|
Wildlife, Animals, and Plants
|
|
KUCHLER TYPE
KUCHLER TYPE: Southern cordgrass prairie
KUCHLER-TYPE-NUMBER :
K078
PHYSIOGNOMY :
Medium tall to very tall grassland, often very dense
OCCURRENCE :
southeastern Texas, southern Louisiana
COMPILED BY AND DATE :
S. A. Snyder, December 1993
LAST REVISED BY AND DATE :
NO-ENTRY
AUTHORSHIP AND CITATION :
Snyder, S. A. 1993. Southern cordgrass prairie. In: Remainder of Citation
Kuchler Type Index
FEIS Home
KUCHLER TYPE DESCRIPTION
PHYSIOGRAPHY :
Topography is mostly flat to sloping [4]. The type has many lakes,
bayous, and canals and occurs along the Gulf Coast. There are many
natural levees and tidal channels, but artificial levees and tidal
channels have altered some of the natural topographic features [2].
CLIMATE :
This area is characterized by mild winters and hot, humid summers [13].
Tides from the Gulf of Mexico influence many areas of the southern
cordgrass prairie. Maximum tide fluctuation is 26 inches (66 cm),
dropping to 2 to 3 inches (8 cm) per day. On the Louisiana coast the
mean January temperature is 52 degrees Fahrenheit (11 deg C). Mean
August temperature is 82 degrees Fahrenheit (28 deg C). Rainfall is
highest in July and lowest in October, with an annual range of 58 to 66
inches (1,470-1,670 mm). The growing season is 317 days [2].
Hurricanes occur from June through November, with most occurring between
August and October [13].
SOILS :
Soils in this type are mostly Histosols or Mollisols [4]. Soil textures
are silts, clays, and silt clays. The silts result from recent alluvial
and marine deposits. Organic layer depths range from a few inches to 20
feet (6.3 m). Most sites are waterlogged [2].
VEGETATION :
The southern cordgrass prairie is composed mostly of smooth cordgrass
(Spartina alterniflora), which occurs in high salinity areas. Smooth
cordgrass occurs with perennial glasswort (Sarcocornia perennis) in low
tidal marshes where saltwater inundation is greatest [15]. In other
saline areas some components of the southern cordgrass prairie include
saltgrass (Distichlis spicata), marshhay cordgrass (Spartina patens),
and black rush (J. roemerianus). In less saline and more brackish
conditions, components include big cordgrass (Spartina cynosuroides),
switchgrass (P. virgatum), and Olney threesquare (Scirpus americanus)
[11]. Species that occur in freshwater or slightly brackish sites
include bog rush (Juncus effusus), Jamaica sawgrass (Mariscus
jamicensis), maidencane (Panicum hemitomon), panicum (P. repens), common
reed (Phragmites australis), arrowhead (Sagittaria spp.), California
bulrush (Scirpus californicus), softstem bulrush (S. validus), gulf
cordgrass (Spartina spartinae), southern cattail (Typhus domingensis),
and great cutgrass (Zizaniopsis miliacea) [6]. The southern cordgrass
type has few if any forbs and shrubs [4].
WILDLIFE :
The southern cordgrass prairie is home to many threatened and endangered
species. Threatened species include the loggerhead turtle. Endangered
species include the leatherback turtle, green sea turtle, hawksbill
turtle, Kemp's ridley sea turtle, American alligator, whooping crane,
Eskimo curlew, eastern brown pelican, Attwater's prairie chicken, bald
eagle, Arctic peregrine falcon, Bachman's warbler, red-cockaded
woodpecker, and the Texas red wolf [4,13]. Nonendangered species
include raccoon, muskrat, white-tailed deer, many waterfowl species,
passerine birds, osprey, hawks, and falcons [4].
ECOLOGICAL RELATIONSHIPS :
Both water level and salinity influence species composition of smooth
cordgrass stands [12]. These stands can tolerate saltwater inundation
for as long as 20 hours per day. Cordgrass is dominant in the saline
coastal marshes of Texas and Louisiana [2], and where salinity is
between 3 and 5 percent and the water table averages 4 inches (10 cm)
above ground [1]. In Louisiana smooth cordgrass often occurs in pure
stands or with saltgrass and black rush associates. It also occurs as
an understory to American mangrove (Rhizophora mangle), which sometimes
displaces it [12].
