Print Report
CEGL004631 Liquidambar styraciflua - Quercus laurifolia / Magnolia virginiana / Carex lonchocarpa Wet Forest
Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Sweetgum - Laurel Oak / Sweetbay / Southern Long Sedge Wet Forest
Colloquial Name: Sweetgum Seepage Forest
Hierarchy Level: Association
Type Concept: These forests occur on flat, low seepage areas in the Southeastern Coastal Plain. The soil is a very poorly drained clay loam with organic material or peat development. This environment is nearly constantly saturated, but it is only rarely flooded. These forests have well-developed canopy, subcanopy, shrub, herbaceous, and vine/liana strata. The canopy is dominated by Liquidambar styraciflua, Quercus laurifolia, and Acer rubrum. These species are dominant in the subcanopy as well, along with Magnolia virginiana, Ilex opaca var. opaca, and Carpinus caroliniana. Other species that may be present in these strata include Ulmus americana, Ulmus alata, and Salix nigra. The shrub layer contains Acer rubrum, Magnolia virginiana, Ilex decidua, Arundinaria gigantea, and other species. Herbaceous dominants include Saururus cernuus, Carex debilis, Carex intumescens, Carex lonchocarpa, Dichanthelium sp., and Hypericum sp. Other herbaceous species of this community are Asclepias perennis, Boehmeria cylindrica, Onoclea sensibilis, Viola affinis, Viola x primulifolia, Commelina communis, Mitchella repens, Leersia lenticularis, and others. This community currently is known only from the Mid-Atlantic Coastal Plain.
Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available
Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available
Classification Comments: The relationship of examples of this association to Liquidambar-dominated successional examples of Nyssa-dominated seepage forests is not completely clear. Nyssa is not particularly commercially valuable, so its removal (unless to effect clearing for attempted agriculture) does not seem logical. Small-scale examples of related vegetation (e.g., seepage forest dominated by Liquidambar styraciflua) have been encountered at Fort Benning, Georgia (Training Compartments G4, G7) (NatureServe Ecology unpubl. data); it is not sure how these should be accommodated, as they seem successional. ~Liquidambar styraciflua - Quercus laurifolia / Magnolia virginiana / Carex lonchocarpa Wet Forest (CEGL004631)$$ was described in 1998 based on data from the Congaree Swamp National Monument (TNC 1998b). Global range needs assessment. Nominal Carex changed to Carex lonchocarpa (= Carex folliculata var. australis).
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available
Floristics: The canopy of this seepage forest is dominated by Liquidambar styraciflua, Quercus laurifolia, and Acer rubrum. These species are dominant in the subcanopy as well, along with Magnolia virginiana, Ilex opaca, and Carpinus caroliniana. Other species that may be present in these strata include Ulmus americana, Ulmus alata, and Salix nigra. The shrub layer contains Acer rubrum, Magnolia virginiana, Ilex decidua, Arundinaria gigantea, and other species. Herbaceous dominants include Saururus cernuus, Carex debilis, Carex intumescens, Carex lonchocarpa, Dichanthelium sp., and Hypericum sp. Other herbaceous species of this community are Asclepias perennis, Boehmeria cylindrica, Onoclea sensibilis, Viola affinis, Viola x primulifolia, Commelina communis, Mitchella repens, Leersia lenticularis, and others (TNC 1998b).
Apparently related vegetation has been encountered at Fort Benning, Georgia (G4, G7). One of these stands is apparently (winter data) dominated by Liquidambar styraciflua and Liriodendron tulipifera with some Magnolia virginiana and Acer rubrum (in the subcanopy). Shrubs include Ilex opaca, Cyrilla racemiflora, Itea virginica, and Viburnum nudum. In addition, Woodwardia areolata is present in the herbaceous stratum.
Apparently related vegetation has been encountered at Fort Benning, Georgia (G4, G7). One of these stands is apparently (winter data) dominated by Liquidambar styraciflua and Liriodendron tulipifera with some Magnolia virginiana and Acer rubrum (in the subcanopy). Shrubs include Ilex opaca, Cyrilla racemiflora, Itea virginica, and Viburnum nudum. In addition, Woodwardia areolata is present in the herbaceous stratum.
Dynamics: No Data Available
Environmental Description: These forests occur on flat, low seepage areas in the Atlantic and adjacent East Gulf coastal plains of the southeastern United States. The soil is a very poorly drained clay loam with organic matter or peat development (TNC 1998b). This environment is nearly constantly saturated but is only rarely flooded. At Fort Benning, Georgia (East Gulf Coastal Plain), it is not entirely clear what the origin of this vegetation is, and whether or not it represents a disturbed or early-successional example of what could be a Nyssa-dominated seepage forest.
Geographic Range: This seepage forest community is currently known only from the Atlantic and adjacent East Gulf coastal plains of the southeastern United States.
Nations: US
States/Provinces: GA, NC?, SC
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.687420
Confidence Level: Low
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.a Swamp Chestnut Oak - Laurel Oak - Sweetgum Floodplain Forest Group | G034 | 1.B.3.Nb.4.a |
| Alliance | A3628 Laurel Oak - Willow Oak - Loblolly Pine Coastal Plain Riparian Forest Alliance | A3628 | 1.B.3.Nb.4.a |
| Association | CEGL004631 Sweetgum - Laurel Oak / Sweetbay / Southern Long Sedge Wet Forest | CEGL004631 | 1.B.3.Nb.4.a |
Concept Lineage: No Data Available
Predecessors: No Data Available
Obsolete Names: No Data Available
Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: = Liquidambar styraciflua - Quercus laurifolia / Magnolia virginiana / Carex folliculata Forest (Landaal et al. 1998) [Plot 2-15]
= Liquidambar styraciflua - Quercus laurifolia Forest (Thompson 1998)
= Liquidambar styraciflua - Quercus laurifolia Forest (Thompson 1998)
- GNHP [Georgia Natural Heritage Program]. 2018. Unpublished data. Georgia Natural Heritage Program, Wildlife Resources Division, Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Social Circle.
- Landaal, S., A. Weakley, and J. Drake. 1998. Classification of the vegetation of Congaree National Park. Report to BRD-NPS Vegetation Mapping Program, National Park Service, The Nature Conservancy, Chapel Hill, NC. 67 pp.
- NatureServe Ecology - Southeastern United States. No date. Unpublished data. NatureServe, Durham, NC.
- 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.
- Southeastern Ecology Working Group of NatureServe. No date. International Ecological Classification Standard: International Vegetation Classification. Terrestrial Vegetation. NatureServe, Durham, NC.
- Thompson, A. J. 1998. An ecological inventory and classification of an old-growth floodplain forest in the southeastern United States. M.S. thesis, University of Georgia, Athens. 111 pp.