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CEGL007834 Morella cerifera - Panicum hemitomon Floating Marsh
Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Wax-myrtle - Maidencane Floating Marsh
Colloquial Name: Gulf Coast Wax-myrtle - Maidencane Floating Marsh
Hierarchy Level: Association
Type Concept: This is a floating marsh of the Mississippi Deltaic Plain occurring on extensive floating peat mats. Morella cerifera dominates and may be the only species present other than Panicum hemitomon. Flotant marshes are dynamic systems and may switch from herbaceous dominance to shrub dominance in a cyclic pattern. Since floating marshes do not experience the stress of high floodwaters, shrubs may more easily become established in flotant marshes than in marshes rooted in the underlying substrate and subjected to floods. However, as shrubs become established and increase in biomass, the marsh mat becomes heavier and sinks, increasing flooding levels and killing off the woody shrubs.
Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available
Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available
Classification Comments: Two marsh communities dominated by Morella cerifera have been identified for coastal Louisiana. ~Morella cerifera - Panicum hemitomon Floating Marsh (CEGL007834)$$ is described as strongly dominated by Morella cerifera with Panicum hemitomon as the only other species often present. At Jean Lafitte, these two species often strongly codominate occurrences of CEGL007834. ~Morella cerifera / Typha domingensis - Sagittaria lancifolia - Eleocharis spp. Tidal Marsh (CEGL007241)$$ is described to accommodate vegetation that is more floristically diverse than ~Morella cerifera - Panicum hemitomon Floating Marsh (CEGL007834)$$. These communities appear to co-occur and intermingle in the marsh in the Louisiana Deltaic Plain and more information is needed to better understand the dynamics of these communities and if should be merged.
Nolfo-Clements(2006) identified a "wax-myrtle thicket" floating marsh community at Jean Lafitte dominated by Morella cerifera and Sphagnum spp. Associated species include Thelypteris palustris, Woodwardia areolata, Rhynchospora microcephala, Decodon verticillatus, Xyris laxifolia var. iridifolia (in clumps), Eupatorium perfoliatum, Ageratina altissima, Pluchea foetida, Solidago fistulosa, Acer rubrum, Triadica sebifera, Panicum hemitomon, and Sagittaria lancifolia. CEGL007241 has variable cover of Sphagnum spp., therefore a more broadly defined type than Nolfo-Clements'' "wax-myrtle thicket" community.
Nolfo-Clements(2006) identified a "wax-myrtle thicket" floating marsh community at Jean Lafitte dominated by Morella cerifera and Sphagnum spp. Associated species include Thelypteris palustris, Woodwardia areolata, Rhynchospora microcephala, Decodon verticillatus, Xyris laxifolia var. iridifolia (in clumps), Eupatorium perfoliatum, Ageratina altissima, Pluchea foetida, Solidago fistulosa, Acer rubrum, Triadica sebifera, Panicum hemitomon, and Sagittaria lancifolia. CEGL007241 has variable cover of Sphagnum spp., therefore a more broadly defined type than Nolfo-Clements'' "wax-myrtle thicket" community.
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available
Floristics: Morella cerifera (= Myrica cerifera var. cerifera) dominates and may be the only species present other than Panicum hemitomon.
Dynamics: This shrub marsh apparently arises from closely related Panicum hemitomon marshes [see ~Panicum hemitomon Marsh (CEGL004665)$$] in the absence of fire (Sasser et al. 1996). As the shrubs develop and mature, they weigh down the floating peat mat, submerging it and eventually killing the shrubs.
Environmental Description: This is a floating marsh of the Mississippi Deltaic Plain. Flotant marshes are dynamic systems and may switch from herbaceous dominance to shrub dominance in a cyclic pattern (Battaglia et al. 2007). Since floating marshes do not experience the stress of high floodwaters, shrubs may more easily become established in flotant marshes than in marshes rooted in the underlying substrate and subjected to floods (Battaglia et al. 2007). However, as shrubs become established and increase in biomass, the marsh mat becomes heavier and sinks, increasing flooding levels and killing off the woody shrubs (Shirley and Battaglia 2008).
Geographic Range: As described, this community occurs in the Deltaic Plain of coastal Louisiana.
