Print Report
CEGL002017 Populus deltoides - (Salix nigra) / Spartina pectinata - Carex spp. Floodplain Woodland
Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Eastern Cottonwood - (Black Willow) / Prairie Cordgrass - Sedge species Floodplain Woodland
Colloquial Name: Cottonwood Floodplain Woodland
Hierarchy Level: Association
Type Concept: This cottonwood - willow woodland is found on floodplains near the lower Missouri River and its tributaries in the western tallgrass prairie region of the United States. The water table may be at or near the surface for parts of the year, with spring floods possible. Soils of this community are deep sandy loam to sand and somewhat poorly drained. The parent material is alluvium. In this floodplain woodland, the overstory is composed of medium to tall trees, including Acer negundo, Carya illinoinensis, Fraxinus pennsylvanica, Populus deltoides, Quercus palustris, Salix nigra, and Ulmus americana. The ground layer consists of tall and mid grasses and forbs. Andropogon gerardii, Panicum virgatum, and Spartina pectinata are commonly present in the ground layer. Ground layer species of this community are also typical of wet-mesic and wet prairie.
Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available
Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available
Classification Comments: Salix nigra is used to distinguish this community from other more western Populus deltoides woodlands, but Salix nigra could probably be dropped because there are other floristic differences between the communities. The type has recently been dropped from Missouri because of conceptual difficulties with the type (M. Leahy pers. comm. 1999); namely, stands are primarily wet prairie being invaded by colonizing bottomland trees forming a transition between wet prairie and bottomland forest, with a tree canopy that varies from savanna (10-25%) to woodland (25-60%).
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available
Floristics: In this floodplain woodland, the overstory is composed of medium to tall trees, including Acer negundo, Fraxinus pennsylvanica, Populus deltoides, Carya illinoinensis, Quercus palustris, Salix nigra, and Ulmus americana. The ground layer consists of tall and mid grasses and forbs. Andropogon gerardii, Panicum virgatum, and Spartina pectinata are commonly present in the ground layer. Ground layer species of this community are also typical of wet-mesic and wet prairie (Nelson 1985, Lauver et al. 1999).
Dynamics: No Data Available
Environmental Description: This community occurs on floodplains of streams and rivers. It is a palustrine system in which the water table is near the surface and, in lower sites, standing water may be present in winter or spring. Soils of this type are deep sandy loam to sand and somewhat poorly drained. The parent material is alluvium (Nelson 1985, Lauver et al. 1999).
Geographic Range: This cottonwood - willow woodland is found on floodplains near the lower Missouri River and its tributaries in the western tallgrass prairie region of the United States, including Kansas and possibly Missouri.
Nations: US
States/Provinces: CO, KS, MO?, NE, SD
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.685096
Confidence Level: Moderate
Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available
Grank: G1
Greasons: No Data Available
| Type | Name | Database Code | Classification Code |
|---|---|---|---|
| Class | 1 Forest & Woodland Class | C01 | 1 |
| Subclass | 1.B Temperate & Boreal Forest & Woodland Subclass | S15 | 1.B |
| Formation | 1.B.3 Temperate Flooded & Swamp Forest Formation | F026 | 1.B.3 |
| Division | 1.B.3.Na Eastern North American-Great Plains Flooded & Swamp Forest Division | D011 | 1.B.3.Na |
| Macrogroup | 1.B.3.Na.4 Eastern Cottonwood - Green Ash / Willow species Flooded & Swamp Forest | M028 | 1.B.3.Na.4 |
| Group | 1.B.3.Na.4.a Eastern Cottonwood - Green Ash / Western Wheatgrass Floodplain Forest Group | G147 | 1.B.3.Na.4.a |
| Alliance | A0636 Eastern Cottonwood Floodplain Woodland Alliance | A0636 | 1.B.3.Na.4.a |
| Association | CEGL002017 Eastern Cottonwood - (Black Willow) / Prairie Cordgrass - Sedge species Floodplain Woodland | CEGL002017 | 1.B.3.Na.4.a |
Concept Lineage: No Data Available
Predecessors: No Data Available
Obsolete Names: No Data Available
Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: = Populus deltoides - (Salix nigra) / Spartina pectinata - Carex spp. Woodland (Carsey et al. 2003a)
= Populus deltoides - (Salix nigra) / Spartina pectinata - Carex spp. Woodland (Faber-Langendoen 2001)
= Populus deltoides - (Salix nigra) / Spartina pectinata - Carex spp. Woodland (Faber-Langendoen 2001)
- CNHP [Colorado Natural Heritage Program]. 2006-2017. Tracked natural plant communities. Colorado Natural Heritage Program, Colorado State University, Fort Collins. [https://cnhp.colostate.edu/ourdata/trackinglist/plant_communities/]
- Carsey, K., G. Kittel, K. Decker, D. J. Cooper, and D. Culver. 2003a. Field guide to the wetland and riparian plant associations of Colorado. Colorado Natural Heritage Program, Fort Collins, CO.
- Faber-Langendoen, D., editor. 2001. Plant communities of the Midwest: Classification in an ecological context. Association for Biodiversity Information, Arlington, VA. 61 pp. plus appendix (705 pp.).
- INAI [Iowa Natural Areas Inventory]. 2017. Vegetation classification of Iowa. Iowa Natural Areas Inventory, Iowa Department of Natural Resources, Des Moines.
- Lauver, C. L., K. Kindscher, D. Faber-Langendoen, and R. Schneider. 1999. A classification of the natural vegetation of Kansas. The Southwestern Naturalist 44:421-443.
- Midwestern Ecology Working Group of NatureServe. No date. International Ecological Classification Standard: International Vegetation Classification. Terrestrial Vegetation. NatureServe, Minneapolis, MN.
- Nelson, P. 2010. The terrestrial natural communities of Missouri. Revised edition. Missouri Natural Areas Committee, Department of Natural Resources and the Department of Conservation, Jefferson City.
- Nelson, P. W. 1985. The terrestrial natural communities of Missouri. Missouri Natural Areas Committee, Jefferson City. 197 pp. Revised edition, 1987.
- SDNHP [South Dakota Natural Heritage Program]. 2018. Unpublished data. South Dakota Natural Heritage Program, Pierre, SD.
- Steinauer, G. 1989. Characterization of the natural communities of Nebraska. Appendix D, pages 103-114 in: M. Clausen, M. Fritz, and G. Steinauer. The Nebraska Natural Heritage Program, two year progress report. Unpublished document. Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, Natural Heritage Program, Lincoln, NE.