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CEGL007407 Quercus texana - Quercus lyrata Floodplain Forest
Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Nuttall Oak - Overcup Oak Floodplain Forest
Colloquial Name: Gulf Coastal Plain Nuttall Oak - Overcup Oak Bottomland Forest
Hierarchy Level: Association
Type Concept: This bottomland forest occurs in the floodplain of rivers and possibly large streams in parts of the West Gulf Coastal Plain and in the Mobile-Tensaw Delta and the Mississippi River Alluvial Plain. Canopy dominants are Quercus lyrata, Quercus texana, Quercus nigra, Liquidambar styraciflua, Celtis laevigata var. laevigata, Ulmus americana, Fraxinus pennsylvanica, and Carya aquatica. Depressions within the community may contain Taxodium distichum and Nyssa aquatica. Understory and shrub strata are sparse and include Diospyros virginiana, Carpinus caroliniana, Ilex decidua, and Acer rubrum. Common woody vines include Bignonia capreolata, Parthenocissus quinquefolia, Berchemia scandens, Toxicodendron radicans, Vitis rotundifolia, and Campsis radicans. Ground cover is very sparse; species include Carex spp., Saururus cernuus, Boehmeria cylindrica, Chasmanthium sp., Mitchella repens, and Polygonum spp. Soils are organic dark brown silt loams including Perry clay. Duration of flooding is relatively long with lower spots being permanently saturated. Mature examples of this community have sparse shrub strata and a very sparse herbaceous layer.
Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available
Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available
Classification Comments: This is a Martin and Smith (1991) type with data known from the Kisatchie Bayou and Gibbs Slough Bottom on the Kisatchie Ranger District. Assessment is needed to determine appropriateness for the Mississippi River Alluvial Plain.
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available
Floristics: This bottomland forest has a canopy cover of approximately 60-100%, typically 70-80%, and is dominated by Quercus texana, Quercus lyrata, Carya aquatica, and Liquidambar styraciflua. In disturbed examples Liquidambar styraciflua may become as dominant as Quercus texana and Quercus lyrata. Canopy associates include Quercus nigra, Acer rubrum, Fraxinus pennsylvanica, and Ulmus americana. The sparse tall-shrub stratum (2-5 m in height) is dominated by Carpinus caroliniana, Ilex decidua, and Acer rubrum. The short-shrub stratum (mean cover 3%) and herbaceous stratum (mean cover 7%) are extremely sparse. Scattered herbaceous plants include Carex spp., Saururus cernuus, Polygonum spp., Tradescantia spp., Panicum spp., Boehmeria cylindrica, Mitchella repens, and Chasmanthium spp. Woody vines (mean cover of 10%) are the most significant component of the understory; dominants include Campsis radicans, Vitis rotundifolia, Toxicodendron radicans, Berchemia scandens, Parthenocissus quinquefolia, and Bignonia capreolata. Exotic species (Ligustrum sinense, Lonicera japonica, Microstegium vimineum) may invade disturbed or other examples of this community.
Dynamics: Flooding is the principal natural disturbance, and the hydrologic regime is the main ecological process shaping the composition, structure and distribution of this community. This forest is typically inundated or saturated throughout the winter and early spring, and is inundated for 20-40% of the growing season (Wharton et al. 1982, Foti 1994b). Regeneration occurs chiefly in canopy gaps and is dependent on the hydrologic conditions at the time of germination and establishment (Smith 1988, Martin and Smith 1991). No evidence of fire was observed in the old-growth example of this community sampled by Martin and Smith (1991).
This is typically a late-seral community, with younger more recently disturbed examples having a greater cover of Liquidambar styraciflua. Such occurrences may also have a bimodal age and stage structure due to the relatively small size of the Quercus species.
This is typically a late-seral community, with younger more recently disturbed examples having a greater cover of Liquidambar styraciflua. Such occurrences may also have a bimodal age and stage structure due to the relatively small size of the Quercus species.
