Name:
Lythrum alatum - Panicum anceps - Symphyotrichum lanceolatum Wet-Mesic Blackland Prairie Temporarily Flooded Herbaceous Vegetation
Reference:
Southeastern Ecology Working Gro...
Description:
This wet-mesic blackland prairie community occurs in shallow draws and depressions and in level areas with high soil moisture-holding capacity on the Upper West Gulf Coastal Plain of Arkansas. This community is temporarily to seasonally saturated. Water may 'pond' briefly in localized depressions due to the tight soils. Vegetation is typically thick, 6 feet tall or greater. This community becomes shrubby very quickly with fire suppression. Fuel accumulation is rapid. Dominant species include <i>Lythrum alatum, Panicum anceps, Andropogon glomeratus</i>, and <i>Symphyotrichum</i> spp. (= <i>Aster</i> spp.). <i>Tripsacum dactyloides</i> could have been a dominant in the community historically. Other herbaceous species include <i>Symphyotrichum lanceolatum (= Aster lanceolatus), Symphyotrichum novae-angliae (= Aster novae-angliae), Carex annectens, Carex cherokeensis, Carex frankii, Desmanthus illinoensis, Conoclinium coelestinum (= Eupatorium coelestinum), Eupatorium perfoliatum, Lolium pratense (= Festuca pratensis), Glyceria striata, Helianthus grosseserratus, Juncus effusus, Lycopus</i> sp., <i>Phyla lanceolata, Scirpus pendulus, Sporobolus</i> sp., <i>Trepocarpus aethusae, Tripsacum dactyloides</i>, and <i>Vernonia baldwinii</i>. Woody species, including <i>Berchemia scandens, Celtis laevigata, Cercis canadensis, Cornus florida, Diospyros virginiana, Fraxinus pennsylvanica, Juniperus virginiana, Quercus macrocarpa, Quercus muehlenbergii, Smilax bona-nox</i>, and <i>Smilax rotundifolia</i> occur locally during periods of fire suppression, colonizing and growing faster than in the drier blackland prairie communities. Woody vegetation can become dense, shading out herbaceous prairie species. Soils are alkaline clays with the high shrink-swell character of the Terouge Silty Clay Series. This community has a limited distribution and high-quality examples have not yet been identified. It seems likely that this community used to cover the lower flats and upper swales that become riparian woodlands lower on the landscape. These areas have been largely converted to fescue pasture or dense young stands of <i>Fraxinus pennsylvanica</i> on both the flats and in the swales and small drains. We hypothesize that much of the wet-mesic blackland prairie has succeeded to low-quality riparian blackland woodland. Examples are known form Columbus Prairie Preserve, Grandview Prairie, and the Terre Noire Natural Area complex. The type location is in Hempstead County, Arkansas. Other, small and degraded examples are known from Clark and Howard counties, Arkansas.
Accession Code:
VB.CC.35806.CEGL007962
Plot-observations of this Community Concept:
0
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