Print Report
CEGL004900 Liriodendron tulipifera - Quercus alba - (Liquidambar styraciflua) / Ilex opaca / Polystichum acrostichoides Piedmont Floodplain Forest
Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Tuliptree - White Oak - (Sweetgum) / American Holly / Christmas Fern Piedmont Floodplain Forest
Colloquial Name: Piedmont Headwater Stream Forest
Hierarchy Level: Association
Type Concept: These communities occur along intermittent to small first- or second-order streams in typical Piedmont terrain. Floodplains are narrow and poorly developed, but flooding produces small alluvial deposits and scours portions. Dominant canopy species include both upland species and species of broad moisture tolerance. Liriodendron tulipifera is almost always abundant. Quercus alba and Liquidambar styraciflua are usually present. Quercus rubra, Acer rubrum, and Fagus grandifolia may be present. Frequent understory species include Ilex opaca, Acer rubrum, Carpinus caroliniana, Oxydendrum arboreum, and Cornus florida. The shrub component is variable from place to place and may include Vaccinium fuscatum, Vaccinium corymbosum, Lindera benzoin, Arundinaria gigantea, Xanthorhiza simplicissima, Leucothoe axillaris, Hamamelis virginiana, Alnus serrulata, Viburnum nudum, or Kalmia latifolia. Herbs that dominate patches include Polystichum acrostichoides, Athyrium filix-femina ssp. asplenioides, Thelypteris noveboracensis, Carex spp., Chasmanthium laxum, Leersia virginica, Osmunda cinnamomea, and Osmunda regalis. Chasmanthium latifolium is occasionally abundant.
Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available
Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available
Classification Comments: This association is split out of the very broadly defined ~Liquidambar styraciflua - Liriodendron tulipifera / Lindera benzoin / Arisaema triphyllum Floodplain Forest (CEGL004418)$$. It is common but is often overlooked in both quantitative and qualitative surveys. It is intended to encompass the smallest floodplains, where typical alluvial species such as Platanus occidentalis, Betula nigra, Celtis laevigata, Fraxinus pennsylvanica, and Acer negundo are absent, and wetland oaks such as Quercus michauxii, Quercus pagoda, and Quercus phellos are scarce or absent. CEGL004418 represents the vegetation of somewhat larger, but still small, floodplains where alluvial processes and the flora associated with them are more important, but where the characters of large floodplains are still not developed. This association is still broad in concept, and vegetation may vary substantially among examples and in different parts of the range. Some additional division by geographic variation, and recognition of additional specialized segregates, may be warranted. In Virginia, vegetation like this occurs at a very small scale and is treated as an inclusion within examples of ~Liquidambar styraciflua - Liriodendron tulipifera / Lindera benzoin / Arisaema triphyllum Floodplain Forest (CEGL004418)$$.
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available
Floristics: Dominant canopy species include both upland species and species of broad moisture tolerance. Liriodendron tulipifera is almost always abundant. Quercus alba and Liquidambar styraciflua are usually present. Quercus rubra, Acer rubrum, and Fagus grandifolia may be present. Characteristic alluvial forest tree species such as Platanus occidentalis, Betula nigra, Celtis laevigata, Fraxinus pennsylvanica, and Acer negundo are absent, and wetland oaks such as Quercus michauxii, Quercus pagoda, and Quercus phellos are scarce or absent. Frequent understory species include Ilex opaca, Acer rubrum, Carpinus caroliniana, Oxydendrum arboreum, and Cornus florida. The shrub component is variable from place to place and may include Vaccinium fuscatum, Vaccinium corymbosum, Lindera benzoin, Arundinaria gigantea, Xanthorhiza simplicissima, Leucothoe axillaris, Hamamelis virginiana, Alnus serrulata, Viburnum nudum, or Kalmia latifolia. Herbs that dominate patches include Polystichum acrostichoides, Athyrium filix-femina ssp. asplenioides (= Athyrium asplenioides), Thelypteris noveboracensis, Carex spp., Chasmanthium laxum, Leersia virginica, Osmunda cinnamomea, and Osmunda regalis. Chasmanthium latifolium, Elymus spp., and Rudbeckia laciniata are rarely present. Other herbs that may be common include Arisaema triphyllum, Asplenium platyneuron, Medeola virginiana, Polygonatum biflorum, Viola spp., Eurybia divaricata, Houstonia serpyllifolia, and Galium circaezans. Invasive species of floodplains, such as Microstegium vimineum and Lonicera japonica, may be present but are less likely to be present and much less likely to be abundant than in larger floodplains.
Dynamics: Flooding is of short duration but may cause local disturbance through scouring. Regeneration is in canopy gaps, generally created by wind. Because of the small size of these floodplains, they seldom were farmed in the past.
Environmental Description: These forests develop along intermittent to small first- or second-order streams of moderate to low gradient in typical rolling or dissected upland terrain. Floodplains are narrow and sometimes discontinuous, and depositional landforms are not distinct, but small alluvial deposits are generally present. Soils tend to be fairly sandy and lack horizon development. Evidence of moving water, such as scoured ground, movement of leaf litter, and debris deposits, are generally present. Floods are of irregular occurrence and short duration. Moisture levels are otherwise mesic. There may be local seepage areas. These communities occur in narrow bands that may be one or two kilometers long and 10s of meters wide, but taper upstream to just a few meters wide.
Geographic Range: This association is known from the Piedmont of North Carolina. It likely occurs in the Piedmont of Virginia, South Carolina, and Georgia, but has not been documented there. Like ~Liquidambar styraciflua - Liriodendron tulipifera / Lindera benzoin / Arisaema triphyllum Floodplain Forest (CEGL004418)$$, it may possibly occur in adjacent ecoregions.
Nations: US
States/Provinces: DC?, GA?, MD?, NC, SC?, TN?, VA?
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.858815
Confidence Level: Low - Poorly Documented
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 | A3626 Tuliptree - White Oak - Sweetgum Piedmont Floodplain Forest Alliance | A3626 | 1.B.3.Nb.4.a |
| Association | CEGL004900 Tuliptree - White Oak - (Sweetgum) / American Holly / Christmas Fern Piedmont Floodplain Forest | CEGL004900 | 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: = Piedmont Headwater Stream Forest (Typic Subtype) (Schafale 2012)
- 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.
- 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.
- White, R. D., Jr., and M. Pyne. 2003. Vascular plant inventory and plant community classification for Guilford Courthouse National Military Park. Prepared for the National Park Service. NatureServe, Southeast Regional Office, Durham, NC. 124 pp.