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CEGL006317 Acer rubrum / Alnus maritima ssp. maritima Swamp Woodland
Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Red Maple / Seaside Alder Swamp Woodland
Colloquial Name: Red Maple / Seaside Alder Swamp Woodland
Hierarchy Level: Association
Type Concept: This community is a low-growing, partially open to open saturated woodland basin swamp that occurs alongside a freshwater creek in the Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge in Delaware. It is almost completely dominated by Acer rubrum. The substrate is peat and muck characterized by hummock-and-hollow microtopography. The edges of the community alongside the creek and the understory are dominated by Alnus maritima ssp. maritima. Decodon verticillatus, Clethra alnifolia, Morella pensylvanica, and occasionally Cephalanthus occidentalis and Leucothoe racemosa occur as associates in the shrub layer. Toxicodendron radicans and Smilax rotundifolia are typical in the vine layer. The herbaceous layer grows densely on hummocks. Herbaceous species include Osmunda regalis, Triadenum virginicum, Lobelia cardinalis, Carex seorsa, Dulichium arundinaceum, and Polygonum hydropiperoides. The community may be successional due to ditching and may be artificially maintained by water control structures present along the stream. This community is not tidally influenced due to the damming of the associated stream. Occasional storm surges may influence this community, as it is located in close proximity to the coast.
Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available
Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available
Classification Comments: No Data Available
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available
Floristics: This community is a low-growing, partially open to open saturated woodland basin swamp that is almost completely dominated by Acer rubrum. The edges of the community alongside the creek and the understory are dominated by Alnus maritima ssp. maritima. Decodon verticillatus, Clethra alnifolia, Morella pensylvanica, and occasionally Cephalanthus occidentalis and Leucothoe racemosa occur as associates in the shrub layer. Toxicodendron radicans and Smilax rotundifolia are typical in the vine layer. The herbaceous layer grows densely on hummocks. Herbaceous species include Osmunda regalis, Triadenum virginicum, Lobelia cardinalis, Carex seorsa, Dulichium arundinaceum, and Polygonum hydropiperoides.
Dynamics: This woodland swamp occurs along a freshwater stream (Prime Hook Creek) that was historically tidally influenced but is no longer influenced by tidal forces due to the installation of a water control structure in the stream. Coastal storm surges may occasionally influence this community, as it is located approximately one mile from Delaware Bay.
Environmental Description: This community occurs alongside a freshwater creek in the Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge in Delaware. The substrate is peat and muck characterized by hummock-and-hollow microtopography.
Geographic Range: This community occupies 865 acres in the Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge on the west side of Delaware Bay in Delaware.
Nations: US
States/Provinces: DE
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.790558
Confidence Level: Low - Poorly Documented
Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available
Grank: GNR
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.b Atlantic White-cedar - Pitch Pine Swamp Group | G039 | 1.B.3.Nb.3.b |
| Alliance | A3637 Sweetgum - Red Maple / Wax-myrtle Mid-Atlantic Swamp Forest Alliance | A3637 | 1.B.3.Nb.3.b |
| Association | CEGL006317 Red Maple / Seaside Alder Swamp Woodland | CEGL006317 | 1.B.3.Nb.3.b |
Concept Lineage: No Data Available
Predecessors: No Data Available
Obsolete Names: No Data Available
Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: = Red Maple-Seaside Alder Woodland (Coxe 2006)
- Coxe, R. 2006. Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge. Vegetation inventory. Unpublished report. Delaware Natural Heritage Program, Division of Fish and Wildlife, Smyrna.
- Coxe, R. 2009. Guide to Delaware vegetation communities. Spring 2009 edition. State of Delaware, Division of Fish and Wildlife, Delaware Natural Heritage Program, Smyrna.
- Eastern Ecology Working Group of NatureServe. No date. International Ecological Classification Standard: International Vegetation Classification. Terrestrial Vegetation. NatureServe, Boston, MA.
- Schrader, J. A., and W. R. Graves. 2002. Infraspecific systematics of Alnus maritima (Betulaceae) from three widely disjunct provenances. Castanea 67:380-401.