Print Report
CEGL006146 Chamaecyparis thyoides / Persea palustris / Lyonia lucida - Ilex coriacea Swamp Forest
Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Atlantic White-cedar / Swamp Bay / Shining Fetterbush - Large Gallberry Swamp Forest
Colloquial Name: Peatland Atlantic White-cedar Swamp Forest
Hierarchy Level: Association
Type Concept: This Atlantic white-cedar forest is found in flat, non-alluvial peatlands, on organic soils that are permanently saturated. Its range is the Atlantic Coastal Plain in southern Virginia, North Carolina, Maryland, and possibly South Carolina. Typical occurrences have a canopy strongly dominated by Chamaecyparis thyoides, with scattered Acer rubrum, Nyssa biflora, and Persea palustris in the canopy and subcanopy. An open to dense shrub stratum typically contains Persea palustris, Lyonia lucida, Clethra alnifolia, Ilex glabra, Ilex coriacea, Smilax laurifolia, Vaccinium formosum, Vaccinium corymbosum (in Maryland only), Magnolia virginiana, and Gaylussacia frondosa. The herb stratum is generally very sparse but may include Woodwardia areolata, Woodwardia virginica, and Osmunda cinnamomea. Sphagnum spp., other mosses, and lichens are common on exposed peat and rotting wood. Establishment follows fire with a return time of 25-100+ years.
Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available
Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available
Classification Comments: Classification is based on plot data from Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge in Virginia and North Carolina and Hickory Point Cypress Swamp in Maryland. Natural hydrologic regimes and fire-return times need to be maintained for successful regeneration and maintenance of this community. Some large stands of this type remain at Great Dismal Swamp NWR, but it was formerly much more extensive and may have been severely impacted by Hurricane Isabel (G.P. Fleming pers. comm. 2005). The Maryland stands represent a northern disjunction of this type that lacks the southern shrubs Lyonia lucida and Ilex coriacea, but is otherwise similar to stands in the main part of the range.
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available
Floristics: Typical occurrences have a canopy strongly dominated by Chamaecyparis thyoides, with scattered Acer rubrum, Nyssa biflora, and Persea palustris in the canopy and subcanopy. An open to dense shrub stratum typically contains Persea palustris, Lyonia lucida, Clethra alnifolia, Ilex glabra, Ilex coriacea, Smilax laurifolia, Vaccinium formosum, Vaccinium corymbosum (in Maryland only), Magnolia virginiana, and Gaylussacia frondosa (= var. frondosa).The evergreen shrubs Lyonia lucida and Ilex coriacea are characteristic and usually abundant species in the North Carolina and Virginia stands, but are absent from the outlying northern stands in Maryland. The herb stratum is generally very sparse but may include Woodwardia areolata, Woodwardia virginica, and Osmunda cinnamomea. Sphagnum recurvum, Sphagnum palustre, and other mosses, and lichens are common on exposed peat and rotting wood. Compositional summary statistics calculated from 8 sample plots in Maryland (5 plots from Hickory Point Cypress Swamp) and Virginia (3 plots from Great Dismal Swamp NWR) indicate a mean species richness of 19 taxa per 400 m2. Homoteneity among 8 sample plots is 0.737. Most constant species (>75%) include Chamaecyparis thyoides, Acer rubrum, Clethra alnifolia, Vaccinium corymbosum, Magnolia virginiana, Smilax laurifolia, Woodwardia virginica, Nyssa biflora, Persea palustris, Osmunda cinnamomea, and Ilex opaca.
Dynamics: The establishment of this type follows fire events, with a return time of 25-100+ years.
Environmental Description: This Chamaecyparis thyoides-dominated forest is found in flat, non-alluvial peatlands, on organic soils that are permanently saturated. In Maryland, a northern outlier of this community type has been documented from Hickory Point Cypress Swamp, an ancient oxbow swamp of the Pocomoke River. Though degraded, small remnants of this community type are also believed to occur in headwater basins of tributaries of the Pocomoke River watershed.
Geographic Range: This type is found in the Atlantic Coastal Plain in southern Maryland, southeastern Virginia, North Carolina, and possibly South Carolina.
Nations: US
States/Provinces: MD, NC, SC?, VA
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.688673
Confidence Level: High
Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available
Grank: G2
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.3 Sweetbay - Swamp Bay - Pond Pine Swamp Forest Macrogroup | M032 | 1.B.3.Nb.3 |
| Group | 1.B.3.Nb.3.a Sweetbay - Loblolly-bay - Pond Pine Swamp Forest Group | G037 | 1.B.3.Nb.3.a |
| Alliance | A0196 Atlantic White-cedar Swamp Forest Alliance | A0196 | 1.B.3.Nb.3.a |
| Association | CEGL006146 Atlantic White-cedar / Swamp Bay / Shining Fetterbush - Large Gallberry Swamp Forest | CEGL006146 | 1.B.3.Nb.3.a |
Concept Lineage: No Data Available
Predecessors: No Data Available
Obsolete Names: No Data Available
Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: = Chamaecyparis thyoides / Lyonia lucida - Ilex coriacea / Osmunda cinnamomea Saturated Forest (Fleming and Moorhead 1998)
< Atlantic White-Cedar: 97 (Eyre 1980)
< IIa2b. Atlantic White Cedar Swamp Forest (Allard 1990)
= Peatland Atlantic White Cedar Forest (Schafale and Weakley 1990)
< Atlantic White-Cedar: 97 (Eyre 1980)
< IIa2b. Atlantic White Cedar Swamp Forest (Allard 1990)
= Peatland Atlantic White Cedar Forest (Schafale and Weakley 1990)
- Allard, D. J. 1990. Southeastern United States ecological community classification. Interim report, Version 1.2. The Nature Conservancy, Southeast Regional Office, Chapel Hill, NC. 96 pp.
- Eyre, F. H., editor. 1980. Forest cover types of the United States and Canada. Society of American Foresters, Washington, DC. 148 pp.
- Fleming, G. P., K. D. Patterson, and K. Taverna. 2017. The natural communities of Virginia: A classification of ecological community groups and community types. Third approximation. Version 3.0. Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, Division of Natural Heritage, Richmond, VA. [http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/natural-heritage/natural-communities/]
- Fleming, G. P., and W. H. Moorhead, III. 1998. Comparative wetlands ecology study of the Great Dismal Swamp, Northwest River, and North Landing River in Virginia. Natural Heritage Technical Report 98-9. Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, Division of Natural Heritage, Richmond. Unpublished report submitted to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. 181 pp. plus appendices.
- Fleming, Gary P. Personal communication. Ecologist, Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, Division of Natural Heritage, Richmond, VA.
- Harrison, J. W., compiler. 2004. Classification of vegetation communities of Maryland: First iteration. A subset of the International Classification of Ecological Communities: Terrestrial Vegetation of the United States, NatureServe. Maryland Natural Heritage Program, Maryland Department of Natural Resources, Annapolis. 243 pp.
- Maryland DNR Forest Service. 1995. Cypress Swamp (Mahan Property) CO-OP property summary sheet. Maryland Department of Natural Resources, Annapolis, MD.
- 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.
- Southeastern Ecology Working Group of NatureServe. No date. International Ecological Classification Standard: International Vegetation Classification. Terrestrial Vegetation. NatureServe, Durham, NC.