Name:
NY Heritage: Red maple-hardwood swamp
Reference:
Ecological Communities of New York, 2nd Ed.
Description:
A hardwood swamp that occurs in poorly drained depressions, usually on inorganic soils. This is a broadly defined community with many regional and edaphic variants. In any one stand red maple (Acer rubrum) is either the only canopy dominant, or it is codominant with one or more hardwoods including ashes (Fraxinus pennsylvanica, F. nigra, and F. americana), elms (Ulmus americana and U. rubra), yellow birch (Betula alleghaniensis), and swamp white oak (Quercus bicolor). Other trees with low percent cover include butternut (Juglans cinerea), bitternut hickory (Carya cordiformis), black gum (Nyssa sylvatica), American hornbeam (Carpinus carolinianus), and white pine (Pinus strobus).
The shrub layer is usually well-developed and may be quite dense. Characteristic shrubs are winterberry (Ilex verticillata), spicebush (Lindera benzoin), alders (Alnus incana ssp. rugosa and A. serrulata), viburnums (Viburnum dentatum var. lucidum, and V. nudum var. cassinoides), highbush blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum), common elderberry (Sambucus canadensis), and various shrubby dogwoods (Cornus sericea, C. foemina ssp. racemosa, and C. amomum). Swamp azalea (Rhododendron viscosum) is more common in southern examples, and poison sumac (Toxicodendron vernix) and black ash are more common in richer (higher pH) examples.
The herbaceous layer may be quite diverse and is often dominated by ferns, including sensitive fern (Onoclea sensibilis), cinnamon fern (Osmunda cinnamomea), royal fern (O. regalis), and marsh fern (Thelypteris palustris), with much lesser amounts of crested wood fern (Dryopteris cristata), and spinulose wood fern (Dryopteris carthusiana). Characteristic herbs include skunk cabbage (Symplocarpus foetidus), white hellebore (Veratrum viride), sedges (Carex stricta, C. lacustris, and C. intumescens), jewelweed (Impatiens capensis), false nettle (Boehmeria cylindrica), arrow arum (Peltandra virginica), tall meadow rue (Thalictrum pubescens), and marsh marigold (Caltha palustris). Open patches within the swamp may contain other herbs characteristic of shallow emergent marsh.
Examples of wetland fauna that occur in the glaciated northeast red maple-hardwood swamps include wood duck (Aix sponosa), American black duck (Anas rubripes), northern waterthrush (Seiurus noveboracensis), beaver (Castor canadensis), river otter (Lutra canadensis), and mink (Mustela vison). These swamps provide breeding habitat for many wetland-dependent species, such as spring peeper (Pseudacris crucifer crucifer), American toad (Bufo americanus americanus), wood frog (Rana sylvatica), and spotted salamander (Ambystoma maculatum) (Golet et al. 1993). More data on characteristic animals, especially invertebrates, are needed.
Accession Code:
VB.CC.28657.NYHERITAGEREDMA
Plot-observations of this Community Concept:
6
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