Name:
Ilex cassine - Morella cerifera / Woodwardia areolata - Sphagnum sp. Flotant Shrub Swamp
Reference:
NatureServe Biotics 2019
Description:
This floating marsh of the Mississippi Deltaic Plain occurs on extensive floating peat mats. It is apparently restricted to one area of approximately 35 ha (88 acres), and has a ground layer dominated by <i>Sphagnum</i> sp., with <i>Panicum hemitomon</i> in more open areas, and abundant <i>Woodwardia areolata</i> in more shaded portions. The dominant woody plant is <i>Morella cerifera</i>, but there is substantial cover by taller individuals of <i>Ilex cassine, Persea palustris</i>, and <i>Acer rubrum</i>. Herbs that are present at low cover include <i>Andropogon glaucopsis, Andropogon glomeratus, Cyperus haspan, Eleocharis albida, Hydrocotyle ranunculoides, Panicum verrucosum, Polygonum hydropiperoides, Rhynchospora microcephala, Rubus trivialis, Sacciolepis striata, Sagittaria lancifolia, Solidago sempervirens, Thelypteris palustris, Triadenum virginicum</i>, and <i>Xyris laxifolia var. iridifolia</i>. This area differs from the physiognomy of the related ~<i>Morella cerifera - Panicum hemitomon</i> Floating Marsh (CEGL007834)$$ by having much more cover by taller woody plants, being at least a shrubland with trees, if not a woodland in terms of its physiognomy. Flotant marshes are dynamic systems and may switch from herbaceous dominance to shrub dominance in a cyclic pattern. Since floating marshes do not experience the stress of high floodwaters, shrubs may more easily become established in flotant marshes than in marshes rooted in the underlying substrate and subjected to floods. However, as shrubs become established and increase in biomass, the marsh mat becomes heavier and sinks, increasing flooding levels and killing off the woody shrubs.
Accession Code:
urn:lsid:vegbank.org:commConcept:35407-{BAB51AD2-1EFD-4C2D-B4A2-5ADA51197508}
Plot-observations of this Community Concept:
0
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