Comm #4066
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NY Heritage: Successional maritime forest
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accession code: VB.CC.29005.NYHERITAGESUCCE
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Ecological Communities of New York, 2nd Ed. |
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A successional hardwood forest that occurs in low areas near the seacoast. This forest is a variable type that develops after vegetation has burned or land cleared (such as pastureland or farm fields). The trees may be somewhat stunted and flat-topped because the canopies are pruned by salt spray. The forest may be dominated by a single species, or there may be two or three codominants.
Characteristic canopy trees include black oak (Quercus velutina), post oak (Quercus stellata), serviceberry (Amelanchier canadensis), white oak (Quercus alba), black cherry (Prunus serotina), black gum (Nyssa sylvatica), sassafras (Sassafras albidum), and red maple (Acer rubrum). A small number of eastern red cedar (Juniperus virginiana) may be present.
Vines that are common in the understory and subcanopy include riverbank grape (Vitis riparia), poison ivy (Toxicodendron radicans), Virginia creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia), and greenbrier (Smilax spp.).
Shrublayer and groundlayer dominants are variable. Bayberry (Myrica pensylvanica) is a common shrub. Certain introduced species are commonly found in this forest, including black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia), privet (Ligustrum spp.), Asiatic bittersweet (Celastrus orbiculatus), Japanese honey suckle (Lonicera japonica), multiflora rose (Rosa multiflora), and wineberry (Rubus phoenicolasius). Any of these may be dominant or codominant in a successional maritime forest.
Characteristic animals include gray catbird (Dumetella carolinensis), and eastern towhee (Pipilo erythrophthalamus). This forest represents an earlier seral stage of other maritime forests, such as maritime post oak forest, maritime holly forest, maritime red cedar forest, and probably others. Soil and moisture regime will usually determine which forest type succeeds from this community. A few disturbance-climax examples occur, maintained by severe and constant salt spray. |
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