Print Report

CEGL006546 Alnus incana - Viburnum recognitum / Calamagrostis canadensis Shrub Swamp

Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available

Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Gray Alder - Smooth Arrow-wood / Bluejoint Shrub Swamp

Colloquial Name: Gray Alder - Arrow-wood / Bluejoint Shrub Swamp

Hierarchy Level:  Association

Type Concept: This tall-shrub swamp association occurs in temporarily flooded to semipermanently flooded and saturated sites along streams, lakeshores, old beaver meadows and seepage edges. Soils are wet mucks or peats. Vegetation can be highly variable with no single dominant species but can include Alnus incana, Viburnum recognitum, Cornus sericea, Cornus amomum, Ilex verticillata, Spiraea alba var. latifolia, and/or Salix spp. Spiraea tomentosa, Vaccinium corymbosum, and Chamaedaphne calyculata can occur sporadically in some examples, especially former beaver meadows. Herbaceous species are inversely proportional to shrub cover; they can be dense where the shrub canopy is open. Species can include Calamagrostis canadensis, Caltha palustris, Carex lacustris, Galium tinctorium, Impatiens capensis, Leersia oryzoides, Lycopus uniflorus, Lysimachia terrestris, Polygonum sagittatum, Rubus hispidus, Symplocarpus foetidus, Triadenum virginicum, Thelypteris palustris, and Typha spp. Nonvascular species are common in the Central Appalachians and are dominated by Sphagnum spp. (Sphagnum affine, Sphagnum palustre, Sphagnum papillosum, and Sphagnum recurvum). In New England, nonvascular species tend to be infrequent, although Drepanocladus spp. and/or Sphagnum spp. can occur occasionally, and most often in pools or mudflats or on shrub hummocks, respectively. Mean species richness of all vascular plants and any nonvascular plants with cover >1% is 27 taxa per 400 m2, for 13 plots in West Virginia.

Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available

Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available

Classification Comments: This association needs to be compared to ~Alnus incana - Cornus (amomum, sericea) / Clematis virginiana Shrub Swamp (CEGL006062)$$ to evaluate if the two are distinct.

Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available

Floristics: Vegetation can be highly variable with no single dominant species but can include Alnus incana, Viburnum recognitum, Cornus sericea, Cornus amomum, Ilex verticillata, Spiraea alba var. latifolia, and/or Salix spp. Spiraea tomentosa, Vaccinium corymbosum, and Chamaedaphne calyculata can occur sporadically in some examples, especially former beaver meadows. Herbaceous species are inversely proportional to shrub cover; they can be dense where the shrub canopy is open. Species can include Calamagrostis canadensis, Caltha palustris, Carex lacustris, Galium tinctorium, Impatiens capensis, Leersia oryzoides, Lycopus uniflorus, Lysimachia terrestris, Polygonum sagittatum, Rubus hispidus, Symplocarpus foetidus, Triadenum virginicum, Thelypteris palustris, and Typha spp. Nonvascular species are common in the Central Appalachians and are dominated by Sphagnum spp. (Sphagnum affine, Sphagnum palustre, Sphagnum papillosum, and Sphagnum recurvum). In New England, nonvascular species tend to be infrequent, although Drepanocladus spp. and/or Sphagnum spp. can occur occasionally, and most often in pools or mudflats or on shrub hummocks, respectively. Mean species richness of all vascular plants and any nonvascular plants with cover >1% is 27 taxa per 400 m2, for 13 plots in West Virginia (Byers et al. 2007).

Dynamics:  This association includes later successional stages of beaver meadows and the flat-lying alluvial margins of low-gradient streams.
Environmental Description:  This tall-shrub swamp association occurs in temporarily flooded to semipermanently flooded and saturated sites along streams, lakeshores, old beaver meadows and seepage edges on flat to moderate slopes. Soils are wet mucks or peats. In West Virginia and Maryland, this alluvial shrub swamp occurs in the Allegheny Mountains region at elevations between 770 and 1030 m. The community is maintained by natural flooding and beaver disturbance regimes. It was probably less widespread in presettlement times prior to clearing of forested swamps and subsequent accelerated beaver activity. Where natural succession is allowed to proceed, some stands will likely return to forested swamps of high conservation value. Microtopography is characterized by moss-covered hummocks formed over woody stem clusters and decaying wood (Byers et al. 2007).
Geographic Range: This association is currently described from the Central Appalachians and Lower New England/Northern Piedmont regions.

