Name:
Southeastern Great Plains Floodplain Forest Group
Reference:
NatureServe Biotics 2019
Description:
This is currently the sole group in ~Southern Great Plains Floodplain Forest & Woodland Macrogroup (M154)$$. It covers floodplain and riparian vegetation ranging from closed-canopy forests of tall stature in the eastern part of its range to open, short-statured woodlands in the western part of its range. Species composition also varies across the east-west range of this group, but this concept is based on a core set of characteristic species, including <i>Carya illinoinensis, Celtis laevigata var. laevigata, Celtis laevigata var. reticulata, Cephalanthus occidentalis, Cornus drummondii, Elymus virginicus, Justicia americana, Panicum virgatum, Platanus occidentalis, Populus deltoides, Salix nigra, Sapindus saponaria var. drummondii, Sideroxylon lanuginosum, Taxodium distichum, Tripsacum dactyloides</i>, and <i>Ulmus crassifolia</i>. Other characteristic species in eastern examples include <i>Acer negundo, Callicarpa americana, Diospyros virginiana, Forestiera acuminata, Fraxinus pennsylvanica, Gleditsia triacanthos, Ilex decidua, Juglans nigra, Juniperus virginiana, Quercus macrocarpa, Quercus shumardii, Ulmus americana</i>, and <i>Viburnum rufidulum</i>. Other characteristic species in western examples include <i>Diospyros texana, Fraxinus albicans, Juglans microcarpa, Juniperus ashei, Muhlenbergia lindheimeri, Nassella leucotricha, Prosopis glandulosa, Prunus rivularis, Quercus fusiformis</i>, and <i>Ungnadia speciosa</i>. This vegetation is found in the floodplains of medium and larger rivers, as well as along small and intermittent streams of the East Central Texas Plains, Texas Blackland Prairie, Crosstimbers, and Edwards Plateau ecoregions, extending peripherally into adjacent ecoregions. Environmental processes include alluvial sedimentation and erosion associated with perennial and intermittent streams and rivers. It occurs on large and small floodplains, especially in the eastern (and wetter) parts of its range, and on narrow riparian corridors of intermittent streams becoming particularly dry and flashy in the western parts of the range. Periodic, intermediate flooding and deposition (every 5-25 years) dominate the formation and maintenance of examples along better establish floodplains. Further west, in the drier parts of the Edwards Plateau (including the Stockton Plateau) of Texas, examples are open to closed-canopy, low-statured woodlands and shrublands in scoured, rocky riparian settings. These riparian settings are typically intermittently flooded but may be subirrigated.
Accession Code:
urn:lsid:vegbank.org:commConcept:40358-{A263B0A7-14DC-438F-9A4F-6097C4A8AF42}
Plot-observations of this Community Concept:
0
|
