Classification of Vegetation Communities of Maryland: First Iteration

III. SHRUBLAND
III.B.2.N.f. Semipermanently flooded cold-deciduous shrubland
III.B.2.N.f.1. CEPHALANTHUS OCCIDENTALIS SEMIPERMANENTLY FLOODED SHRUBLAND ALLIANCE
Buttonbush Semipermanently Flooded Shrubland Alliance

Concept: This alliance, which occurs throughout the eastern half of the United States and southern Ontario, Canada, contains semipermanently flooded stands dominated by Cephalanthus occidentalis. Stands vary from dense, tall-shrub thickets to open shrublands. Tree canopy cover may reach 25% in some stands, with tree associates including Acer saccharinum and Quercus palustris in the North to Taxodium distichum in the South. Standing water may cover the ground layer. Cephalanthus occidentalis is often the sole dominant in stands of this alliance, particularly in deeper (>0.5 m depth) zones of groundwater basins or lake borders on deep organic soils. Occasional shrub associates in the northern parts of its range include any number of Salix spp. or Cornus spp., Viburnum dentatum, Rosa palustris, Ilex verticillata, and Vaccinium corymbosum. Floating aquatics, such as Lemna spp., can be common in deepwater habitats, whereas a variety of forbs and graminoids are associates under less flooded conditions. These include Boehmeria cylindrica, Scutellaria lateriflora, Sium suave, and Bidens tripartita, Glyceria spp., Leersia oryzoides, Polygonum spp., and a wide variety of Carex spp.

This shrubland vegetation occupies shallow water depressions, oxbow ponds, sinkhole ponds, and backwater sloughs of stream and river floodplains throughout swampy forested areas in the eastern United States. Inundation is usually continuous throughout the year, but these sites can become dry in mid or late summer or during periods of prolonged drought. Cephalanthus appears to be very tolerant of extended periods of inundation which, by slowing canopy closure of trees and maintaining higher light levels, may favor this shrub. Soils can vary in texture from clays to sands, with organic horizons overlying these soils.

Comments: Examples from Arkansas include Pond Creek Bottoms in the West Gulf Coastal Plain and the Saline River in the Ouachita Mountains (J. Campbell pers. comm., D. Zollner pers. comm.). Found throughout Kentucky. Occurs in sagponds in the Cumberland Plateau in Alabama (Jackson County).

Range: This alliance is found in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi (?), North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, New Hampshire, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Missouri, and Ohio, as well as in southern Ontario, Canada.

States/Provinces: AL AR CT DE FL GA IL IN KS KY LA MA MD? ME MI MO MS? NC NH NY OH OK ON PA RI SC TN TX VA VT WV?

TNC Ecoregions: 31:C, 32:C, 36:C, 37:C, 38:C, 39:C, 40:C, 41:C, 42:C, 43:C, 44:C, 45:C, 46:C, 48:C, 49:C, 50:C, 52:P, 53:P, 55:C, 56:C, 57:?, 58:C, 59:C, 60:C, 61:C, 62:C, 63:C, 64:P

USFS Ecoregions: 212D:CP, 212Fa:CCC, 212Fb:CCC, 212Fc:CCC, 212Fd:CCC, 212Ga:CCC, 212Gb:CCC, 212Hv:CCC, 221Ae:CCC, 221Af:CCC, 221Ag:CCC, 221Ah:CCC, 221Ai:CCC, 221Al:CCC, 221Ba:CCC, 221Bb:CCC, 221Bc:CCP, 221Bd:CCC, 221D:CC, 221Ec:CCP, 221Ed:CCP, 221Ef:CCP, 221Fa:CCC, 221Fc:CCC, 221Ha:CCC, 221Hb:CCC, 221Hc:CCC, 221He:CCC, 222Ab:CCC, 222Ad:CCC, 222Ag:CCC, 222Ah:CCC, 222Am:CCC, 222An:CCC, 222Aq:CCC, 222Cg:CCC, 222Da:CCC, 222Eb:CCC, 222Ec:CCC, 222Ee:CC?, 222Ef:CCP, 222Eg:CCC, 222Ej:CCP, 222En:CCC, 222Eo:CCC, 222F:CP, 222Ga:CCC, 222Gb:CCC, 222Ge:CCC, 222Ha:CCC, 222Hb:CCC, 222Hf:CCP, 222Jb:CCC, 222Jc:CCC, 222Jh:CCC, 222Ji:CCC, 222Jj:CCC, 222Kg:CCC, 222Kh:CCC, 222Kj:CCC, 231A:CP, 231Bc:CCC, 231Bd:CCC, 231Cc:CCC, 231Cd:CCP, 231Ce:CCC, 231Ga:CCC, 231Gb:CCC, 231Gc:CCC, 232A:CC, 232Br:CCC, 232Bs:CCC, 232Bt:CCC, 232Cg:CCC, 232Ch:CC?, 232Fa:CPP, 234Aa:CCC, 234Ac:CCC, 234Ae:CCC, 234Af:CCP, 234Ag:CCC, 234Ah:CCP, 234Ai:CCP, 234Ak:CCP, 234Al:CCP, 234Am:CCC, 234An:CCC, 251Cc:CCC, 251Cf:CCC, 251Cj:CCC, 251Ck:CCC, 251Dd:CCP, 251De:CCP, 251Dg:CCC, 251Dh:CCP, 255Db:CCC, M212A:CP, M212Bb:CCC, M212Bd:CCC, M212Cb:CCC, M212Cc:CCC, M212De:CCC, M212Ea:CCC, M212Eb:CCC, M221Aa:CCC, M221Ab:CCC, M221Ac:CCC, M221Ad:CCC, M221Bb:CCC, M221Bd:CCC, M221Be:CCC, M221Bf:CCP, M221Cd:CCC, M221Da:CCC, M222Aa:CCC, M222Ab:CCC, M231Aa:CCC, M231Ab:CCC, M231Ac:CCC, M231Ad:CCC

