Ohio subset of Plant Communities of the Midwest ... - NatureServe

Wooded Swamps and Floodplains: Northern Rich Conifer Swamps
Pinus strobus - (Acer rubrum) / Osmunda spp. Forest
Eastern White Pine - (Red Maple) / Royal Fern Species Forest
White Pine - Red Maple Swamp
CEGL002482
DESCRIPTION: The overstory is dominated by Pinus strobus and may contain Acer rubrum, Betula alleghaniensis,
Tsuga canadensis, and Ulmus americana. Shrubs can be sparse, but include Alnus incana and Ilex verticillata.
Understory species include Carex spp., Osmunda cinnamomea, Osmunda regalis and Symplocarpus foetidus.
Sphagnum spp. may occur as a ground cover. In Wisconsin, common species include Carex folliculata and
Thelypteris simulata, which are more common in the eastern United States (E. Epstein pers. comm. 1999).
This community is flooded or saturated for at least part of the year. The soils have at least a thin layer of organic
material on the surface, which may be thick enough to qualify as a soil layer itself. Glacially deposited sand usually
lies beneath the organic layer, and these, in turn, are underlain, or interrupted by, impermeable silts and clays (E.
Epstein pers. comm. 1999).
COMMENTS: 2, MCS. See Golet et al. (1993 p. 51) for a description of this type in the northeastern United States. In
Wisconsin, Ilex verticillata and Osmunda cinnamomea are typical. Elsewhere, Osmunda regalis may be more typical.
In Michigan this type may be in Montcalm County. Status in Indiana is not clear.
CONSERVATION RANK: G3G4. The total number of occurrences is unknown. One has been documented in Ohio
(where the community is ranked S1), and 7 in Wisconsin (S2), where its distribution is very local on central Wisconsin
glacial lake beds, with few good occurrences. Although no other occurrences have been documented, the community
is also reported in Maine (S), New Hampshire (S), Vermont (S), Massachusetts (S), Connecticut (S), New York
(S), Ontario (S2), and possibly Minnesota (SP). It is usually found on a layer of organic soil over glacially deposited
sand which is flooded or saturated for at least part of the year.
DISTRIBUTION: This white pine - red maple swamp forest type is found in the southern Great Lakes region of the
United States and Canada, ranging locally from central Wisconsin east to Ohio, and northeastward from New York to
Connecticut and north to Maine.
USFS ECOREGIONS: 212Ha:CPP, 212Hb:CPP, 212He:CPP, 212Hh:CPP, 212Hi:CPP, 212Hj:CPP, 212Hk:CPP, 212Hl:CPP,
212Hm:CPP, 212Hp:CPP, 212Hq:CPP, 212Hr:CPP, 212Hs:CPP, 212Ht:CPP, 212Hv:CPP, 212Hx:CPP, 212Ja:CCP, 212Jb:CCP,
212Jc:CCP, 212Jh:CCC, 212Jk:CCP, 212Jl:CCP, 212Jn:CCP, 212Jo:CCP, 212Jr:CCP, 221Fa:CCC, 222Ka:CCC, 222Lb:CCC
CONSERVATION REGIONS: 46:C, 47:C, 48:C, 61:C, 63:C
STATES: CT MA ME MI MN NH NY OH VT WI PROVINCES: ON
MIDWEST HERITAGE SYNONYMY: MI hardwood-conifer swamp +
MN mixed hardwood swamp
OH white pine-red maple swamp =
WI northern wet-mesic forest (white pine-red maple swamp subtype) =
OTHER SYNONYMY: Successional mixed forest (NAP)
USNVC HIERARCHY: PINUS STROBUS - (ACER RUBRUM) SATURATED FOREST ALLIANCE (I.C.3.N.d)
PLANT COMMUNITIES OF THE MIDWEST – 2001. APPENDIX: ASSOCIATION DESCRIPTIONS
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