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INFLUENCE OF LANDFORM AND CLIMATE ON VEGETATION TYPES <br />Plant communities that exist in any given area are the result of numerous biologic and non - <br />biologic factors. These work in concert to influence plant communities in often subtle ways, but <br />some of the influences can have rather dramatic and immediate effects such as drought, or a <br />tornado. Biotic factors can include such varied things as the presence or absence of pollinators, <br />burrowing activities, herbivory, or over utilization of an area by a single species or number of <br />species. Of the abiotic factors, two have a consistently strong influence in the shaping of plant <br />communities. These are climate and landform. <br />The climate of Ramsey County is considered to be continental and subhumid, with long, cold <br />winters and relatively brief, warm summers. Wide fluctuations in temperature and precipitation <br />also characterize this climate. These fluctuations in temperature and moisture strongly influence <br />the plant communities present in the region and cause plants to be adapted to extremes, rather <br />than averages. <br />Landforms also have a profound impact on the type of plant communities found in any area. The <br />landforms of the Roseville area are primarily associated with activities that took place on the <br />edge of glacial ice sheets (periglacial processes). <br />These well- drained characteristics of the soil tend to exaggerate drought events, thus favoring <br />more drought tolerant communities in upland areas. <br />City of Roseville 12 <br />Parks Natural Resource Management <br />