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CEGL007229 Acer rubrum - (Fraxinus profunda) / Sabal minor Swamp Forest
Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Red Maple - (Pumpkin Ash) / Dwarf Palmetto Swamp Forest
Colloquial Name: Mississippi River Delta Levee Backslope Red Maple - Pumpkin Ash / Dwarf Palmetto Swamp Forest
Hierarchy Level: Association
Type Concept: This is a short-statured swamp forest occurring at the transition from upland to swamp along the coast of Louisiana in the Mississippi River delta. The canopy is dominated by Acer rubrum var. drummondii and Fraxinus profunda. Associated trees include Fraxinus pennsylvanica, Liquidambar styraciflua, Salix nigra, Quercus nigra, and Taxodium distichum. The understory is dominated by Sabal minor. Associated shrubs may include Cephalanthus occidentalis, Baccharis halimifolia, and Morella cerifera. Herbaceous cover is typically low but may be high in some occurrences. Characteristic species include Polygonum hydropiperoides, Pontederia cordata, Rhynchospora corniculata, Thelypteris palustris, Hydrocotyle spp., Brunnichia ovata, and the non-native Alternanthera philoxeroides. Floating aquatics, including Lemna obscura and the non-native Salvinia minima, may occur in some examples. The non-native invasive tree Triadica sebifera is also common in this community.
Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available
Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available
Classification Comments: This vegetation was identified during a cluster analysis of 159 plots from Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve, Louisiana. It is described from 16 plots at Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve that loosely clustered together. Questions about species identifications, especially for distinguishing Fraxinus profunda and Fraxinus pennsylvanica, resulted in concerns about the quality of the data and made classification of this community difficult. Both species are included in the description. Fraxinus profunda is listed as more tolerant of flooding than Fraxinus pennsylvanica (McKnight 1981). Cluster analysis revealed the possibility of two subtypes, but better and more information is needed to describe these possible differences. The presence of this type is also supported by Denslow and Battaglia''s (2002) "lower elevation Acer rubrum - Fraxinus profunda" type. There were no existing communities that resembled this concept present at Jean Lafitte, hence this new association. Another question regarding the classification of this community involves a lack of information about the land-use history of these occurrences. Did some of these occurrences have a higher canopy of Taxodium distichum that has since been selectively removed because the trees were more accessible from these swamp edges? Taxodium distichum was recorded in the canopy of 8 out of 16 plots classified as this community.
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available
Floristics: The canopy of this short-statured forest is dominated by Acer rubrum var. drummondii and Fraxinus profunda, both typically multi-stemmed. Associated trees include Fraxinus pennsylvanica, Liquidambar styraciflua, Salix nigra, Quercus nigra, and Taxodium distichum. The understory cover is variable and frequently dominated by Sabal minor. Associated shrubs may include Cephalanthus occidentalis, Baccharis halimifolia, and Morella cerifera. Herbaceous cover is typically low but may be high in some occurrences. Characteristic species include Polygonum hydropiperoides, Pontederia cordata, Rhynchospora corniculata, Thelypteris palustris, Hydrocotyle spp., Brunnichia ovata, and the non-native Alternanthera philoxeroides. Floating aquatics, including Lemna obscura and the non-native Salvinia minima, may also occur in some occurrences. The non-native invasive tree Triadica sebifera is also common in this community. Some examples may be very open. More information is needed to determine if the low cover of Taxodium distichum in the canopy is a result of past logging, or is due to subsidence and increased hydroperiod, leading to decreased Taxodium recruitment.
Dynamics: No Data Available
Environmental Description: This swamp forest was documented at Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve in the Mississippi River delta as the first community encountered as the natural levee transitions to wetland. The wetland it transitions into further downslope is typically either a swamp forest dominated by Taxodium distichum and Nyssa aquatica, or a freshwater/oligohaline marsh often with an open canopy of Taxodium distichum and/or Morella cerifera. Quercus virginiana does not easily tolerate regular deep flooding as does Fraxinus profunda. As one comes off the natural levee ridge backslope, this is the first community encountered, as the natural levee transitions to a longer hydroperiod wetland. The ridge is wetter now than it used to be; it was higher, but now no longer receives sediment and has subsided. One encounters this vegetation type between the ridge and the deeper Taxodium distichum - Nyssa aquatica swamp.
Geographic Range: This swamp forest was documented at Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve in the Mississippi River delta as the first community encountered as the natural levee transitions to wetland.
Nations: US
States/Provinces: LA
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.907659
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.4 Swamp Chestnut Oak - Bald-cypress - Pecan Southern Floodplain Forest Macrogroup | M031 | 1.B.3.Nb.4 |
| Group | 1.B.3.Nb.4.c Bald-cypress - Water Tupelo Floodplain Forest Group | G033 | 1.B.3.Nb.4.c |
| Alliance | A3592 Red Maple - Water-locust - Pumpkin Ash Swamp Forest Alliance | A3592 | 1.B.3.Nb.4.c |
| Association | CEGL007229 Red Maple - (Pumpkin Ash) / Dwarf Palmetto Swamp Forest | CEGL007229 | 1.B.3.Nb.4.c |
Concept Lineage: No Data Available
Predecessors: No Data Available
Obsolete Names: No Data Available
Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: = Lower Elevation Acer rubrum - Fraxinus profunda (Denslow and Battaglia 2002)
- Denslow, J. S., and L. L. Battaglia. 2002. Stand composition and structure across a hydrologic gradient: Jean Lafitte National Park, Louisiana, U.S.A. Wetlands 22(4):738-752.
- McKnight, J. S., D. D. Hook, O. G. Langdon, and R. L. Johnson. 1981. Flood tolerance and related characteristics of trees of the bottomland forests of the southern U.S. Pages 29-69 in: J. R. Clark and J. Benforado, editors. Wetlands of bottomland hardwood forests. Elsevier Scientific Publishing Company, New York.
- Southeastern Ecology Working Group of NatureServe. No date. International Ecological Classification Standard: International Vegetation Classification. Terrestrial Vegetation. NatureServe, Durham, NC.