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CEGL004733 Taxodium distichum - Nyssa biflora / Fraxinus caroliniana / Lyonia lucida Floodplain Forest
Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Bald-cypress - Swamp Tupelo / Carolina Ash / Shining Fetterbush Floodplain Forest
Colloquial Name: Atlantic Coastal Plain Bald-cypress - Tupelo Floodplain Forest
Hierarchy Level: Association
Type Concept: This association includes very wet forests of the southeastern Coastal Plain in North Carolina and South Carolina that are flooded by river overbank flow for long periods. It occurs along Coastal Plain streams which lack clay sediment, where Nyssa aquatica is not a significant component of the canopy. This community occupies the most acidic and clay-free streams and consequently is found within coarse-sandy landscapes. Forests are dominated by combinations of Nyssa biflora, Taxodium distichum, and Taxodium ascendens.
Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available
Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available
Classification Comments: No Data Available
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available
Floristics: Stands are dominated by combinations of Nyssa biflora, Taxodium distichum, and Taxodium ascendens. Nyssa aquatica is not a significant component of the canopy. The subcanopy and shrub layers may be poorly developed or dense at some sites. Fraxinus caroliniana, Nyssa biflora, Acer rubrum, and Ilex opaca var. opaca are the most typical species, with Persea palustris and Magnolia virginiana occurring less frequently. Characteristic shrubs include Cyrilla racemiflora, Clethra alnifolia, Lyonia lucida, Eubotrys racemosa (= Leucothoe racemosa), Itea virginica, and Ilex myrtifolia. Scrambling vines may be common and may include Smilax walteri, Smilax laurifolia, Smilax rotundifolia, Vitis rotundifolia, Toxicodendron radicans, and Berchemia scandens. The herb layer varies from nearly absent to moderate in cover. Species include Saururus cernuus, Carex gigantea, Polygonum punctatum, Centella erecta, Hydrocotyle prolifera, Dulichium arundinaceum, and Woodwardia areolata. Tillandsia usneoides, Pleopeltis polypodioides ssp. michauxiana, and Phoradendron leucarpum (= Phoradendron serotinum) are often common epiphytes. Herbs more typical of drier sites may occur on stumps or logs.
Dynamics: This community type forms a stable climax but is slow to recover from logging. In most places, Taxodium has regenerated poorly and stands have become dominated by Nyssa. Taxodium is extremely long-lived, and reproduction may be intermittent or tied to unusual conditions. Because of low canopy diversity, pests or diseases of a particular species may have major effects on the community. For example, complete spring defoliation of Nyssa biflora by caterpillars was observed two years in a row on the Waccamaw River. Because blackwater rivers carry little inorganic sediment, flooding does not provide as substantial a nutrient input as in brownwater systems, but it may still be significant. The infertile, acidic soils and wetland produce slow tree growth, and only very old trees generally attain large size. River channel shifts may disturb small areas.
Environmental Description: This community occurs along Coastal Plain streams which lack clay sediment, where Nyssa aquatica is not a significant component of the canopy. It occupies the most acidic and clay-free streams and consequently is found within coarse-sandy landscapes. The type can occur in small to large patches, and occurs commonly both in sloughs of large blackwater rivers and filling the entire floodplain of small streams. Soils are often organic. In the upper portions of blackwater rivers, it often is confined to narrow sloughs but may occur intermittently in larger basins. Downstream on blackwater rivers, it may cover much of the floodplain. Where it occurs along small to medium streams, it tends to fill the full width of a featureless, muck-filled floodplain. These may have a distinct channel, a network of anastomosing channels, or have no visible channel at all.
Geographic Range: This cypress-gum swamp occurs in the most acidic landscapes of the southeastern Coastal Plain in North Carolina and South Carolina.
Nations: US
States/Provinces: NC, SC
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.686425
Confidence Level: Moderate
Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available
Grank: G3G4
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.Nb Southeastern North American Flooded & Swamp Forest Division | D062 | 1.B.3.Nb |
| Macrogroup | 1.B.3.Nb.4 Swamp Chestnut Oak - Bald-cypress - Pecan Southern Floodplain Forest Macrogroup | M031 | 1.B.3.Nb.4 |
| Group | 1.B.3.Nb.4.c Bald-cypress - Water Tupelo Floodplain Forest Group | G033 | 1.B.3.Nb.4.c |
| Alliance | A3594 Bald-cypress - Water Tupelo - Swamp Tupelo Floodplain Forest Alliance | A3594 | 1.B.3.Nb.4.c |
| Association | CEGL004733 Bald-cypress - Swamp Tupelo / Carolina Ash / Shining Fetterbush Floodplain Forest | CEGL004733 | 1.B.3.Nb.4.c |
Concept Lineage: No Data Available
Predecessors: No Data Available
Obsolete Names: No Data Available
Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: = Cypress--Gum Swamp (Blackwater Subtype) (Schafale 2012)
= Swamp Woodlands (McCrain and Church 1985)
= Swamp Woodlands (McCrain and Church 1985)
- McCrain, G. R., and B. H. Church. 1985. An analysis of past and present plant community patterns in Moores Creek National Battlefield along with associated impacts affecting distribution and restoration. Prepared by Resource Management Co., Raleigh, NC, under Purchase Order Number PX-5550-3-0062 for the USDI, National Park Service, Southeast Regional Office, Atlanta, GA.
- McManamay, R. H., A. Curtis, and M. W. Byrne. 2012a. Vegetation mapping at Moores Creek National Battlefield. Natural Resource Data Series NPS/SECN/NRDS--2012/319. National Park Service, Fort Collins, CO. 173 pp.
- Nelson, J. B. 1986. The natural communities of South Carolina: Initial classification and description. South Carolina Wildlife and Marine Resources Department, Division of Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries, Columbia, SC. 55 pp.
- Peet, R. K., T. R. Wentworth, M. P. Schafale, and A.S. Weakley. No date. Unpublished data of the North Carolina Vegetation Survey. University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.
- Schafale, M. P. 2012. Classification of the natural communities of North Carolina, 4th Approximation. North Carolina Department of Environment, Health, and Natural Resources, Division of Parks and Recreation, Natural Heritage Program, Raleigh.
- Schafale, M. P., and A. S. Weakley. 1990. Classification of the natural communities of North Carolina. Third approximation. North Carolina Department of Environment, Health, and Natural Resources, Division of Parks and Recreation, Natural Heritage Program, Raleigh. 325 pp.
- Schafale, Mike P. Personal communication. Ecologist, North Carolina Department of Environment, Health, and Natural Resources, Division of Parks and Recreation, Natural Heritage Program, Raleigh.
- Sieren, D. J. 1984. A floristic study of the vascular plants on 11.77 acres of Moores Creek National Battlefield. Prepared under Purchase Order Number PX-5550-3-0062 for the USDI, National Park Service, Southeast Regional Office, Atlanta, GA.
- Southeastern Ecology Working Group of NatureServe. No date. International Ecological Classification Standard: International Vegetation Classification. Terrestrial Vegetation. NatureServe, Durham, NC.