Nations: US

States/Provinces:  MA, MD, NH, WV


Confidence Level: Low

Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available
Grank: GNR

Greasons: No Data Available
Type Name Database Code Classification Code
Class 2 Shrub & Herb Vegetation Class C02 2
Subclass 2.C Shrub & Herb Wetland Subclass S44 2.C
Formation 2.C.4 Temperate to Polar Freshwater Marsh, Wet Meadow & Shrubland Formation F013 2.C.4
Division 2.C.4.Nd Eastern North American Temperate Freshwater Marsh, Wet Meadow & Shrubland Division D323 2.C.4.Nd
Macrogroup 2.C.4.Nd.2 Broadleaf Cattail - White Snakeroot - Rush species Marsh, Wet Meadow & Shrubland Macrogroup M069 2.C.4.Nd.2
Group 2.C.4.Nd.2.d Appalachian-Northeast Wet Meadow & Shrub Swamp Group G903 2.C.4.Nd.2.d
Alliance A3685 Alder species - Willow species - Red-osier Dogwood Shrub Swamp Alliance A3685 2.C.4.Nd.2.d
Association CEGL006546 Gray Alder - Smooth Arrow-wood / Bluejoint Shrub Swamp CEGL006546 2.C.4.Nd.2.d
Concept Lineage: Upgraded to Standard during screening.

Predecessors: No Data Available

Obsolete Names: No Data Available

Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: = Alnus incana ssp. rugosa - Viburnum recognitum / (Symplocarpus foetidus) / Sphagnum spp. Shrub Swamp (Byers et al. 2007)
= Alnus rugosa - Viburnum recognitum community (Edens 1973)
= Viburnum recognitum shrub community (Walbridge and Lang 1982)
= Viburnum recognitum tall shrub community (Walbridge 1982)
Concept Author(s): Eastern Ecology Group

Author of Description: S.L. Neid and E.A. Byers

Acknowledgements: No Data Available

Version Date: 05-18-18
  • Byers, E. A., J. P. Vanderhorst, and B. P. Streets. 2007. Classification and conservation assessment of high elevation wetland communities in the Allegheny Mountains of West Virginia. West Virginia Natural Heritage Program, West Virginia Division of Natural Resources, Elkins.
  • Eastern Ecology Working Group of NatureServe. No date. International Ecological Classification Standard: International Vegetation Classification. Terrestrial Vegetation. NatureServe, Boston, MA.
  • Edens, D. L. 1973. The ecology and succession of Cranberry Glades, WV. Ph.D. dissertation, North Carolina State University, Raleigh.
  • McMaster, R. T., and N. D. McMaster. 2000. Vascular flora of beaver wetlands in western Massachusetts. Rhodora 102:175-197.
  • Rentch, J. S. 2003. Alnus incana shrubland, unpublished plot data. West Virginia University, Morgantown.
  • Swain, P. C., and J. B. Kearsley. 2014. Classification of the natural communities of Massachusetts. Version 2.0. Natural Heritage & Endangered Species Program, Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife. Westborough, MA. [http://www.mass.gov/nhesp/http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/dfg/dfw/natural-heritage/natural-communities/classification-of-natural-communities.html]
  • Walbridge, M. R. 1982. Vegetation patterning and community distribution in four high-elevation headwater wetlands in West Virginia. M.S. thesis, West Virginia University, Morgantown.
  • Walbridge, M. R., and G. E. Lang. 1982. Major plant communities and patterns of community distribution in four wetlands of the unglaciated Appalachian region. In: R. B. MacDonald, editor. Proceedings of the Symposium on Wetlands of the Unglaciated Appalachian Region. West Virginia University, Morgantown.