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CEGL002388 Ulmus crassifolia - Carya illinoinensis - Celtis laevigata / Chasmanthium sessiliflorum - Carex cherokeensis Floodplain Forest
Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Cedar Elm - Pecan - Sugarberry / Longleaf Woodoats - Cherokee Sedge Floodplain Forest
Colloquial Name: Cedar Elm - Sugarberry Calcareous Floodplain Forest
Hierarchy Level: Association
Type Concept: This community occurs on older, low-gradient river floodplains primarily in the Gulf Coast Prairies and Marshes Ecoregion of Texas and possibly Louisiana; it may also occur in the Crosstimbers and Southern Tallgrass Prairie Ecoregion. The canopy is dominated by mixtures of Ulmus crassifolia, Carya illinoinensis, Celtis laevigata, Sapindus saponaria var. drummondii, Quercus macrocarpa, Quercus shumardii, and, less typically or on slight rises, Quercus virginiana. The vegetation of these rises, often old natural levees, is typically classed as a separate association, ~Quercus virginiana / Ilex vomitoria - Sabal minor / Carex cherokeensis - Malvaviscus arboreus var. drummondii Forest (CEGL007830)$$. Slightly wetter and lower areas may be characterized by a predominance of Fraxinus pennsylvanica. Typical subcanopy trees include the canopy species, with the addition of Sapindus saponaria var. drummondii and Crataegus spp. A scattered shrub stratum is composed of Sabal minor and Symphoricarpos orbiculatus. Vines are common and include Campsis radicans, Cocculus carolinus, Parthenocissus quinquefolia, and Passiflora lutea. Herb stratum dominants include Chasmanthium sessiliflorum and Carex cherokeensis.
Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available
Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available
Classification Comments: The hydrology of this community is ambiguous; it could also be placed in temporarily flooded or saturated. This association includes the former Ulmus crassifolia / Sapindus saponaria var. drummondii / Carex cherokeensis Forest (CEGL004611), formerly recognized, but now considered to represent merely a more strongly Ulmus crassifolia-dominated variant of this association.
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available
Floristics: The canopy is dominated by mixtures of Ulmus crassifolia, Carya illinoinensis, Celtis laevigata, Sapindus saponaria var. drummondii, Quercus macrocarpa, Quercus shumardii, and, less typically or on slight rises, Quercus virginiana. Typical subcanopy trees include the canopy species, with the addition of Sapindus saponaria var. drummondii and Crataegus spp. A scattered shrub stratum is composed of Sabal minor and Symphoricarpos orbiculatus. Vines are common and include Campsis radicans, Cocculus carolinus, Parthenocissus quinquefolia, and Passiflora lutea. Herb stratum dominants include Chasmanthium sessiliflorum and Carex cherokeensis. Other herbs include Malvaviscus arboreus var. drummondii (= Malvaviscus drummondii), Oplismenus hirtellus ssp. setarius (= Oplismenus setarius), Ranunculus sp., Paspalum sp., Iva angustifolia, Senna sp., Fleischmannia incarnata (= Eupatorium incarnatum), and the epiphyte Tillandsia usneoides. The so-called Brazoria palm, a Sabal species of contested identity, occurs in this association in at least one protected example within San Bernard National Wildlife Refuge.
Dynamics: This association is naturally restricted to poorly drained clay floodplain or terrace soils. It depends on seasonal inundation to maintain moist habitat conditions. On larger streams and rivers, impoundments may modify the flooding pattern and could drive the site to a drier community type.
Environmental Description: This association occurs on clayey, calcareous, poorly drained bottomland soils. Many occurrences are no longer influenced by regular overbank flooding from associated river systems, but saturated soils and ponded water are often present as a result of local rainfall events.
Geographic Range: This association is presumably restricted to the alluvial valleys of the Brazos, San Bernard and Colorado rivers of south-central Texas in the Gulf Coast Prairies and Marshes (Ecoregion 31) but may range into adjacent areas of the Crosstimbers and Southern Tallgrass Prairie (Ecoregion 32).
Nations: US
States/Provinces: LA?, TX
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.689008
Confidence Level: Low - Poorly Documented
Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available
Grank: G2G3
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.b Green Ash - American Elm - Black Willow Floodplain Forest Group | G759 | 1.B.3.Nb.4.b |
| Alliance | A3709 American Elm - Cedar Elm - Sugarberry West Gulf Coastal Plain Floodplain Forest Alliance | A3709 | 1.B.3.Nb.4.b |
| Association | CEGL002388 Cedar Elm - Pecan - Sugarberry / Longleaf Woodoats - Cherokee Sedge Floodplain Forest | CEGL002388 | 1.B.3.Nb.4.b |
Concept Lineage: This association includes the Ulmus crassifolia / Sapindus saponaria var. drummondii / Carex cherokeensis Forest (CEGL004611), formerly recognized, but now considered to represent merely a more strongly Ulmus crassifolia-dominated variant of this asso
Predecessors: No Data Available
Obsolete Names: No Data Available
Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: < Sugarberry-Elm Series (Diamond 1993)
- Diamond, D. D. 1993. Classification of the plant communities of Texas (series level). Unpublished document. Texas Natural Heritage Program, Austin. 25 pp.
- 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]
- Southeastern Ecology Working Group of NatureServe. No date. International Ecological Classification Standard: International Vegetation Classification. Terrestrial Vegetation. NatureServe, Durham, NC.
- TNHS [Texas Natural History Survey]. No date. Unpublished data. Texas Natural History Survey, The Nature Conservancy, San Antonio.
- Turner, R. L., J. E. Van Kley, and L. M. Smith. 1997. Field guide: Ecological classification system for the national forests and surrounding areas of the western Gulf Coastal Plain. Final draft report. The Nature Conservancy, Nacogdoches, TX. 95 pp.