Name:
Magnolia virginiana - Gordonia lasianthus - Pinus serotina Swamp Forest Group
Reference:
NatureServe Biotics 2019
Description:
This group is found in the southern coastal plain region from southeastern Virginia to eastern Texas. It occurs on poorly drained, organic soil flats and seepage-fed wetlands in dissected coastal plain landscapes. It may also occur in poorly developed upland drainages and small headwater streambottoms, as well as on toeslopes. These areas are saturated by rainfall and seasonally high water tables without influence of river or tidal flooding. The vegetation is characterized by an overstory that generally includes some combination of <i>Acer rubrum, Liriodendron tulipifera, Magnolia virginiana, Nyssa biflora, Nyssa sylvatica, Persea palustris</i>, and <i>Pinus serotina</i>, although there is some variation according to latitude. Some associations may contain <i>Chamaecyparis thyoides</i>, but this species is not diagnostic of this group. Understory vegetation throughout the region consistently supports the vine <i>Smilax laurifolia</i> and there may be ferns, such as <i>Osmunda cinnamomea, Osmunda regalis var. spectabilis, Woodwardia virginica</i>, and <i>Woodwardia areolata</i>. Soils may be wet sands or mixtures of organic (peaty) and mineral soils, which are nutrient-poor. When these communities are associated with streams, they tend to be low-gradient, with narrow, often braided channels and diffuse drainage patterns. Fire is important, but the fire regime appears to be somewhat variable or unclear, because some of the characteristic trees are fire-intolerant (e.g., <i>Magnolia</i>), while others are fire-dependent (<i>Pinus serotina</i>). Fire-return interval is lengthened by the wetness of the soil.
Accession Code:
urn:lsid:vegbank.org:commConcept:39764-{CB8C4BCB-64E1-41DC-B4BF-323A3BA16204}
Plot-observations of this Community Concept:
0
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