Environmental Description: This closed-canopied forest occurs in the floodplains of intermediate to large alluvial (brownwater) rivers and is frequently flooded. It often occupies poorly drained low flats, sloughs, and low ridges. This forest may be inundated for up to 40% of the growing season (Wharton et al. 1982, Foti 1994b). The highly organic, very dark brown silt loam soil is often mapped as Perry clay (Martin and Smith 1991).
Geographic Range: This bottomland forest is known from the East Gulf and West Gulf coastal plains and the Mississippi Alluvial Plain; it occurs in Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and eastern Texas, and may also occur in the Mississippi Alluvial Plain farther north in Missouri.
Nations: US
States/Provinces: AL, AR, LA, MS, TX?
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.689018
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 | A3629 Overcup Oak - Willow Oak - Water Hickory Swamp Forest Alliance | A3629 | 1.B.3.Nb.4.a |
| Association | CEGL007407 Nuttall Oak - Overcup Oak Floodplain Forest | CEGL007407 | 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: = Bottomland Forest (Martin and Smith 1991)
< IIA5a. Overcup Oak - Water Hickory Bottomland Forest (Allard 1990)
? Overcup Oak - Water Hickory (65) (USFS 1988)
? Overcup Oak - Water Hickory: 96 (Eyre 1980)
? P1B3cI1b. Quercus lyrata-Carya aquatica-Quercus texana-Fraxinus spp. (Foti et al. 1994)
? P1B3cV. Quercus nuttallii (Foti et al. 1994)
< IIA5a. Overcup Oak - Water Hickory Bottomland Forest (Allard 1990)
? Overcup Oak - Water Hickory (65) (USFS 1988)
? Overcup Oak - Water Hickory: 96 (Eyre 1980)
? P1B3cI1b. Quercus lyrata-Carya aquatica-Quercus texana-Fraxinus spp. (Foti et al. 1994)
? P1B3cV. Quercus nuttallii (Foti et al. 1994)
- 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.
- Diamond, D. D. 1993. Classification of the plant communities of Texas (series level). Unpublished document. Texas Natural Heritage Program, Austin. 25 pp.
- Eyre, F. H., editor. 1980. Forest cover types of the United States and Canada. Society of American Foresters, Washington, DC. 148 pp.
- Foti, T., M. Blaney, X. Li, and K. G. Smith. 1994. A classification system for the natural vegetation of Arkansas. Proceedings of the Arkansas Academy of Science 48:50-53.
- Foti, T., compiler. 1994b. Natural vegetation classification system of Arkansas, draft five. Unpublished document. Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission, Little Rock. 8 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]
- MSNHP [Mississippi Natural Heritage Program]. 2006. Ecological communities of Mississippi. Museum of Natural Science, Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks, Jackson, MS. 9 pp.
- Martin, D. L., and L. M. Smith. 1991. A survey and description of the natural plant communities of the Kisatchie National Forest, Winn and Kisatchie districts. Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, Baton Rouge, LA. 372 pp.
- Smith, L. M. 1988c. The natural communities of Louisiana. Unpublished document. Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, Natural Heritage Program, Baton Rouge. 35 pp.
- Southeastern Ecology Working Group of NatureServe. No date. International Ecological Classification Standard: International Vegetation Classification. Terrestrial Vegetation. NatureServe, Durham, NC.
- USFS [U.S. Forest Service]. 1988. Silvicultural examination and prescription field book. USDA Forest Service, Southern Region. Atlanta, GA. 35 pp.
- Wharton, C. H., W. M. Kitchens, E. C. Pendleton, and T. W. Sipe. 1982. The ecology of bottomland hardwood swamps of the Southeast: A community profile. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Office of Biological Services. FWS/OBS-81/37. Washington, DC.
- Wieland, R. G. 1994a. Marine and estuarine habitat types and associated ecological communities of the Mississippi Coast. Museum Technical Report 25. Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks, Museum of Natural Science, Jackson, MS. 270 pp.