Name:
Populus deltoides - (Salix amygdaloides) / Salix (exigua, interior) Woodland
Reference:
Midwestern Ecology Working Group...
Description:
This cottonwood - willow woodland is found widely in the central Great Plains of the United States. Stands occur on recently deposited alluvial material along rivers and streams. The soils are derived from alluvial sand, silt, and clay and are poorly developed. The water table fluctuates with the level of the adjacent river or stream. Populus deltoides is the dominant species in this community, although Salix exigua and/or Salix interior is generally more dominant in the initial stage following a major flood event. Salix amygdaloides is rare to codominant. The shrub/sapling layer is conspicuous, especially near the streambank, and consists mainly of Salix exigua, Populus deltoides, and Salix amygdaloides, or occasionally Salix lutea. In the more easterly parts of the range, Salix interior may replace Salix exigua. On the older margins of this community Fraxinus pennsylvanica is often found as a sapling or small canopy tree. The herbaceous stratum is variable. Graminoids typical of undisturbed sites include Carex emoryi, Carex pellita (= Carex lanuginosa), Pascopyrum smithii, and Spartina pectinata. Equisetum arvense and Glycyrrhiza lepidota are common forbs in these sites. Widely distributed species that are adapted to these sites include Ambrosia psilostachya, Artemisia campestris ssp. caudata, Artemisia ludoviciana, Calamovilfa longifolia, Cenchrus longispinus, Chamaesyce serpyllifolia (= Euphorbia serpyllifolia), Euphorbia esula, Grindelia squarrosa, Helianthus petiolaris, Heterotheca villosa, Phyla lanceolata (= Lippia lanceolata), Opuntia macrorhiza, Poa pratensis, and Sporobolus cryptandrus. These sites are prone to invasion by exotic grasses and forbs, the most widely established being Agrostis stolonifera, Bromus tectorum, Cirsium arvense, Bassia scoparia (= Kochia scoparia), Melilotus spp., Taraxacum officinale, and Tragopogon dubius.
Accession Code:
VB.CC.22488.POPULUSDELTOIDE
Plot-observations of this Community Concept:
0
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