Nations: US
States/Provinces: LA
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.687875
Confidence Level: Low
Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available
Grank: G2G3
Greasons: No Data Available
| Type | Name | Database Code | Classification Code |
|---|---|---|---|
| Class | 2 Shrub & Herb Vegetation Class | C02 | 2 |
| Subclass | 2.C Shrub & Herb Wetland Subclass | S44 | 2.C |
| Formation | 2.C.4 Temperate to Polar Freshwater Marsh, Wet Meadow & Shrubland Formation | F013 | 2.C.4 |
| Division | 2.C.4.Ne Atlantic & Gulf Coastal Marsh, Wet Meadow & Shrubland Division | D322 | 2.C.4.Ne |
| Macrogroup | 2.C.4.Ne.1 Annual Wild Rice - Saltmeadow Cordgrass - Pickerelweed Fresh-Oligohaline Tidal Marsh Macrogroup | M066 | 2.C.4.Ne.1 |
| Group | 2.C.4.Ne.1.b <i>Zizaniopsis milacea - Spartina patens - Panicum hemotimon</i> Freshwater Tidal Marsh Group | G913 | 2.C.4.Ne.1.b |
| Alliance | A3578 Maidencane Floating Marsh Alliance | A3578 | 2.C.4.Ne.1.b |
| Association | CEGL007834 Wax-myrtle - Maidencane Floating Marsh | CEGL007834 | 2.C.4.Ne.1.b |
Concept Lineage: No Data Available
Predecessors: No Data Available
Obsolete Names: No Data Available
Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: = Myrica shrub marshes (Sasser et al. 1996)
>< Wax-myrtle Thicket Community (Nolfo-Clements 2006)
>< Wax-myrtle Thicket Community (Nolfo-Clements 2006)
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- Battaglia, L. L., J. S. Denslow, and T. G. Hargis. 2007. Does woody species establishment alter herbaceous community composition of freshwater floating marshes? Journal of Coastal Research 23(6):1580-1587.
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- Howard R. J., and I. A. Mendelssohn. 1999. Salinity as a constraint on growth of oligohaline marsh macrophytes. I. Species variation in stress tolerance. American Journal of Botany 86(6):785-794.
- LNHP [Louisiana Natural Heritage Program]. 2009. Natural communities of Louisiana. Louisiana Natural Heritage Program, Louisiana Department of Wildlife & Fisheries, Baton Rouge. 46 pp. [http://www.wlf.louisiana.gov/sites/default/files/pdf/page_wildlife/6776-Rare%20Natural%20Communities/LA_NAT_COM.pdf]
- NPS [National Park Service]. 2005. Jean Lafitte NHP 2005 Habitat Data Map (1:12,000) created by USGS-NWRC. Unpublished data shared by NPS.
- Neubauer, S. C. 2013. Ecosystem responses of a tidal freshwater marsh experiencing saltwater intrusion and altered hydrology. Estuaries and Coasts 36:491-507.
- Nolfo-Clements, L. E. 2006. Vegetative survey of wetland habitats at Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve in southeastern Louisiana. Southeastern Naturalist 5(3):499-514.
- Sasser, C. E., J. G. Gosselink, E. M. Swenson, M. Swarzenski, and N. C. Leibowitz. 1996. Vegetation, substrate and hydrology in floating marshes in the Mississippi River delta plain wetlands, USA. Vegetatio 122:129-142.
- Shirley, L. J., and L. L. Battaglia. 2006. Assessing vegetation change in coastal landscapes of the northern Gulf of Mexico. Wetlands 26(4):1057-1070.
- Shirley, L. J., and L. L. Battaglia. 2008. Projecting fine resolution land-cover dynamics for a rapidly changing terrestrial-aquatic transition in Terrebonne Basin, Louisiana, U.S.A. Journal of Coastal Research 24(6):1545-1554.
- Southeastern Ecology Working Group of NatureServe. No date. International Ecological Classification Standard: International Vegetation Classification. Terrestrial Vegetation. NatureServe, Durham, NC.
- USGS [U.S. Geological Survey]. 2013b. Trends and causes of historical wetland loss in coastal Louisiana. Fact Sheet 2013-3017. U.S. Geological Survey. March 2013
- Williams, S. J. 2013. Sea-level rise implications for coastal regions. Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue 63:184-196. [http://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/sltrends/msltrendstable.htm]
- Willis, J. M., and M. W. Hester. 2004. Interactive effects of salinity, flooding, and soil type on Panicum hemitomon. Wetlands 24(1):43-50.