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Quercus phellos - (Quercus lyrata) / Carex spp. - Leersia spp. Forest | Southeastern Ecology Working Gro...
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Name: Quercus phellos - (Quercus lyrata) / Carex spp. - Leersia spp. Forest
Reference: Southeastern Ecology Working Gro...
Description: This willow oak flatwoods forest occurs in bottomland flatwoods environments of major rivers in the south-central United States. This type most often occurs on first bottoms and terrace flats with poorly drained, heavy silty clay soils that are flooded with shallow water each winter and spring. The relatively high clay content in these soils produces a perched water table that contributes to prolonged wet conditions and equally severe summer dry periods when soils become hard and develop excessive cracks. This restricted soil permeability is characteristic of flatwoods, which contain species typical of drier upland sites on slight rises and shallow ephemeral seasonal ponds in depressions. The perched water table situation can also occur in distinctly upland situations as well as in floodplains. Dominant trees in this community include <i>Quercus phellos, Celtis laevigata, Fraxinus pennsylvanica</i>, and <i>Ulmus americana</i>. <i>Quercus lyrata</i> and <i>Quercus texana</i> are also frequently encountered. Unfavorable soil conditions often cause the trees to be stunted. The understory and shrub layers are poorly developed (less than 50% cover) consisting primarily of <i>Acer rubrum, Ilex decidua</i>, and <i>Forestiera acuminata</i>. The herbaceous stratum is dominated by <i>Carex</i> spp., <i>Leersia</i> spp., and <i>Cinna arundinacea</i>. Herbaceous density is generally low but fluctuates with canopy openness. Elevated rises exhibit plants common of dry and dry-mesic soils such as <i>Porteranthus stipulatus</i> and <i>Pycnanthemum tenuifolium</i>, while wet and wet-mesic soils found in shallow ephemeral or seasonal ponds in depressions are dominated by <i>Carex</i> spp. <i>Symphyotrichum lanceolatum var. lanceolatum (= Aster simplex)</i> is often encountered in flatwoods, as are <i>Toxicodendron radicans</i> and <i>Campsis radicans</i>. 
Accession Code: VB.CC.33367.CEGL002102
Plot-observations of this Community Concept: 0
      Party Perspective according to: NatureServe (organization)
Perspective from: 17-Nov-2014 to: 01-May-2019
     
  • status: accepted
  • This Community's Level: association
  • This Community's Children: [none]
Names:   UID: ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.686087 NatureServe ExplorerNatureServe Explorer logo
  Common: Willow Oak Bottomland Flatwoods Forest
  Translated: Willow Oak - (Overcup Oak) / Sedge species - Cutgrass species Forest
  Scientific: Quercus phellos - (Quercus lyrata) / Carex spp. - Leersia spp. Forest
  Code: CEGL002102