Where saline conditions develop, smooth cordgrass invades shallow water
and remains dominant unless these areas become aggraded by inorganic
sediments. It invades freshwater marshes when these marshes are cut off
from their freshwater sources and slowly become brackish. Smooth
cordgrass also invades brackish ditches and ponds with silt or clay
substrates. As organic matter builds up, it is replaced by marshhay
cordgrass, saltgrass, and black rush [12]. Under droughty or dry
conditions, saltgrass increases. As salinity decreases smooth cordgrass
is first succeeded by Olney threesquare, which is followed by marshhay,
cordgrass, common reed, and finally giant cordgrass. Black rush can
increase following disturbance by fire or grazing in smooth cordgrass
stands [1]. Fire may prevent succession to trees or woody vegetation in
coastal marshes dominated by grasses, particularly in Florida mangrove
ecosystems. Frost, however, may be more effective at controlling
mangrove [14].
KUCHLER TYPE VALUE AND USE
KUCHLER TYPE: Southern cordgrass prairie
FORESTRY VALUES :
NO-ENTRY
RANGE VALUES :
Early reports of smooth cordgrass state that it was not a valuable
forage species [1]. However, more recent reports rank smooth cordgrass
as highly palatable for cattle [4,8]. Productivity is listed as 9,000
to 12,000 pounds per acre [4].
WILDLIFE VALUES :
The southern cordgrass prairie is important habitat for many waterfowl
and shorebird species, as well as for fish, alligators, and muskrats
[7,10]. Smooth coordgrass provides valuable food for geese [8].
OTHER VALUES :
Some of the land area in the southern cordgrass prairie is used for
growing rice and forage (principally alfalfa and grasses) [4]. Many
wildlife refuges along the coast provide wildlife viewing opportunities
as well as fishing, hunting, and trapping [4,13]. Oil and gas drilling
also takes place off the southern cordgrass prairie coast [13].
MANAGEMENT CONCERNS :
Techniques for cleaning up oil spills in smooth cordgrass stands in
Texas have been examined [5].
The Louisiana coastline suffers from severe management problems which
have led to the loss of wildlife and fisheries habitat and subsequently
affected local economies. Problems include rising sea levels; land
subsidence; conversion of freshwater marshes to saltwater marshes and
vice versa; delta and barrier island erosion; changing shorelines, flood
and drainage patterns; and an artificial system of canals and levees.
About 40 percent of the U.S. coastal wetlands are found in Louisiana,
the loss of which occurs at a rate of 130 square kilometers per year
[13].
KUCHLER TYPE FIRE ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT
KUCHLER TYPE: Southern cordgrass prairie
FUELS, FLAMMABILITY, AND FIRE OCCURRENCE :
Winter fires are standard practice along coastal Louisiana, but there
are indications that lightning caused many summer fires before
settlement [3]. Because of the year-round growing season, vegetation
gets thick enough to burn severely every 3 to 4 years [9].
FIRE EFFECTS ON SITE :
NO-ENTRY
FIRE EFFECTS ON VEGETATION :
Little specific information of fire's effects on smooth cordgrass was
found in the literature. February prescribed fires in a Florida
saltmarsh caused little change in smooth cordgrass stands. In the
absence of fire glasswort may invade cordgrass stands [14]. In
freshwater marshes fires may cause little disturbance when water is
present, but during drought years when water levels are below the
substrate, fires may kill marsh vegetation [12]. Similar results may
occur in saltmarshes.
FIRE EFFECTS ON RESOURCE MANAGEMENT :
People regularly burn coastal marshes to improve access to hunting and
fishing areas [9].
FIRE USE CONSIDERATIONS :
Fire is not recommended as a cleanup method for oil spills because
burning may increase oil penetration into the substrate [5].
FIRE MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS :
Three types of prescribed burning techniques have been described for
Gulf Coast marshes [9]:
1. cover burn - used when there is 3 to 5 inches of standing
water; removes dense vegetation to improve
wildlife habitat; conducted every 2 years and
usually does not change plant composition
2. root burn - burns into peat layer when standing water is
absent; kills climax vegetation
3. peat burn - burns out peat layer down to clay subsoil;
changes plant composition
For quality livestock forage, smooth cordgrass prairies should be burned
every 2 to 3 years. Ranges burned in early fall should not be grazed
until winter when the new growth is 6 to 8 inches tall. Spring-burned
ranges should not be grazed during summer but can be grazed in winter [8].