Federal Lands: DOD (Arnold, Fort Benning); NPS (Buffalo, Shiloh?); USFS (Angelina, Bankhead?, Daniel Boone, Davy Crockett, George Washington, Jefferson, Kisatchie, Land Between the Lakes, Ouachita, Ozark, Sabine NF, Sam Houston, Tuskegee, Talladega); USFWS (Holla Bend, Little River, Reelfoot, San Bernard)

Synonymy: IIE1c. Sagpond Complex, in part (Allard 1990); Shrub Swamp, in part (Foti 1994b); Shrub swamp, in part (Evans 1991); Basin Marsh, in part (FNAI 1992a); Sagpond shrub/scrub vegetation (Ambrose 1990a); Natural impoundment pond shrub/scrub vegetation (Ambrose 1990a); Cephalanthus occidentalis shrubland alliance (Hoagland 1998a); Buttonbush Series (Diamond 1993); L4B3cI1a. Cephalanthus occidentalis (Foti et al. 1994); P4B3cII4a. Cephalanthus occidentalis (Foti et al. 1994); Buttonbush wetland (Fike 1999); Circumneutral Shrub Swamp, in part (Smith 1991)

References: Allard 1990, Ambrose 1990a, Anderson 1982, Campbell pers. comm., Conner et al. 1981, Diamond 1993, Evans 1991, FNAI 1992a, FNAI 1992b, Faber-Langendoen and Maycock 1989, Faber-Langendoen et al. 1996, Fike 1999, Foti 1994b, Foti et al. 1994, Hoagland 1998a, Smith 1991, Tyrrell 1987, Voigt and Mohlenbrock 1964, Zollner pers. comm.

Authors: D.J. ALLARD, MP, Midwest Identifier: A.1011

Concept: Buttonbush swamps of the eastern and northeastern United States. These swamps experience prolonged or semipermanent flooding for much of the growing season with water tables receding below the soil surface only during drought or very late in the growing season. They occur in a variety of environmental settings including backwater sloughs or oxbow ponds, wet swales in floodplains, pond and lake borders, and small, isolated depressions where water levels recede very slowly, such as those with perched water tables. Cephalanthus occidentalis is dominant and often monotypic. Occasional associates depend on the environmental setting and most often occur in drier areas. They include Vaccinium corymbosum, Rhododendron viscosum, Acer rubrum, Cornus spp., closer to upland borders or Acer saccharinum, Fraxinus pennsylvanica, or Viburnum dentatum where adjacent to floodplains, or Decodon verticillatus, Chamaedaphne calyculata, and Spiraea alba var. latifolia in more stagnant basins. Herbaceous species tend to be sparse, but can include Glyceria canadensis, Dulichium arundinaceum, Carex stricta, Scirpus cyperinus, Thelypteris palustris, Alisma plantago-aquatica, Polygonum spp., Sparganium spp. and floating or submerged aquatic species like Lemna minor, Potamogeton natans, and Nuphar lutea ssp. variegata (= Nuphar variegata). Bryophytes, if present, cling to shrub bases and include Warnstorfia fluitans (= Drepanocladus fluitans), Drepanocladus aduncus, or Sphagnum fallax.

Comments: This type may be synonymous with Cephalanthus occidentalis / Carex spp. Northern Shrubland (CEGL002190), although it occurs south of the glaciation boundary in the east.

States/Provinces: CT:S?, DE:S?, MA:S5, MD?, ME:S5, NH:S4?,S3, NY:S5, PA:S?, RI:S?, VA:S?, VT:S2, WV?

TNC Ecoregions: 58:?, 59:C, 60:C, 61:C, 62:C, 63:C

USFS Ecoregions: 212D:CP, 212Fa:CCC, 212Fb:CCC, 212Fc:CCC, 212Fd:CCC, 212Ga:CCC, 212Gb:CCC, 221Ae:CCC, 221Af:CCC, 221Ag:CCC, 221Ah:CCC, 221Ai:CCC, 221Al:CCC, 221Ba:CCC, 221Bb:CCC, 221Bc:CCP, 221Bd:CCC, 221D:CC, 221E:CP, 231:C, 232A:CC, 232Bt:CCC, 232C:CC, 234:C, M212A:CP, M212Bb:CCC, M212Bd:CCC, M212Cb:CCC, M212Cc:CCC, M212De:CCC, M212Ea:CCC, M212Eb:CCC, M221Aa:CCC, M221Ab:CCC, M221Ac:CCC, M221Ad:CCC, M221Bb:CCC, M221Bd:CCC, M221Be:CCC, M221Bf:CCP, M221Da:CCC

Synonymy: Buttonbush semipermanently flooded shrub swamp (CAP pers. comm. 1998), Buttonbush Swamp (Kettle Basin Shrub Swamp) (Thompson 1996), Palustrine Broad-leaved Deciduous Scrub-Shrub Wetland, Seasonally Flooded (PSS1C)

References: Bowman 2000, CAP pers. comm. 1998, Cowardin et al. 1979, Edinger et al. 2002, Enser 1999, Fike 1999, Fleming et al. 2001, Gawler 2002, Metzler and Barrett 2001, Nichols et al. 2001, Sperduto 2000b, Swain and Kearsley 2001, Thompson 1996, Thompson and Sorensen 2000

Authors: S.L. Neid, ECS Confidence: 3 Identifier: CEGL006069

- Maryland Vegetation Classification Subset Report III. Shrubland

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