National Forests in Florida Final Report
Water Tupelo Swamp Forest
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Water Tupelo Swamp ForestElement Identifiers NVCS association: Nyssa aquatica Forest Database Code: CEGL002419 Formation: Semipermanently flooded cold-deciduous forest Alliance: NYSSA AQUATICA - (TAXODIUM DISTICHUM) SEMIPERMANENTLY FLOODED FOREST ALLIANCE (I.B.2.N.f.2) Element Concept Summary: This semipermanently flooded water tupelo swamp forest is found in the Coastal Plain from Virginia south to Florida, west to Texas, and north in the Mississippi delta region to Missouri, Illinois, and Kentucky. Stands occur on permanently saturated soils on low, wet flats and sloughs, swales and backswamps, and the association is more common on floodplains of brownwater, rather than blackwater, rivers. Both organic and mineral soils may be present. The vegetation is dominated by dense, and occasionally pure, stands of Nyssa aquatica but often in association with Taxodium distichum (never very abundant in this type), Liquidambar styraciflua, Planera aquatica, Nyssa biflora, Gleditsia aquatica, Fraxinus profunda, and Cephalanthus occidentalis. The herbaceous layer is conspicuously sparse, and density is wholly dependent upon the extent and duration of flooding. Where water is permanent, herbaceous plants rely on substrates found on rotting logs, stumps, terraces, and buttresses of trees. Subcanopy density and forest tree recruitment are poor due to fluctuating water levels. Environment: Stands of this association occur on permanently saturated soils on low, wet flats and sloughs, swales and backswamps, and the association is more common on floodplains of brownwater, rather than blackwater, rivers. Both organic and mineral soils may be present. Vegetation: The vegetation is dominated by dense, and occasionally pure, stands of Nyssa aquatica but often in association with Taxodium distichum (never very abundant in this type), Liquidambar styraciflua, Planera aquatica, Nyssa biflora, Gleditsia aquatica, Fraxinus profunda, and Cephalanthus occidentalis. The herbaceous layer is conspicuously sparse, and density is wholly dependent upon the extent and duration of flooding. Where water is permanent, herbaceous plants rely on substrates found on rotting logs, stumps, terraces, and buttresses of trees. Some herbs which may be present at low densities on these elevated places include Phanopyrum gymnocarpon, Pluchea camphorata, Boehmeria cylindrica, Rudbeckia laciniata, Sagittaria latifolia, Onoclea sensibilis, Triadenum walteri, Carex joorii, Carex glaucescens, Asclepias perennis, Saururus cernuus, Justicia ovata, Leersia lenticularis, and others. Subcanopy density and forest tree recruitment are poor due to fluctuating water levels (TNC 1995a). Dynamics: This is a climax wetland community. Seasonal flooding and permanent water require special adaptations by vegetation to exist in this extremely dynamic ecosystem. Many plants have highly specialized methods to facilitate acquisition and transport of oxygen during periods of prolonged inundation. Similar Associations: Taxodium distichum - (Nyssa aquatica) / Forestiera acuminata - Planera aquatica Forest (CEGL002421)--may resemble Nyssa aquatica Forest in habitats where most bald-cypress have been removed by logging and a few very old trees remain. Nyssa aquatica - Nyssa biflora Saturated Forest (CEGL004646) Synonymy: UNESCO FORMATION CODE: I.B.3e (UNESCO 1973) B Palustrine: Palustrine Forested Wetland (Cowardin et al. 1979) B. is much broader than the concept designated by the Global Community Element name. Eastern Broadleaf and Needleleaf Forests: 113: Southern Floodplain Forest (Quercus-Nyssa-Taxodium) (Kuchler 1964) B Taxodium - Nyssa aquatica / Rosa palustris community (Voigt and Mohlenbrock 1964) B Nyssa aquatica - Taxodium distichum swamp (Robertson et al. 1984) =. Robertson et al. (1984) appear to include pure Nyssa aquatica and some mixed Nyssa aquatica - Taxodium distichum stands in