Name:
Acer rubrum - Nyssa sylvatica - Liquidambar styraciflua Seepage Forest Group
Reference:
NatureServe Biotics 2019
Description:
This group of deciduous acidic seepage swamp forest communities is found primarily in two distinctive cool temperate regions of eastern North America. One of these constitutes the broadly conceived Appalachian region, including the southern Piedmont, the Cumberland Plateau and Ridge and Valley regions, parts of the Central Appalachians, and portions of the Southern Blue Ridge including the flat metasedimentary upland surfaces of Chilhowee Mountain, Tennessee. Some of the associations from this region range peripherally into the adjacent Interior Low Plateau and coastal plains, but these areas are not part of the core area. The other part of the group's range includes the unglaciated Interior Low Plateau from Alabama to Kentucky, and the Ouachitas and Ozarks of Arkansas and Oklahoma. These wetland forests generally occur where the substrate is saturated to the surface for extended periods during the growing season, but where surface water is seldom present for more than short periods of time. For example, in the Cumberland Plateau, stands most often occur in streamhead swales or on broad sandstone ridges where soils are sandy and saturated due to a combination of perched water table and seepage flow. Examples range in condition from open woodlands to forests. Typical woody species include <i>Acer rubrum, Nyssa sylvatica, Liriodendron tulipifera, Liquidambar styraciflua, Ilex opaca var. opaca, Oxydendrum arboreum</i>, and <i>Viburnum nudum</i>. In the Piedmont, vegetation is variable within and among examples. Included are seepage-fed wetlands on gentle slopes, with substantial seepage flow and which may be influenced by wildland fire. In the Ouachita Mountains of central Arkansas, as well as on Mount Magazine and in the Ozarks, examples may be found along the bottom slopes of smaller valleys, as well as in the upper riparian zones of larger creeks, sometimes extending upslope along small ephemeral drainages. The soil remains saturated to very moist throughout the year. The vegetation is typically forested with highly variable canopy composition. <i>Acer rubrum var. trilobum, Nyssa sylvatica, Liquidambar styraciflua</i>, and <i>Quercus alba</i> are common and typical. Other canopy species may include <i>Fagus grandifolia</i> and <i>Magnolia tripetala</i>. Canopy coverage can be moderately dense to quite open. The subcanopy is often well-developed and characteristically includes <i>Ilex opaca var. opaca, Magnolia tripetala, Carpinus caroliniana</i>, and <i>Ostrya virginiana</i>. Individual occurrences of these forests tend to be small in extent and can provide habitat for rare plant and animal species.
Accession Code:
urn:lsid:vegbank.org:commConcept:39767-{9EF6D0E1-986D-408F-87CB-82AF686FDD59}
Plot-observations of this Community Concept:
0
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