Print Report
A3686 Eastern North American Vernal Pool Alliance
Type Concept Sentence: This broadly defined alliance comprises sparsely vegetated northeastern vernal woodland pools that are important breeding habitats for amphibians and invertebrates; vegetation is widely variable.
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Eastern North American Vernal Pool Alliance
Colloquial Name: Eastern North American Vernal Pool
Hierarchy Level: Alliance
Type Concept: This broadly defined alliance comprises sparsely vegetated northeastern vernal woodland pools that are important breeding habitats for amphibians and invertebrates; vegetation is widely variable. The association in this alliance is characterized by seasonally fluctuating water levels; the substrate may dry out completely in the summer. Hydrology may be affected by impermeable soils, seasonally high water tables, seasonal flooding in nearby streams and drainages, and/or impervious bedrock at or near the surface. The substrate is mineral soil with or without a layer of muck. The species composition is variable among sites, as well as annually and seasonally. Larger examples of this community type may exhibit strong zonation. Many smaller, shaded vernal ponds are unvegetated, their bottoms consisting of dead leaves and algae.
Diagnostic Characteristics: Isolated woodland basins with temporary water in early spring. Vegetation may or may not be present; invertebrate species and herpetofauna especially characteristic, and fish are absent.
Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available
Classification Comments: This alliance does not include vernal pool vegetation already included in other alliances, such as that occurring in coastal plain ponds. It is restricted to sparse vegetation occurring under an upland tree canopy that is not otherwise classified in the IVC. Recognition of vernal pool associations is complicated not only by the lack of good data but by the seasonal and spatial variability in composition. The largest factor, however, is that vernal pools are generally defined by their invertebrate and amphibian communities and often do not have characteristic suites of plant species. This type should be considered tentative pending more data.
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: Vernal pools are generally sparsely vegetated to unvegetated; scattered wetland shrubs and herbs may be present.
Floristics: Woodland vernal pools usually support wetland trees on the margins, including Acer rubrum, Fraxinus spp., Quercus bicolor, Quercus palustris, Salix spp., Ulmus americana, and others, depending on geography and environmental setting. Wetland shrubs usually include Vaccinium corymbosum, Cephalanthus occidentalis, Clethra alnifolia, Rhododendron viscosum, Alnus spp., and others. Within the pool proper, ferns such as Onoclea sensibilis, Osmunda cinnamomea, and Thelypteris palustris are common. Sphagnum mosses may be present, and the liverworts Riccia fluitans and Ricciocarpos natans (= Riccia natans) are also associated with vernal pools.
Dynamics: This alliance is characterized by a shallow depression that intersects the groundwater table, or receives intermittent alluvial flooding but is shallow and isolated from the main channel as the water level drops through the season.
Environmental Description: This alliance occurs in small isolated depressions that flood in the early spring from groundwater or rainwater; some pools also occur on floodplain backswamps. The substrate is variable, ranging from sand to loam to bedrock, with or without a significant organic layer. Stands occur in shallow basins that flood in the spring and draw down later in the season, or in alluvial backswamps that are also dry late in the growing season.
Geographic Range: This alliance occurs throughout the northeastern United States and adjacent Canada.
Nations: CA,US
States/Provinces: CT, MA, MD, ME, NH, NJ, NY, PA, RI, VT, WV
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.899738
Confidence Level: Moderate
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.Na Eastern North American-Great Plains Flooded & Swamp Forest Division | D011 | 1.B.3.Na |
| Macrogroup | 1.B.3.Na.2 Pin Oak - Green Ash - Blackgum Swamp Forest Macrogroup | M503 | 1.B.3.Na.2 |
| Group | 1.B.3.Na.2.d Northeastern Forest Vernal Pool Group | G667 | 1.B.3.Na.2.d |
| Alliance | A3686 Eastern North American Vernal Pool Alliance | A3686 | 1.B.3.Na.2.d |
| Association | CEGL006453 Eastern Woodland Vernal Pool | CEGL006453 | 1.B.3.Na.2.d |
Concept Lineage: based on CEGL006453; A.1878
Predecessors: No Data Available
Obsolete Names: No Data Available
Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: No Data Available
- Colburn, E. A. 2004. Vernal pools: Natural history and conservation. McDonald and Woodward Publishing, Blacksburg, VA. 426 pp.
- Cutko, A., and T. J. Rawinski. 2008. Flora of northeastern vernal pools. Pages 71-104 in: A. J. K. Calhoun and P. G. deMaynadier, editors. Science and Conservation of Vernal Pools in Northeastern North America. CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL.
- Faber-Langendoen, D., J. Drake, M. Hall, G. Kittel, S. Menard, C. Nordman, M. Pyne, M. Reid, M. Russo, K. Schulz, L. Sneddon, K. Snow, and J. Teague. 2013-2019b. Screening alliances for induction into the U.S. National Vegetation Classification: Part 1 - Alliance concept review. NatureServe, Arlington, VA.