Print Report
A3637 Liquidambar styraciflua - Acer rubrum / Morella cerifera Mid-Atlantic Swamp Forest Alliance
Type Concept Sentence: These are forests dominated by Liquidambar styraciflua with Acer rubrum. They are found in seasonally flooded depressions and range from North Carolina and Virginia north through the Chesapeake Bay into the northern Atlantic Coast and northern Piedmont of New Jersey, Pennsylvania and New York.
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Sweetgum - Red Maple / Wax-myrtle Mid-Atlantic Swamp Forest Alliance
Colloquial Name: Mid-Atlantic Coastal Plain Depression Swamp Forest
Hierarchy Level: Alliance
Type Concept: These forests are dominated by Liquidambar styraciflua. Some stands may be dominated or codominated by Acer rubrum. Other woody species that may be present include Cornus foemina, Fraxinus pennsylvanica, Quercus lyrata, Quercus palustris, Quercus phellos, and Salix nigra. Shrubs that may be present include Cephalanthus occidentalis, Clethra alnifolia, Ilex opaca, Eubotrys racemosa, Magnolia virginiana, and Vaccinium corymbosum. In addition, Sphagnum spp. are common in the ground layer. Known examples of this alliance occur in seasonally flooded depressions rather than in floodplains. One association included here is a saturated forest dominated by Pinus taeda that may occur adjacent to salt marshes on the bay side of barrier islands. These forests range from the Atlantic Coastal Plain and adjacent southern Piedmont of North Carolina and Virginia north through the Chesapeake Bay and northern Piedmont to the northern Atlantic Coast of New Jersey, Pennsylvania and New York.
Diagnostic Characteristics: This alliance includes forests of the Atlantic Coastal Plain and adjacent southern Piedmont. They are dominated by Liquidambar styraciflua with Acer rubrum and are found in seasonally flooded depressions rather than floodplains. The combination of the environment, biogeography, and floristics are diagnostic.
Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available
Classification Comments: Similar stands on floodplains are found in other groups and alliances.
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available
Floristics: Examples are dominated by Liquidambar styraciflua perhaps with Acer rubrum. Other woody species that may be present include Cornus foemina, Fraxinus pennsylvanica, Quercus lyrata, Quercus palustris, Quercus phellos, and Salix nigra. Shrubs that may be present include Cephalanthus occidentalis, Clethra alnifolia, Ilex opaca, Eubotrys racemosa (= Leucothoe racemosa), Magnolia virginiana, and Vaccinium corymbosum. The understory may have strong dominance by vine species, including Parthenocissus quinquefolia, Smilax rotundifolia, and Toxicodendron radicans. In addition, Sphagnum spp. are common in the herbaceous layer. Other taxa that may be present vary with geography, but can include Carex joorii, Osmunda regalis var. spectabilis, Pinus rigida, and Pinus taeda. One Delaware association contains Acer rubrum, Populus heterophylla, and Quercus palustris.
Dynamics: No Data Available
Environmental Description: Known examples of this alliance occur in seasonally flooded depressions rather than in floodplains. One association included here is a saturated forest dominated by Pinus taeda that may occur adjacent to salt marshes on the bay side of barrier islands.
Geographic Range: This alliance is found from the Atlantic Coastal Plain and adjacent southern Piedmont of North Carolina and Virginia north through the Chesapeake Bay and northern Piedmont to the northern Atlantic Coast of New Jersey, Pennsylvania and New York.
Nations: US
States/Provinces: DC, DE, MD, NC, NJ, NY, PA, VA
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.899695
Confidence Level: Moderate
Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available
Grank: GNR
Greasons: No Data Available
Concept Lineage: Description is largely based on the old alliance Liquidambar styraciflua - (Acer rubrum) Seasonally Flooded Forest Alliance (A.321).
Predecessors: No Data Available
Obsolete Names: No Data Available
Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: >< IIA10c. Wet Marl Forest (Allard 1990)
>< IIA10e. Nonriverine Wet Hardwood Forest (Allard 1990)
> Sweet Gum - Red Maple - Palustrine Forest (Undifferentiated) (LA) (Windisch 2014a)
>< Woodland community (Hill 1986)
? coniferous swamp (Shreve et al. 1910)
>< loblolly pine association (Brush et al. 1980)
>< mature loblolly pine stands of wet sites (Bratton and Davison 1987)
>< pine woodland (Higgins et al. 1971)
>< IIA10e. Nonriverine Wet Hardwood Forest (Allard 1990)
> Sweet Gum - Red Maple - Palustrine Forest (Undifferentiated) (LA) (Windisch 2014a)
>< Woodland community (Hill 1986)
? coniferous swamp (Shreve et al. 1910)
>< loblolly pine association (Brush et al. 1980)
>< mature loblolly pine stands of wet sites (Bratton and Davison 1987)
>< pine woodland (Higgins et al. 1971)
- 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.
- Bratton, S. P., and K. Davison. 1987. Disturbance and succession in Buxton Woods, Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. Castanea 52:166-179.
- Brush, G. S., C. Lenk, and J. Smith. 1980. The natural forests of Maryland: An explanation of the vegetation map of Maryland. Ecological Monographs 50:77-92.
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- Fike, J. 1999. Terrestrial and palustrine plant communities of Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania Natural Diversity Inventory. Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Recreation, Bureau of Forestry, Harrisburg, PA. 86 pp.
- Fleming, Gary P. Personal communication. Ecologist, Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, Division of Natural Heritage, Richmond, VA.
- Higgins, E. A. T., R. D. Rappleye, and R. G. Brown. 1971. The flora and ecology of Assateague Island. University of Maryland Experiment Station Bulletin A-172. 70 pp.
- Hill, S. R. 1986. An annotated checklist of the vascular flora of Assateague Island (Maryland and Virginia). Castanea 5:265-305.
- Kologiski, R. L. 1977. The phytosociology of the Green Swamp, North Carolina. North Carolina Agricultural Experiment Station. Bulletin No. 250. 101 pp.
- Levy, G. F., and S. W. Walker. 1979. Forest dynamics in the Dismal Swamp of Virginia. Pages 101-126 in: P. W. Kirk, Jr., editor. The Great Dismal Swamp. University of Virginia Press, Charlottesville.
- 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.
- Shreve, F., M. A. Chrysler, F. H. Blodgett, and F. W. Besley. 1910. The plant life of Maryland. Maryland Weather Service. Special Publication, Volume III. The Johns Hopkins Press, Baltimore, MD. 533 pp.
- Smith, T. L. 1991. Natural ecological communities of Pennsylvania. First revision. Unpublished report. Pennsylvania Science Office of The Nature Conservancy, Middletown, PA. 111 pp.
- Weakley, A. S., K. D. Patterson, S. Landaal, M. Gallyoun, and others, compilers. 1996. International classification of ecological communities: Terrestrial vegetation of the Southeastern United States. Working draft of April 1996. The Nature Conservancy, Southeast Regional Office, Southern Conservation Science Department, Community Ecology Group. Chapel Hill, NC.
- Windisch, A .G. 2014a. Pinelands ecological communities and higher level groups with crosswalk / proposed 2008 revisions to NVC. November 16, 2014 draft. New Jersey Natural Heritage Program, Trenton.