985. Bryophytes of the loess hills of western Iowa. Proc. Iowa Acad. Sci.92: 193–195.

    Google Scholar 

  • van Haverbeke, D. F. 1968. A population analysis ofJuniperus in the Missouri River Basin. Taxonomic interrelationships betweenJuniperus scopulorum Sarg. andJ. virginiana L. in the Missouri River Basin. Univ. of Nebraska Stud., new ser.38: 1–82.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wagner, W. H., Jr. &F. S. Wagner. 1986. Three new species of moonworts (Botrychium subg.Botrychium) endemic in western North America. Amer. Fern J.76: 33–47.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Watts, W. A. &H. E. Wright, Jr. 1966. Late Wisconsin pollen and seed analysis from the Nebraska Sandhills. Ecology47: 202–210.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wells, P. V. 1968. Historical factors controlling vegetation patterns and floristic distributions in the central plains region of North America. Pages 211–221in W. Dort, Jr. and J. K. Jones, Jr. (eds.), Pleistocene and Recent environments of the central plains. University of Kansas Press, Lawrence.

    Google Scholar 

  • —. 1970. Postglacial vegetational history of the Great Plains. Science167: 1574–1582.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • —. 1983. Late Quaternary vegetation of the Great Plains. Trans. Nebraska Acad. Sci.11 (special issue): 83–89.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wiley, R. W. 1980.Neotoma floridana. Mammalian species no. 139, pp. 1–7. Amer. Soc. Mammalogists.

  • Wright, H. E., Jr. 1968. Vegetational history of the central plains. Pages 159–172in W. Dort, Jr. & J. K. Jones, Jr. (eds.), Pleistocene and Recent environments of the central plains. University of Kansas Press, Lawrence.

    Google Scholar 

  • —. 1971. Late Quaternary vegetational history of North America. Pages 425–464in K. K. Turekian (ed.), The late Cenozoic glacial ages. Yale University Press, New Haven.

    Google Scholar 

  • —. 1976. The dynamic nature of Holocene vegetation. Quaternary Res.6: 581–586.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • —. 1981. Vegetation east of the Rocky Mountains 18,000 years ago. Quaternary Res.15: 113–125.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • —,J. C. Almendinger, andJ. Grüger. 1985. Pollen diagram from the Nebraska Sandhills and the age of the dunes. Quaternary Res.24: 115–120.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Biological Sciences, University of Nebraska, 68588-0118, Lincoln, Nebraska, USA

    Robert B. Kaul

  2. Department of Biology, Saginaw Valley State University University Center, 48710-0001, Michigan, USA

    Gail E. Kantak

  3. The New York Botanical Garden, 10458-5126, Bronx, New York, USA

    Steven P. Churchill

Authors
  1. Robert B. Kaul
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Gail E. Kantak
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Steven P. Churchill
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Kaul, R.B., Kantak, G.E. & Churchill, S.P. The Niobrara River Valley, a postglacial migration corridor and refugium of forest plants and animals in the grasslands of central North America. Bot. Rev 54, 44–81 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02858518

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02858518

Keywords

Search

Navigation