this type. IIA4d. Tupelo Swamp (Allard 1990) B. in part P1B3dII3a. Nyssa aquatica (Foti et al. 1994) Water Tupelo - Swamp Tupelo: 103 (Eyre 1980) B Palustrine: Forested Wetland: Riparian (TNC 1985) B Comments: More work needs to be done to understand development of this community where the ranges of Nyssa aquatica and Taxodium distichum overlap, to determine the differences between this and a Nyssa aquatica-dominated forest that develops following logging of Taxodium distichum, and to determine the extent of geographic variation. Where bald-cypress and water tupelo ranges overlap, little is known about conditions which select for either or both species. Selective removal of bald-cypress can shift dominance in mixed bald-cypress - water tupelo stands to favor water tupelo. Water tupelo seem to select transitional zones between permanent water and upland habitat and seldom occur as a dominant component of the canopy where inundation is semipermanent or permanent. Conservation Ranking & Rare Species GRank: G4G5 (01-09-19): Depending on how historic distribution and abundance are factored into the rank, the rank could be considerably higher, perhaps a G3G4. Many stands have been extensively cleared. High-ranked species: No information Element Distribution Range: This water tupelo swamp forest is found on the lower Atlantic Coastal Plain from southeastern Virginia to southeastern Georgia, the Gulf Coastal Plain from about Tallahassee, Florida, west to southeastern Texas, and the Mississippi River Alluvial Plain to southern Illinois and southeastern Missouri. ^The type occurs on permanently saturated soils on low, wet flats and sloughs, swales, and back swamps and is more common on floodplains of brownwater, rather than blackwater, rivers. The range of water tupelo swamps has been greatly reduced within the last 100-150 years by ditching and draining for agriculture and logging. Water tupelo swamps today occur in areas where topographic and hydrologic conditions discouraged these practices. The removal of bald-cypress may actually select for water tupelo in swamps where both species occur. Historically, water tupelo swamps reached their northernmost limits in extreme southern Illinois. States: AL AR FL GA IL KY LA MO MS NC SC TN TX VA Crosswalk to State Classifications: AL: Tupelo Swamp, in part (AL 1993) AR: Tupelo-Blackgum Swamp (AR 1994) FL: No equivalent? (FL 1992) GA: Blackwater Stream Floodplain Forest, in part; Brownwater Stream Floodplain Forest, in part (GA 1990) IL: swamp KY: Cypress Swamp, in part (KY 1991) LA: Gum Swamp, in part (LA 1996) MO: swamp MS: Tupelo Swamp, in part (MS 1994) NC: Cypress--Gum Swamp, Brownwater Subtype, in part (NC 1990) SC: Bald Cypress--Tupelo Gum Swamp, in part (SC 1986) TX: Baldcypress-Water Tupelo Series, in part (TX 1993) VA: Bald Cypress - Tupelo Swamp, in part (VA 2001) TNC Ecoregions: 40:C, 41:C, 42:C, 43:C, 44:C, 53:C, 56:C, 57:C USFS Ecoregions: 222A:CC, 222C:CP, 222D:CP, 231Bc:CCC, 231E:C?, 232B:CC, 232C:CC, 232F:CC, 234A:CC Federal Lands: DOD (Fort Benning); DOE (Savannah River Site); USFS (Apalachicola?, Conecuh?, Croatan, Delta, De Soto, Francis Marion, Kisatchie, Talladega) Element Sources References: Allard 1990, Ambrose 1990a, Cowardin et al. 1979, Dennis 1988, Diamond 1993, Evans 1991, Ewel and Odum 1984b, Eyre 1980, Fleming et al. 2001, Foti 1994b, Foti et al. 1994, Kuchler 1964, Mitsch and Gosselink 1993, NatureServe Ecology - Southeast U.S. unpubl. data, Nelson 1986, Oberholster 1993, Robertson et al. 1984, Schafale and Weakley 1990, Smith 1996a, TNC 1985, TNC 1995a, UNESCO 1973, Voigt and Mohlenbrock 1964, Wharton 1989, Wharton et al. 1982, White and Anderson 1970, White and Madany 1978, Wieland 1994b Backswamp/Slough Floodplain Forests Directory: library library -> Strategic Plan South Sudan Country Office Context library -> The World Order of Bahá’u’lláh Selected Letters library -> Ieee/iee electronic Library (iel) library -> [0] B. 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