REHABILITATION OF SITES FOLLOWING WILDFIRE :
NO-ENTRY
REFERENCES
KUCHLER TYPE: Southern cordgrass prairie
REFERENCES :
1. Allan, Philip F. 1950. Ecological bases for land use planning in Gulf
Coast marshlands. Journal of Soil and Water Conservation. 5: 57-62, 85.
[14612]
2. Chabreck, Robert H. 1972. Vegetation, water and soil characteristics of
the Louisiana coastal region. Bulletin 664. Baton Rouge, LA: Louisiana
State University, Louisiana Agricultural Experiment Station. 72 p.
[19976]
3. Frost, Cecil C.; Walker, Joan; Peet, Robert K. 1986. Fire-dependent
savannas and prairies of the Southeast: original extent, preservation
status and management problems. In: Kulhavy, D. L.; Conner, R. N., eds.
Wilderness and natural areas in the eastern United States: a management
challenge. Nacogdoches, TX: Stephen F. Austin University: 348-357.
[10333]
4. Garrison, George A.; Bjugstad, Ardell J.; Duncan, Don A.; [and others].
1977. Vegetation and environmental features of forest and range
ecosystems. Agric. Handb. 475. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of
Agriculture, Forest Service. 68 p. [998]
5. Kiesling, Russell W.; Alexander, Steve K.; Webb, James W. 1988.
Evaluation of alternative oil spill cleanup techniques in a Spartina
alterniflora salt marsh. Environmental Pollution. 55(3): 221-238.
[15186]
6. Kuchler, A. W. 1964. Manual to accompany the map of potential vegetation
of the conterminous United States. Special Publication No. 36. New York:
American Geographical Society. 77 p. [1384]
7. Lay, Daniel W.; O'Neil, Ted. 1942. Muskrats on the Texas coast. Journal
of Wildlife Management. 6(4): 301-311. [14561]
8. Leithead, Horace L.; Yarlett, Lewis L.; Shiflet, Thomas N. 1971. 100
native forage grasses in 11 southern states. Agric. Handb. 389.
Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. 216 p.
[17552]
9. Lynch, John J. 1941. The place of burning in management of the Gulf
Coast wildlife refuges. Journal of Wildlife Management. 5(4): 454-457.
[14640]
10. Lynch, John J.; O'Neil, Ted; Lay, Daniel W. 1947. Management
significance of damage by geese and muskrats to Gulf Coast marshes.
Journal of Wildlife Management. 11(1): 50-76. [14559]
11. Palmisano, Angelo W., Jr.; Newsom, John D. 1968. Ecological factors
affecting occurrence of Scirpus olneyi and Scirpus robustus in the
Louisiana coastal marshes. Proceedings, 21st Annual Conference of
Southeastern Association of Game and Fish Commissions. 21: 161-172.
[15303]
12. Penfound, William T. 1952. Southern swamps and marshes. The Botanical
Review. 18: 413-446. [11477]
13. Stalter, Richard; Odum, William E. 1993. Maritime communities. In:
Martin, William H.; Boyce, Stephen G.; Echternacht, Arthur C., eds.
Biodiversity of the southeastern United States: Lowland terrestrial
communities. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc: 117-163. [22010]
14. Wade, Dale; Ewel, John; Hofstetter, Ronald. 1980. Fire in South Florida
ecosystems. Gen. Tech. Rep. SE-17. Asheville, NC: U.S. Department of
Agriculture, Forest Service, Southeastern Forest Experiment Station. 125
p. [10362]
15. Duncan, Wilbur H.; Duncan, Marion B. 1987. The Smithsonian guide to
seaside plants of the Gulf and Atlantic Coasts from Louisiana to
Massachusetts, exclusive of lower peninsular Florida. Washington, DC:
Smithsonian Institution Press. 409 p. [12906]
Index
FEIS Home Page
Related categories for Kuchler Type: Southern cordgrass prairie
|
 |
