Name:
Quercus (phellos, nigra, laurifolia) Temporarily Flooded Forest Alliance
Reference:
Southeastern Ecology Working Gro...
Description:
Forests in this alliance are typically dominated by some combination of Quercus phellos, Quercus nigra, and/or Quercus laurifolia. They may be found throughout the Coastal Plain and adjacent areas of the lower Piedmont, Arkansas Valley, Interior Low Plateau, and the Ouachita Mountains in temporarily flooded environments. These forests may occur in large, relatively high-gradient floodplains (in which they tend to occur on topographically higher portions of the floodplain, such as ridges or terraces), or in small, relatively low-gradient floodplains (in which the landforms are too small and/or too poorly developed to create much consistent, local topographic relief). In the Atlantic and East Gulf Coastal Plains, these forests may occur more often in association with blackwater/low-sediment/low-nutrient rivers and streams than brownwater ones. Dominant and associated species vary with geographic location and landscape setting. Associated canopy species include Quercus texana, Fraxinus pennsylvanica, Pinus taeda, Quercus similis, Quercus michauxii, Magnolia virginiana, Pinus glabra, Liquidambar styraciflua, Acer rubrum, Nyssa biflora, Ulmus alata, Carya aquatica, Carya alba, Carya glabra, Quercus pagoda, Taxodium distichum, and Celtis laevigata. Subcanopy and shrub species include Halesia diptera, Carpinus caroliniana, Ilex decidua, Sebastiania fruticosa, Ostrya virginiana, Viburnum rufidulum, Diospyros virginiana, Itea virginica, Symplocos tinctoria, Rhododendron canescens, Illicium floridanum, Cyrilla racemiflora, Ilex verticillata, Crataegus viridis, Vaccinium elliottii, and Ilex opaca among others. Woody vines are an important component of these forests, and species include Toxicodendron radicans, Bignonia capreolata, Smilax rotundifolia, Vitis rotundifolia, Parthenocissus quinquefolia, Trachelospermum difforme, Berchemia scandens, Smilax glauca, Campsis radicans, Cocculus carolinus, Ampelopsis arborea, and others. This alliance also includes forests of large bottomlands dominated by Quercus phellos and Ulmus crassifolia that occur on flat ridges and grade up from forests dominated by Quercus lyrata and Carya aquatica. Characteristic canopy species include Pinus taeda, Quercus similis, Liquidambar styraciflua, Gleditsia triacanthos, and Carya aquatica, but the wettest sites likely will have only Quercus phellos and Ulmus crassifolia. Understory species include Ilex decidua, Viburnum dentatum, and Crataegus spp., with Sabal minor in drier sites. These forests occur on very acid to mildly alkaline soils, commonly on Portland, Tensas, and Hebert silt loams.
Accession Code:
VB.CC.18213.QUERCUSPHELLOSN
Plot-observations of this Community Concept:
0
|
