Pondshore Titi Thicket
Element Identifiers
NVCS association: Cyrilla racemiflora - Lyonia lucida Shrubland
Database Code: CEGL003844
Formation: Saturated temperate broad-leaved evergreen shrubland
Alliance: CYRILLA RACEMIFLORA - ILEX CORIACEA - (CLIFTONIA MONOPHYLLA) SATURATED SHRUBLAND ALLIANCE (III.A.2.N.i.3)
Element Concept
Summary: This community occupies a marginal zone (sometimes very narrow, sometimes broader) of Coastal Plain ponds. Occasionally, this zone may dominate entire small depressions. Cyrilla racemiflora and Lyonia lucida usually dominate. An example at Fort Gordon, Georgia, contains the shrubs Lyonia lucida, Morella cerifera (= Myrica cerifera), and Viburnum nudum var. nudum, along with the herbs and low shrubs Dulichium arundinaceum, Eupatorium sp., Hypericum sp., Triadenum sp., Ludwigia sp., Xyris sp., and Scirpus cyperinus?. An example on Apalachicola National Forest includes Clethra alnifolia, Pieris phillyreifolia, and Ilex myrtifolia.
Environment: See Summary
Vegetation: Cyrilla racemiflora and Lyonia lucida usually dominate this marginal zone of Coastal Plain ponds. An example at Fort Gordon, Georgia, contains the shrubs Lyonia lucida, Morella cerifera (= Myrica cerifera), and Viburnum nudum var. nudum, along with the herbs and low shrubs Dulichium arundinaceum, Eupatorium sp., Hypericum sp., Triadenum sp., Ludwigia sp., Xyris sp., and Scirpus cyperinus?.
Dynamics: See Summary
Similar Associations:
Cyrilla racemiflora - Cliftonia monophylla Shrubland (CEGL003847)
Synonymy:
Small Depression Shrub Border (Schafale pers. comm.)
Shrub Bog (Wharton 1978) B. in part
Comments: None
Conservation Ranking & Rare Species
GRank: G3? (01-01-30): The community type is a zonal component of southeastern Coastal Plain depressional ponds. These ponds in general have suffered from drainage, fragmentation of the landscape in which they occur, and fire suppression. Fire is an important natural process which formally affected the structure and composition of this community type, and is often now missing from remaining occurrences. Acreage of this type was always relatively small, but is now further reduced.
High-ranked species: No information
Element Distribution
Range:
States: AL FL GA LA? MS NC SC
Crosswalk to State Classifications:
TNC Ecoregions: 53:C, 56:C, 57:C
USFS Ecoregions: 232Ba:CCP, 232Be:CCP, 232Bg:CCC, 232Bh:CCP, 232Bj:CCC, 232Bk:CCP, 232Bn:CCP, 232Bo:CCP, 232Bp:CCP, 232Bq:CCC, 232Br:CCC, 232Bu:CCP, 232Bv:CCC, 232Ca:CCC, 232Cb:CCC, 232Cc:CCC, 232Cd:CCC, 232Ce:CCC, 232Cf:CCP, 232Dc:CCC
Federal Lands: DOD (Fort Benning?, Fort Gordon); USFS (Apalachicola, Conecuh, Croatan, Francis Marion?)
Element Sources
References: NatureServe Ecology - Southeast U.S. unpubl. data, Schafale pers. comm., Wharton 1978
Upland Depression Shrub Ponds
Swamp-loosestrife Pond
Element Identifiers
NVCS association: Decodon verticillatus Seasonally Flooded Shrubland
Database Code: CEGL003905
Formation: Seasonally flooded cold-deciduous shrubland
Alliance: DECODON VERTICILLATUS SEASONALLY FLOODED SHRUBLAND ALLIANCE (III.B.2.N.e.5)
Element Concept
Summary: This swamp-loosestrife pond association is found in the southeastern United States from North Carolina south to Florida, east to Alabama, and north to Kentucky and possibly Indiana. The wetland vegetation is dominated by Decodon verticillatus, typically in peaty backwater or depression situations. Few other species are present because the Decodon is extremely dense; typically the only other woody species that are common are Cephalanthus occidentalis and possibly Itea virginica. Some examples occur in depression ponds (these at least primarily Interior Highlands), while others may be found in floodplain pools and lakeshores (e.g., the Coastal Plain and related examples).
Environment: Some examples occur in depression ponds, while others may be found in floodplain pools and lakeshores. At Reelfoot Lake, Tennessee (a natural earthquake-formed lake in the Mississippi River Alluvial Plain), dense stands of Decodon occupy the margins of open water basins, as well as sloughs and ditches. These areas may be essentially linear, or they may be wider and more extensive.
Vegetation: This wetland vegetation is dominated by Decodon verticillatus, typically in peaty backwater or depression situations. Few other species are present because the Decodon is extremely dense; typically the only other woody species that are common are Cephalanthus occidentalis and possibly Itea virginica. On the Osceola National Forest (Florida), an example in a backwater area of a creek is strongly dominated by Decodon verticillatus, and contains Dulichium arundinaceum, Juncus repens, Polygonum sp., Smilax walteri, Sphagnum sp., and Tillandsia usneoides.
Dynamics: See Summary
Similar Associations:
Decodon verticillatus Semipermanently Flooded Shrubland (CEGL005089)
Synonymy: No information
Comments: A number of associations may be needed to reflect the disparate hydrologic and floristic situations in which Decodon dominates. Examples of Decodon-dominated vegetation are known from Paynes Prairie State Park, Florida, Reelfoot Lake, Tennessee, waterfowl impoundments in South Carolina, swamps on Fort Benning, Georgia, as well as from Arkansas. In Indiana, at least one pond is completely covered with Decodon (M. Homoya pers. comm. 2000). On the Osceola National Forest (Florida), a stand of this association is documented in a small backwater area (Robinson Creek.
Conservation Ranking & Rare Species
GRank: G4 (97-08-11):
High-ranked species: No information
Element Distribution
Range: This vegetation is known in the outer Atlantic Coastal Plain of North and South Carolina, peninsular Florida, and the northern Mississippi River Alluvial Plain. It is found in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, and possibly others.
States: AL AR FL GA IN KY NC SC TN
Crosswalk to State Classifications:
IN: sinkhole pond
NC: Coastal Plain Semipermanent Impoundment, in part (NC 1990)
TNC Ecoregions: 42:C, 43:C, 44:P, 53:C, 55:C, 56:C, 57:C
USFS Ecoregions: 222E:PP, 231B:CC, 232Bf:CCC, 232Cb:CCC, 232Ce:CCC, 234An:CCC
Federal Lands: DOD (Fort Benning); USFS (Osceola); USFWS (Reelfoot)
Element Sources
References: Homoya pers. comm., NatureServe Ecology - Southeast U.S. unpubl. data, Schafale and Weakley 1990
Open Ponds and Marshes
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