Print Report
CEGL007388 Liquidambar styraciflua - Acer rubrum / Carex spp. - Sphagnum spp. Seep Forest
Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Sweetgum - Red Maple / Sedge species - Peatmoss species Seep Forest
Colloquial Name: Upland Sweetgum - Red Maple Pond
Hierarchy Level: Association
Type Concept: This association is designed to accommodate a variety of isolated, poorly understood seasonally flooded forests of upland depressions in the Southern Blue Ridge and the adjacent and submontane Piedmont. This includes an example in Cades Cove in the Great Smokies National Park, an example in the Piedmont portion of the Chattahoochee National Forest (Georgia), the Bankhead National Forest (Alabama). Stands assigned to this concept are dominated by some combination of Liquidambar styraciflua and/or Acer rubrum, possibly with Nyssa sylvatica and/or Liriodendron tulipifera. Some shrubs that may be found include Cornus amomum, Cornus foemina, and Alnus serrulata. Some woody vines which are possible components include Berchemia scandens, Decumaria barbara, and Smilax laurifolia. Herbs (which may be abundant to sparse) include Carex intumescens, Carex spp., Chasmanthium sessiliflorum, Dichanthelium dichotomum var. dichotomum, Dichanthelium spp., Leersia spp., Rhynchospora capitellata, Mitchella repens, and Arisaema triphyllum. Some sites may have ground layers dominated by vascular plants (especially graminoids), others dominated by Sphagnum spp. One of the Sphagnum species associated with these forests may be a disjunct Coastal Plain species, Sphagnum cuspidatum. The variable composition of stands assigned here and the lack of understanding of the dynamics of this type (successional trends, disturbance, hydrology) mean that the type is somewhat poorly defined. More information is needed.
Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available
Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available
Classification Comments: This association concept was originally based on one site in Cades Cove (Gum Swamp) at 535 m (1750 feet) elevation. The area is heavily browsed by deer. A similar site upslope has Acer rubrum (var. trilobum?) occurring with Liquidambar styraciflua. One of the Sphagnum species associated with these forests may be a disjunct Coastal Plain species, Sphagnum cuspidatum (B. Dellinger pers. comm.). More information is needed about the naturalness of these examples. The cited vegetation at Uwharrie National Forest is not actually an upland depression swamp and is thought to be successional vegetation (M. Schafale pers. comm. 2007). The status of a purported example at Duke Forest (Durham or Orange counties, North Carolina) is not known. The naturalness of vegetation at these Piedmont locations is unclear (M. Schafale pers. comm. 2001); this may represent a degraded form of ~Quercus phellos / Carex (albolutescens, intumescens, joorii) / Climacium americanum Wet Forest (CEGL007403)$$. This association (with an expanded and generalized concept) is being utilized for a sample from the Chattahoochee National Forest (Georgia Piedmont). Data are also available from the Bankhead National Forest (Work Center Gum Pond).
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available
Floristics: Stands assigned to this concept are dominated by some combination of Liquidambar styraciflua and/or Acer rubrum, possibly with Nyssa sylvatica and/or Liriodendron tulipifera. Some shrubs that may be found include Cornus amomum, Cornus foemina, and Alnus serrulata. Some woody vines which are possible components include Berchemia scandens, Decumaria barbara, and Smilax laurifolia. Herbs (which may be abundant to sparse) include Carex intumescens, Carex spp., Chasmanthium sessiliflorum, Dichanthelium dichotomum var. dichotomum, Dichanthelium spp., Leersia spp., Rhynchospora capitellata, Mitchella repens, and Arisaema triphyllum. Some sites may have ground layers dominated by vascular plants (especially graminoids), others dominated by Sphagnum spp. One of the Sphagnum species associated with these forests may be a disjunct Coastal Plain species, Sphagnum cuspidatum (= var. floridanum?).
Dynamics: The variable composition of stands assigned here, and the lack of understanding of the dynamics of this type (successional trends, disturbance, hydrology) mean that the type is somewhat poorly defined. More information is needed.
Environmental Description: Stands assigned to this association occur in a variety of upland depressions in the Southern Blue Ridge and Piedmont.
Geographic Range: The full range of this association is unknown, but it is thought to occur in the Piedmont, Southern Blue Ridge, and Cumberland Plateau of Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, and Tennessee.
Nations: US
States/Provinces: AL, GA, NC, TN
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.687359
Confidence Level: Low - Poorly Documented
Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available
Grank: G2G3Q
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.2 Pin Oak - Green Ash - Blackgum Swamp Forest Macrogroup | M503 | 1.B.3.Na.2 |
| Group | 1.B.3.Na.2.a Red Maple - Blackgum - Sweetgum Seepage Forest Group | G044 | 1.B.3.Na.2.a |
| Alliance | A3358 Red Maple / Hazel Alder - Common Winterberry Appalachian-Piedmont Seepage Forest Alliance | A3358 | 1.B.3.Na.2.a |
| Association | CEGL007388 Sweetgum - Red Maple / Sedge species - Peatmoss species Seep Forest | CEGL007388 | 1.B.3.Na.2.a |
Concept Lineage: No Data Available
Predecessors: No Data Available
Obsolete Names: No Data Available
Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: No Data Available
- ALNHP [Alabama Natural Heritage Program]. 2018. Unpublished data on file. Alabama Natural Heritage Program, Auburn University.
- Dellinger, Bob. Personal communication. Ecologist. USDI National Park Service, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Gatlinburg, TN.
- NatureServe Ecology - Southeastern United States. No date. Unpublished data. NatureServe, Durham, NC.
- 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.
- Schotz, A., H. Summer, and R. White, Jr. 2008. Vascular plant inventory and ecological community classification for Little River Canyon National Preserve. NatureServe, Durham, NC. 244 pp.
- Southeastern Ecology Working Group of NatureServe. No date. International Ecological Classification Standard: International Vegetation Classification. Terrestrial Vegetation. NatureServe, Durham, NC.
- TDNH [Tennessee Division of Natural Heritage]. 2018. Unpublished data. Tennessee Division of Natural Heritage, Nashville, TN.