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

Wooded Swamps and Floodplains: Southeastern Coastal Plain Riverfront and Levee
Bottomland Forests
Betula nigra - Platanus occidentalis Forest
River Birch - Sycamore Forest
River Birch - Sycamore Forest
CEGL002086
DESCRIPTION: Betula nigra and Platanus occidentalis are the typical dominants in this type. They are fast-growing
(especially young trees), relatively short-lived, and do not tolerate excessive shade at any stage of growth. Betula
nigra prefers acid soils and is often the dominant tree found along streams affected by acid mine drainage. A wide
range of canopy species are present because, along with common bottomland species (e.g., Ulmus americana, Acer
rubrum, Acer negundo, Quercus spp., and Celtis laevigata), mesophytic species from nearby uplands and terraces
may be found, including Juglans nigra, Prunus serotina, and Fraxinus americana. A variety of swamp species may be
found on more poorly drained sites. Stands are subjected to frequent, fast, short-duration flooding, which contributes
to a thin understory. Commonly encountered herbaceous species include Saururus cernuus, Arisaema dracontium,
Impatiens capensis, Symphyotrichum ontarionis (= Aster ontarionis), and Pilea pumila. This forest harbors a number
of ubiquitous species and tends to extend into and mix with adjacent communities, resulting in numerous transitional
variants. Occurrences may have a rather high percentage of standing dead trees. There may be remnant snags from
previous earlier successional communities of cottonwood - black willow forests (TNC 1995a).
Betula nigra requires soils near field capacity throughout the year but is relatively intolerant of flooding. Platanus
occidentalis is also intolerant of flooding during the growing season and will die if the entire tree is inundated for more
than two weeks. The absence of this community in the lower Mississippi Alluvial Plain is attributed to this intolerance,
as is its most common location on levees of smaller rivers. The community usually is found on the natural levee of the
watercourse and, therefore, is slightly elevated from the flats behind the levee. The community is more common
along small streams and blackwater streams than along alluvial floodplains, largely because of the higher sustained
flow rates of these larger rivers. It is also found along flowages of larger rivers.
This community experiences seasonal inundation or groundwater saturation for approximately 12.5-25% of the year,
usually during spring and early summer with a frequency of 51-100% (the Zone IV community of Clark and Benforado
1981). Large stream sections with longer flooding durations are more strongly dominated by Betula nigra and Acer
saccharinum alone. The smaller streams on narrow floodplains of younger valleys have greater canopy mixtures.
COMMENTS: 2, MCS. As currently described, this association and Betula nigra - Platanus occidentalis / Alnus
serrulata / Boehmeria cylindrica Forest (CEGL007312) appear to be largely overlapping. These two defined
associations need to be reconciled. In Kentucky, this association (CEGL002086) would be found on the northern part
of the Daniel Boone National Forest, in contrast to CEGL007312, which is more southern. Other bottomland
hardwood communities contain river birch in the canopy but at lower densities. It may be helpful to require that Betula
nigra contribute at least 50% (80%) of the tree density to be placed in this community. The community described
herein is naturally occurring on minimally to undisturbed sites.
CONSERVATION RANK: G5. The community is widespread and common.
DISTRIBUTION: This river birch - sycamore forest community is found throughout the eastern United States, ranging
from south-central Ohio west to Iowa, south to Arkansas and Mississippi, and east to West Virginia.
USFS ECOREGIONS: 221Ea:CCC, 221Ec:CCC, 221Ed:CCP, 221Ef:CCC, 221Eg:CCC, 221Fa:CCC, 221Fc:CCC, 221Ha:CCC,
221Hb:CCC, 221He:CCC, 222Ad:CCP, 222Ae:CCP, 222Af:CCC, 222Ca:C, 222Ch:C, 222En:CCC, 222Eo:CCC,
222Ga:CCC, 222Ha:CCC, 222If:CCC, 231:P, 232:P, 234:P, 251:, M221Cd:CCC, M222:P, M231:P
CONSERVATION REGIONS: 36:P, 37:P, 39:C, 42:C, 44:C, 45:C, 48:C, 49:C, 50:C
STATES: AR IA IL IN KY MO MS OH OK TN WV PROVINCES: ON
MIDWEST HERITAGE SYNONYMY: IL wet floodplain forest (S) +
IN wet floodplain forest +
MO wet bottomland forest +
OH river birch-maple floodplain forest =
OTHER SYNONYMY: River Birch - Sycamore (61) (Eyre 1980) =, IIA7b. River Birch - Sycamore Riverfront Forest
(Allard 1990) =, Betula nigra - Acer saccharinum / Pilea community (Voigt and Mohlenbrock 1964) =, Acer negundo -
Platanus / Rhus [Toxicodendron] radicans community (Voigt and Mohlenbrock 1964) . Perhaps this type should go
with CEGL007334, a Platanus type, which has not yet been described for Illinois., River Birch Floodplain Forests
(Anderson 1996) =, R13cII4a. Betula nigra - Platanus occidentalis (Foti 1994a)
USNVC HIERARCHY: BETULA NIGRA - (PLATANUS OCCIDENTALIS) TEMPORARILY FLOODED FOREST ALLIANCE (I.B.2.N.d)
PLANT COMMUNITIES OF THE MIDWEST – 2001. APPENDIX: ASSOCIATION DESCRIPTIONS
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