Vegetation Classification and Mapping Project Report - USGS
Vegetation Classification and Mapping Project Report - USGS
Vegetation Classification and Mapping Project Report - USGS
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<strong>USGS</strong>-NPS <strong>Vegetation</strong> <strong>Mapping</strong> Program<br />
Colonial National Historical Park<br />
Alliance Morella cerifera - Rosa palustris Tidal Shrubl<strong>and</strong> Alliance (A.806)<br />
Alliance (English name) Wax-myrtle - Swamp Rose Tidal Shrubl<strong>and</strong> Alliance<br />
Association Morella cerifera - Rosa palustris / Thelypteris palustris var. pubescens<br />
Shrubl<strong>and</strong><br />
Association (English name) Wax-myrtle - Swamp Rose / Eastern Marsh Fern Shrubl<strong>and</strong><br />
Ecological System(s): Atlantic Coastal Plain Embayed Region Tidal Freshwater Marsh (CES203.259).<br />
GLOBAL DESCRIPTION<br />
Concept Summary: This shrub community occurs in ecotonal sites between tidal marshes <strong>and</strong><br />
tidal swamps in fresh to oligohaline portions of coastal rivers <strong>and</strong> embayments. It occupies soupy<br />
peats. It is a natural community, but likely has a long-term <strong>and</strong> complicated successional<br />
relationship with other (primarily marsh communities) in the l<strong>and</strong>scape in which it occurs,<br />
related to hydrology <strong>and</strong> fire. Morella cerifera (wax myrtle) is the characteristic dominant<br />
species (with 25-75% cover), with Rosa palustris (swamp rose), Salix caroliniana (coastal plain<br />
willow), <strong>and</strong> Toxicodendron radicans ssp. radicans (eastern poison ivy) as characteristic <strong>and</strong><br />
constant companion species. Other woody species include Persea palustris (swamp bay),<br />
Magnolia virginiana (sweetbay), Salix caroliniana (coastal plain willow), Vaccinium formosum<br />
(southern blueberry), Smilax walteri (coral greenbrier), <strong>and</strong> saplings of Acer rubrum (red maple),<br />
Pinus taeda (loblolly pine), Taxodium distichum (bald cypress), <strong>and</strong> Liquidambar styraciflua<br />
(sweetgum). Herbaceous composition is diverse <strong>and</strong> varied, with many species 'recruited' from<br />
adjacent marshes <strong>and</strong> swamps. Thelypteris palustris var. pubescens (eastern marsh fern) is highly<br />
characteristic <strong>and</strong> appears to reach its nodal distribution in this l<strong>and</strong>scape in this community.<br />
Other important species can include Juncus roemerianus (needlegrass rush), Cladium mariscus<br />
ssp. jamaicense (Jamaica swamp sawgrass), <strong>and</strong> Decodon verticillatus (swamp loosestrife).<br />
Murdannia keisak (wartremoving herb) is an aggressive alien weed.<br />
Environmental Description: This shrub community occurs in ecotonal sites between tidal<br />
marshes <strong>and</strong> tidal swamps. It occupies soupy peats. According to Fleming et al. (2001), this<br />
community is part of a large group of tidal shrubl<strong>and</strong>s which occupy tidally flooded <strong>and</strong> windtidally<br />
flooded areas of freshwater to oligohaline rivers <strong>and</strong> embayments. These are tidal<br />
shrubl<strong>and</strong>s of oligohaline conditions bordering middle to upper sections of Coastal Plain rivers<br />
<strong>and</strong> tributaries (in Maryl<strong>and</strong>). Salinity typically ranges from 0.5 to 5.0 ppt; however, pulses of<br />
higher salinity may occur during periods of spring high tides <strong>and</strong> low river discharge. Salinity<br />
data collected at time of study indicate a range of 0.5 to 11.0 ppt (mean ppt = 2.6) for 30 sample<br />
plots. These tidal shrubl<strong>and</strong>s form linear to irregular st<strong>and</strong>s along tidal channels usually<br />
positioned between adjacent tidal marshes <strong>and</strong> swamp forests. St<strong>and</strong>s of narrow floodplains most<br />
often occur along ecotones as "fringes" intergrading with adjacent tidal swamp forests. Such<br />
st<strong>and</strong>s are proximate to tidal channels <strong>and</strong> subject to regular tidal flooding. St<strong>and</strong>s occupying<br />
rather expansive marshes or large estuary me<strong>and</strong>ers on broader floodplains are commonly<br />
fronted or surrounded by emergent marshes forming depositional isl<strong>and</strong>s. Slightly elevated <strong>and</strong><br />
distanced from tidal influence, these st<strong>and</strong>s tend to be less frequently flooded (regularly, for
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