Name:
Quercus bicolor - Fraxinus pennsylvanica - (Platanus occidentalis) / Chasmanthium latifolium - Zizia aurea Floodplain Forest
Reference:
NatureServe Biotics 2019
Description:
This community type is restricted to the active channel shelves of large rivers, at localities where bedrock outcrops constrain flow and produce locally high water velocities during large floods. Average return interval of overbank flooding is less than one year to more than one year, and hydrologic regime is temporarily flooded. Woody vegetation is constantly subjected to mechanical damage from ice and other flood debris. Soils are shallow (7 to >30 cm deep) sandy loams or loamy sands, with many rock fragments and 2-20% of the surface composed of exposed bedrock or large boulders. Physiognomy is an open woodland of short-statured, flood-battered trees, with <i>Quercus bicolor</i> and <i>Fraxinus pennsylvanica</i> the leading overstory dominants in mixed stands. <i>Acer negundo, Diospyros virginiana, Juglans nigra, Platanus occidentalis, Ulmus americana</i>, and other trees are locally important associates. The shrub layer is sparse or absent and consists of saplings of the nominal species and other flood-tolerant species. Vines, primarily <i>Vitis</i> spp., <i>Campsis radicans, Toxicodendron radicans, Lonicera japonica</i>, and <i>Amphicarpaea bracteata</i>, are frequent. The herb layer is characterized by dense, tall graminoids, with mixed, variable dominance by <i>Chasmanthium latifolium, Dichanthelium clandestinum, Elymus riparius</i>, and <i>Elymus virginicus</i>. Many low-cover forbs and sedges are associated. This community type has high to exceptional species richness (90-130 species per 400 m2) but is threatened by invasive introduced weeds, particularly <i>Phalaris arundinacea, Poa pratensis, Polygonum cuspidatum, Microstegium vimineum</i>, and <i>Ranunculus ficaria</i>.
Accession Code:
urn:lsid:vegbank.org:commConcept:34865-{C960DA45-FAB8-4FCA-B7A9-9DB0EBE9849D}
Plot-observations of this Community Concept:
0
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