Name:
Lysimachia ciliata - Apocynum cannabinum Sparse Vegetation
Reference:
Eastern Ecology Working Group of...
Description:
Island heads, bars, spits, low terraces, and riverbanks are all home to this broadly defined community. The underlying substrate also varies greatly, although it is often cobbles and sand, with thin deposits of silt, muck or organic matter. Species composition also varies greatly from site to site. The unifying factor that bridges the differences in environmental factors and species composition is the frequent scour that these sites experience. This community establishes in areas of the active channel that are underwater for the majority of the year and are exposed only at low water or in drought years. Therefore, these areas are subjected to high water velocities, floods and ice-scour more frequently than other herbaceous communities or shrublands (with the exception of emergent beds). The constant scour removes established vegetation and maintains or creates exposed sediments, cobbles or bedrock. New seeds and plant propagules are constantly being dispersed to these areas by water, air and animals. This causes a continual flux in species composition that is characteristic of this community. Typical species are a mix of annuals and perennials, including <i>Lysimachia ciliata, Lysimachia vulgaris, Lysimachia nummularia, Senecio</i> spp., <i>Eupatorium</i> spp., other Asteraceae spp., <i>Convolvulus</i> spp., <i>Phyla lanceolata,, Justicia americana, Cyperus esculentus, Boehmeria cylindrica, Polygonum</i> spp., <i>Apocynum cannabinum, Betula nigra</i>, and <i>Platanus occidentalis</i>. This community is defined mainly by its setting and disturbance regime.
Accession Code:
VB.CC.31313.CEGL006554
Plot-observations of this Community Concept:
0
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