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A3698 Betula nigra - Platanus occidentalis - Acer saccharinum Ozark & West Gulf Riverfront Forest Alliance

Type Concept Sentence: These riverfront floodplain forests of the Ozarks and Upper West Gulf Coastal Plain regions are dominated by some combination of Acer saccharinum, Betula nigra, and Platanus occidentalis with a variety of other canopy species, including Fraxinus pennsylvanica, Gleditsia triacanthos, Liquidambar styraciflua, Morus rubra, and Tilia americana var. caroliniana.

Common (Translated Scientific) Name: River Birch - American Sycamore - Silver Maple Ozark & West Gulf Riverfront Forest Alliance

Colloquial Name: Ozark & West Gulf Riverfront Forest

Hierarchy Level:  Alliance

Type Concept: These riverfront floodplain forests of the Ozarks and Upper West Gulf Coastal Plain are dominated by some combination of Acer saccharinum, Betula nigra, and Platanus occidentalis. In addition, Fraxinus pennsylvanica, Gleditsia triacanthos, Liquidambar styraciflua, Morus rubra, and Tilia americana var. caroliniana may also be present in the canopy. Other wetland shrubs and vines may be present, including Alnus serrulata, Arundinaria gigantea, Berchemia scandens, Bignonia capreolata, Cephalanthus occidentalis, and Triadenum walteri. Herbaceous species include Boehmeria cylindrica, Commelina virginica, Leersia virginica, Onoclea sensibilis, Panicum anceps, Symphyotrichum lanceolatum, and Viola sororia. Forests in this alliance generally occur on well-drained, sandy soils, on infrequently flooded bottomlands, on levees, and on deep silts on stabilized sites along larger rivers. They also may occur along smaller rivers but are most common along bigger rivers where there is more scour and more silt deposition.

Diagnostic Characteristics: These are forests from west of the Mississippi dominated by some combination of Acer saccharinum, Betula nigra, and Platanus occidentalis. The former two of these have more diagnostic value. This combination of floristics and biogeography should be diagnostic.

Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available

Classification Comments: The description is based on the two documented component associations (CEGL007810 and CEGL007983). It is possible that there are other undescribed associations that belong in this alliance.

Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: These are generally open-canopy forests and woodlands; their openness is due to mechanical disturbance from flooding. Litter and large woody debris often accumulate in huge conglomerations. Occurrences may have a rather high percentage of standing dead trees, including remnant snags from earlier successional communities.

Floristics: Stands are typically dominated by some combination of Acer saccharinum, Betula nigra, and Platanus occidentalis. In addition, Fraxinus pennsylvanica, Gleditsia triacanthos, Liquidambar styraciflua, Morus rubra, and Tilia americana var. caroliniana may also be present in the canopy. Other wetland shrubs and vines may be present, including Alnus serrulata, Arundinaria gigantea, Berchemia scandens, Bignonia capreolata, Cephalanthus occidentalis, and Triadenum walteri . Herbaceous species include Boehmeria cylindrica, Commelina virginica, Leersia virginica, Onoclea sensibilis, Panicum anceps, Symphyotrichum lanceolatum (= Aster lanceolatus), and Viola sororia.

Dynamics:  This forest vegetation occurs on deep, well-drained alluvial soils. Litter and large woody debris often accumulate in huge conglomerations. Occurrences may have a rather high percentage of standing dead trees, including remnant snags from earlier successional communities. A layer of sand is often deposited at the surface when streams overflow their banks during flash floods. Little or no clay is present in soils which support stands of this alliance. Flooding is seasonal and/or occasional and shallow, but never prolonged. Most of the short-duration flooding takes place in early spring.
Environmental Description:  Habitats for this alliance include flat margins of oxbows in the Ozarks region, narrow depositing and eroding banks adjacent to the medium-sized rivers on the Upper West Gulf Coastal Plain of Arkansas, and similar habitats west of the Mississippi River. In the Ouachita Mountains of Arkansas and Oklahoma, these forests occur along larger streams and rivers, especially those with a sandy substrate.
Geographic Range: These forests are found in the Ozarks and Upper West Gulf Coastal Plain of Arkansas, as well as possibly in Illinois, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and east Texas. In Illinois, this vegetation, if present, would only be found in the Mississippi River and Ozarks regions.

Nations: US

States/Provinces:  AR, IL?, LA?, MO, OK?, TX?


Confidence Level: Low

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.1 Silver Maple - American Sycamore - Hackberry species Floodplain Forest Macrogroup M029 1.B.3.Na.1
Group 1.B.3.Na.1.b <i>Acer saccharinum - Platanus occidentalis - Liquidambar styraciflua</i> Floodplain Forest Group G673 1.B.3.Na.1.b
Alliance A3698 River Birch - American Sycamore - Silver Maple Ozark & West Gulf Riverfront Forest Alliance A3698 1.B.3.Na.1.b
Association CEGL007092 Black Willow Ozark Floodplain Forest CEGL007092 1.B.3.Na.1.b
Association CEGL007810 Silver Maple - River Birch / Common Buttonbush Floodplain Forest CEGL007810 1.B.3.Na.1.b
Association CEGL007983 River Birch - American Sycamore / Alabama Supplejack / (Giant Cane) - Small-spike False Nettle Floodplain Forest CEGL007983 1.B.3.Na.1.b
Concept Lineage: There are only two associations in this alliance: one each from A.279 (1/11) and A.280 (1/10); there was no related proto-alliance.

Predecessors: No Data Available

Obsolete Names: No Data Available

Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: ? Acer saccharinum forest alliance (Hoagland 1998a)
? Betula nigra forest alliance (Hoagland 1998a)
? R1B3cII4a. Betula nigra - Platanus occidentalis (Foti et al. 1994)
>< R1B3cII5a. Acer saccharinum - Ulmus americana (Foti et al. 1994)
Concept Author(s): M. Pyne, in Faber-Langendoen et al. (2013)

Author of Description: M. Pyne

Acknowledgements: No Data Available

Version Date: 09-26-14
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • Hoagland, B. W. 1997. Preliminary plant community classification for Oklahoma. Unpublished draft document, version 35629. University of Oklahoma, Oklahoma Natural Heritage Inventory, Norman. 47 pp.
  • Hoagland, B. W. 1998a. Classification of Oklahoma vegetation types. Working draft. University of Oklahoma, Oklahoma Natural Heritage Inventory, Norman. 43 pp.
  • Klimas, C. V., C. O. Martin, and J. W. Teaford. 1981. Impacts of flooding regime modification on wildlife habitats of bottomland hardwood forests in the lower Mississippi. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Waterways Experimental Station and Environmental Lab. Technical Report EL-81-13. Vicksburg, MS. 137 pp. plus appendix.