Comm #2377
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NY Heritage: Shrub swamp
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accession code: VB.CC.28573.NYHERITAGESHRUB
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Ecological Communities of New York, 2nd Ed. |
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An inland wetland dominated by tall shrubs that occurs along the shore of a lake or river, in a wet depression or valley not associated with lakes, or as a transition zone between a marsh, fen, or bog and a swamp or upland community. The substrate is usually mineral soil or muck. This is a very broadly defined type that includes several distinct communities and many intermediates. Shrub swamps are very common and quite variable. They may be codominated by a mixture of species, or have a single dominant shrub species.
In northern New York many shrub swamps are dominated by alder (Alnus incana ssp. rugosa); these swamps are sometimes called alder thickets. A swamp dominated by red osier dogwood (Cornus sericea), silky dogwood (C. amomum), and willows (Salix spp.) may be called a shrub carr. Along the shores of some lakes and ponds there is a distinct zone dominated by water-willows (Decodon verticillatus) and/or buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis) which can sometimes fill a shallow basin.
Characteristic shrubs that are common in these and other types of shrub swamps include meadow-sweet (Spiraea alba var. latifolia), steeple-bush (Spiraea tomentosa), gray dogwood (Cornus foemina ssp. racemosa), swamp azalea (Rhododendron viscosum), highbush blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum), male-berry (Lyonia ligustrina), smooth alder (Alnus serrulata), spicebush (Lindera benzoin), willows (Salix bebbiana, S. discolor, S. lucida, S. petiolaris), wild raisin (Viburnum nudum var. cassinoides), and arrowwood (Viburnum dentatum var. lucidum). More documentation and research is needed to distinguish the different types of shrub swamps in New York.
Birds that may be found in shrub swamps include common species such as common yellowthroat (Geothlypis trichas); and rare species such as American bittern (Botaurus lentiginosus), alder flycatcher (Empidonax alnorum), willow flycatcher (E. trallii), and Lincoln's sparrow (Passerella lincolnii) (Levine 1998). |
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