Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Box-elder / Chokecherry Floodplain Forest

Colloquial Name: Box-elder / Chokecherry Floodplain Forest

Hierarchy Level:  Association

Type Concept: This box-elder riparian forest is found on floodplains at warm elevations in the western Great Plains of the United States, as well as in the Black Hills region and the Colorado Plateau. This is an early-successional community dominated by Acer negundo. Stands occur on level to gently sloping sites between 1067 and 1800 m (3500-5900 feet) elevation. Aspect is not important, but in northwestern Colorado, stands are limited to narrow drainages that are oriented north-south. Soils are poorly developed and derived from alluvium or colluvium. Tree cover may be somewhat sparse to high; stands typically have 10-25% cover but may have cover as high as 60% in narrow canyons. Other tree species may be present to codominant, including Ulmus americana, Quercus macrocarpa, Fraxinus pennsylvanica, and Populus deltoides. The shrub understory is well-developed and may be more than 2 m high; exact composition will vary by region. Prunus virginiana, Rhus trilobata, Cornus sericea, Symphoricarpos occidentalis, Ribes aureum, Artemisia tridentata ssp. tridentata, Mahonia repens, and Toxicodendron pubescens are common, although at Wind Cave National Park Prunus virginiana may be absent. Total shrub cover (tall and short shrubs) is often greater than 50%. Herbaceous cover is variable but usually less than 50% and often is diverse. Species composition also varies, although graminoids tend to be dominant; common species include Poa pratensis, Piptatheropsis micrantha, Poa fendleriana, Elymus lanceolatus, Bromus tectorum, Heterotheca villosa, Clematis ligusticifolia, Achillea millefolium, Monarda fistulosa, and Apocynum cannabinum.

Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available

Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available

Classification Comments: In the Black Hills, see description by Marriott and Faber-Langendoen (2000). There, box-elder / chokecherry forest is equivalent to the box-elder / water birch (Betula occidentalis) - Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis) association, in part, in the Black Hills Riparian Vegetation Classification (RMS 1998). That association includes stands at higher elevations where water birch, rather than choke cherry, dominates the shrub layer. These stands typically have sparse or patchy tree cover and have been treated as water birch shrubland in the current classification, developed during the Black Hills Community Inventory (BHCI, Marriott et al. 1999). Lower elevation riparian forests and woodlands in the Black Hills include several similar types that have not been well-characterized due to lack of survey (much of the land at lower elevations is in private ownership). An ash - elm - box-elder forest type was included in the preliminary Black Hills vegetation classification for the BHCI but was dropped in favor of the ash - elm / western snowberry type. With additional survey, it may be found to be a valid type in the area.

Similar NVC Types: No Data Available

note: No Data Available