Name:
Vancouverian Flooded & Swamp Forest Macrogroup
Reference:
NatureServe Biotics 2019
Description:
This macrogroup consists of woodlands and forests of wetland and riparian areas. It includes lowland and montane riparian forests, forested mineral-soil swamps, and treed fens and bogs. In lowland riparian forests, broadleaf dominant species are <i>Acer macrophyllum, Alnus rubra, Populus balsamifera ssp. trichocarpa, Salix lucida ssp. lasiandra</i>, and/or <i>Fraxinus latifolia</i> (in southern part of range), and conifer-dominated types have <i>Abies grandis, Picea sitchensis</i>, or <i>Thuja plicata</i>. Montane riparian areas are more often conifer-dominated by such species as <i>Abies amabilis, Abies concolor, Abies magnifica, Pinus contorta var. murrayana, Populus tremuloides</i>, and/or <i>Tsuga mertensiana</i>. Shrubs include <i>Alnus viridis ssp. sinuata, Oplopanax horridus, Salix</i> spp., <i>Spiraea douglasii</i>, and <i>Vaccinium uliginosum</i>. Along the Gulf of Alaska, glacial-fed rivers (uncommon on the islands) have frequent flooding, shifting channels, and significant sediment deposition, and <i>Picea sitchensis</i> is the dominant tree. Treed swamps are more common in southeastern Alaska, less so farther south. Swamps are small in size and indicative of poorly drained, mostly mineral soil areas often in a mosaic of moving and stagnant water and are dominated by any one or a number of conifer (<i>Callitropsis nootkatensis, Picea sitchensis, Pinus contorta, Tsuga heterophylla, Tsuga mertensiana</i>) and hardwood species (<i>Alnus rubra, Betula papyrifera, Fraxinus latifolia</i>) that are capable of growing on saturated or seasonally flooded soils. Treed peatlands (fens and bogs) are common in southeastern Alaska and central British Columbia, less so farther south, and occur on poorly drained peat soils with little to no influence of groundwater. These can be dominated by any one of a number of conifer species (<i>Callitropsis nootkatensis, Picea sitchensis, Pinus contorta var. contorta, Tsuga heterophylla, Tsuga mertensiana</i>) that are capable of growing on saturated or seasonally flooded soils. Overstory is often less than 50% cover, but shrub understory can have high cover. Common shrubs include <i>Elliottia pyroliflora, Gaultheria shallon</i> (southern portion of the Alaska distribution only), <i>Ledum groenlandicum</i>, and <i>Vaccinium ovalifolium</i>.
Accession Code:
urn:lsid:vegbank.org:commConcept:40460-{0BC1BC46-0265-4FF3-9E9E-7089F4203858}
Plot-observations of this Community Concept:
0
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