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CEGL007065 Taxodium distichum / Morella cerifera / Thelypteris palustris Tidal Woodland
Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Bald-cypress / Wax-myrtle / Eastern Marsh Fern Tidal Woodland
Colloquial Name: Bald-cypress / Wax-myrtle / Eastern Marsh Fern Wooded Marsh
Hierarchy Level: Association
Type Concept: This wooded marsh vegetation is located adjacent to estuarine and riverine tidal waters. It is characterized by a scattered, short-statured overstory of Taxodium distichum, Acer rubrum, Nyssa aquatica, and Morella cerifera in combination with a variety of fresh to oligohaline marsh species. Characteristic marsh species include Pontederia cordata, Polygonum hydropiperoides, Sagittaria lancifolia, Sagittaria latifolia, Eleocharis cellulosa, Thelypteris palustris, Typha domingensis, Panicum hemitomon, and Eleocharis spp. The marsh is often mixed with no clear dominant. Common non-native species include Triadica sebifera, Alternanthera philoxeroides, Eichhornia crassipes, Salvinia minima, and Salvinia molesta. The epiphyte Tillandsia usneoides is common in this community.
Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available
Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available
Classification Comments: This is the first tidal woodland described for the Gulf Coast of Louisiana. It was identified during a cluster analysis of 159 plots from Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve, Louisiana. This community is described from 27 plots at Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve that loosely clustered together (Homoteneity (0.680); Bray-Curtis Similarity (0.513)). The species in this community are shared with and sometimes codominant in other communities at Jean Lafitte, but the combination of species and environmental setting seems to support description of this community as a separate type. This community represents a diverse set of occurrences with seasonal and aspect dominance that differs between sites. For classification purposes, more weight was given to perennial woody species such as Taxodium distichum, Acer rubrum, Nyssa aquatica, and Morella cerifera even though total herbaceous cover was often higher than woody cover and some plots clustered with marsh vegetation. Mean canopy cover class for Taxodium distichum, Acer rubrum, and Morella cerifera was 10-25% for the groups of plots contributing to this description. Related vegetation has been described from other freshwater tidal marshes along the Gulf and Atlantic coasts.
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available
Floristics: This community is characterized by a scattered, short-statured overstory of Taxodium distichum, Acer rubrum, Nyssa aquatica, and Morella cerifera in combination with a variety of fresh to oligohaline marsh species. Other shrubs may include Ilex cassine, Baccharis halimifolia, and Cephalanthus occidentalis. Characteristic marsh species include Pontederia cordata, Polygonum hydropiperoides, Sagittaria lancifolia, Sagittaria latifolia, Eleocharis cellulosa, Thelypteris palustris, Typha domingensis, Panicum hemitomon, and Eleocharis spp. The marsh is often mixed with no clear dominant. Other marsh species commonly encountered include Boehmeria cylindrica, Eleocharis vivipara, Hydrocotyle spp., Kosteletzkya virginica, Phyla lanceolata, Rhynchospora corniculata, Sacciolepis striata, Saururus cernuus, Solidago sempervirens, and the floating aquatic Lemna obscura. Common non-native species include Triadica sebifera, Alternanthera philoxeroides, Eichhornia crassipes, Salvinia minima, and Salvinia molesta. The epiphyte Tillandsia usneoides is common in this community.
Dynamics: No Data Available
Environmental Description: This wooded marsh vegetation is located adjacent to estuarine and riverine tidal waters, but the occurrences where it was documented are mostly mapped as palustrine semipermanently flooded and not identified as tidal (NPS 2005). Though tidal influence has not been documented, it might be present, especially from wind tides. In some occurrences this sparsely wooded marsh community is separated from open water by expansive herb and herb-shrub marshes. All locations are impacted by levees and ditches that are presumably disrupting the flow of water. Some examples of this community may occur as a floating mat of vegetation (flotant).
Geographic Range: This community is described from Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve. Other examples are expected to occur along the coast of Louisiana.
Nations: US
States/Provinces: LA
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.928265
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 | A3595 Bald-cypress - Swamp Tupelo Tidal Swamp Forest Alliance | A3595 | 1.B.3.Nb.4.c |
| Association | CEGL007065 Bald-cypress / Wax-myrtle / Eastern Marsh Fern Tidal Woodland | CEGL007065 | 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: No Data Available
- Conner, W. H., K. W. Krauss, and T. W. Doyle. 2007. Ecology of tidal freshwater forests in coastal deltaic Louisiana and northeastern South Carolina. Pages 223-53 in: W. H. Conner, T. W. Doyle, and K. W. Krauss, editors. Ecology of Tidal Freshwater Forested Wetlands of the Southeastern United States. Springer, The Netherlands.
- Krauss, K. W., J. A. Duberstein, T. W. Doyle, W. H. Conner, R. H. Day, L. W. Inabinette, and J. L. Whitbeck. 2009. Site condition, structure, and growth of bald cypress along tidal/non-tidal salinity gradients. Wetlands 29:505-519.
- NPS [National Park Service]. 2005. Jean Lafitte NHP 2005 Habitat Data Map (1:12,000) created by USGS-NWRC. Unpublished data shared by NPS.
- Southeastern Ecology Working Group of NatureServe. No date. International Ecological Classification Standard: International Vegetation Classification. Terrestrial Vegetation. NatureServe, Durham, NC.