Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Cherrybark Oak - Sweetgum - Loblolly Pine Floodplain Forest

Colloquial Name: West Gulf Coastal Plain Cherrybark Oak Small Stream Bottomland Forest

Hierarchy Level:  Association

Type Concept: This temporarily flooded floodplain forest occurs along intermediate-sized streams (as well as some larger river systems) in the West Gulf Coastal Plain of Louisiana and Texas. Its canopy dominants include Quercus pagoda, Liquidambar styraciflua, Pinus taeda, Quercus michauxii, and Quercus laurifolia. Other characteristic tree species include Carya glabra, Quercus similis, Ulmus alata, Ulmus americana, Fraxinus sp., Quercus alba, Nyssa sylvatica, and occasional Taxodium distichum. Understory trees include Carpinus caroliniana, Crataegus marshallii, Symplocos tinctoria, Ostrya virginiana, Ulmus alata, and (rarely) Acer leucoderme. Woody vines include Parthenocissus quinquefolia, Toxicodendron radicans, and Smilax rotundifolia. Shrubs may include Sambucus nigra ssp. canadensis, Ditrysinia fruticosa, and Ilex vomitoria. The herb stratum is sparse but can include Carex spp., Chasmanthium spp., Osmunda cinnamomea, Onoclea sensibilis, and others. Soils are silt loams. It has a longer hydroperiod than ~Fagus grandifolia - Pinus taeda - (Liquidambar styraciflua, Magnolia grandiflora, Quercus alba) Small Stream Forest (CEGL007320)$$. The type description is based on intermediate stream floodplains in central-northern Louisiana, but it is being applied more widely, including examples on larger rivers in Texas, such as the Neches. This type is presumed to be more prevalent outside the range of Magnolia grandiflora, but is presumed also to occur in parts of eastern Texas within that range.

Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available

Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available

Classification Comments: Characteristic examples are known from Malaudos Creek, Winn District, Kisatchie National Forest (Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana). This association is related to ~Quercus michauxii - Quercus nigra - Pinus taeda / Carpinus caroliniana Floodplain Forest (CEGL007901)$$, which occurs within the range of Magnolia grandiflora, and they may be difficult to differentiate. Additional information and assessment are needed. Both this association and ~Quercus michauxii - Quercus nigra - Pinus taeda / Carpinus caroliniana Floodplain Forest (CEGL007901)$$ represent the intermediate ("wettest") stream forests that arise along the lower reaches of drainages. The theoretical difference between them is that this association occurs primarily outside the range of Magnolia grandiflora and CEGL007901 occurs within the range of Magnolia grandiflora. They are both closely related to small stream forest ("drier") counterparts in their respective areas, ~Magnolia grandiflora - Fagus grandifolia - Quercus alba - Pinus taeda Forest (CEGL007903)$$ and ~Fagus grandifolia - Pinus taeda - (Liquidambar styraciflua, Magnolia grandiflora, Quercus alba) Small Stream Forest (CEGL007320)$$. The lower-stream-reach forests have a longer hydroperiod and are wetter than the downstream types. The upstream counterpart to this association is CEGL007320.

Similar NVC Types: No Data Available

note: No Data Available