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KUCHLER TYPE

KUCHLER TYPE: Southern floodplain forest
KUCHLER-TYPE-NUMBER : K113 PHYSIOGNOMY : Dense, medium tall to tall forest of broadleaf deciduous and evergreen trees and shrubs and needleleaf deciduous trees. OCCURRENCE : Floodplains of the southeastern United States, encompassing 13 states. COMPILED BY AND DATE : S. A. Snyder, January 1994 LAST REVISED BY AND DATE : NO-ENTRY AUTHORSHIP AND CITATION : Snyder, S. A. 1993. Southern floodplain forest In: Remainder of Citation
Kuchler Type Index FEIS Home

KUCHLER TYPE DESCRIPTION


PHYSIOGRAPHY : The southern floodplain forest includes bottomland hardwood stands and deep, alluvial swamps. Boundaries are hard to distinguish, but the type is found where streams and rivers occasionally flood beyond their channels and in deepwater swamps that are inundated for most of the growing season. The southern floodplain forest can range in area from broad river floodplains to narrow strips along small stream channels. Many areas are characterized by sloughs, oxbow lakes, and natural levees of coarse material deposited by flooding. Topographic relief is low, but these levees form high points on the floodplain [18]. CLIMATE : The climate of the southern floodplain forest is variable throughout its range, but rainfall averages 50 inches (1,270 mm) annually. Near the coast summers are wetter than winters; rainfall is distributed more evenly inland. In all areas, drying occurs in late summer and early fall. Average temperature for the southern region is 70 degrees Fahrenheit (21 deg C). Average number of frost-free days is 240, ranging from 200 days in the North (Virginia and southern Indiana, Ohio) to 320 days in the South (Florida and parts of the Gulf Coast) [18]. SOILS : Southern floodplains have alluvial sediments from 15 to 240 feet (5-80 m) thick. Physiochemical characteristics of soils are listed by zone [18]. Soils range in texture from silty clay and clay to sand. High clay content results in greater phosphorus content. Soils are somewhat acidic, with pH ranges between 5 and 6. Organic matter content is usually 2 to 5 percent higher than in upland soils. High organic matter content accounts for higher nitrogen concentrations and may explain, in part, why bottomland forests tend to be more productive than upland forests. Organic matter content has been reported as high as 36 percent in black tupelo (Nyssa sylvatica) swamps. Nutrients are readily available and are continually replenished by flooding [18]. VEGETATION : Canopy dominants include one conifer, baldcypress (Taxodium distichum), and several hardwood species, particularly oaks (Quercus spp.) and water tupelo (Nyssa aquatica) [12]. This report will refer to both baldcypress and pondcypress (Taxodium distichum var. nutans) as cypress. Species composition in southern floodplain forests is a function of constantly shifting factors like stream migration, soil erosion, and deposition, which change the substrate. Plant species differ in their tolerance of flooding and shade and in their colonizing abilities [18]. Recently formed point bars and levees along stream channels are colonized by black willow (Salix nigra), eastern cottonwood (Populus deltoides), river birch (Betula nigra), and sugar maple (Acer saccharinum). River levees are colonized by American sycamore (Platanus occidentalis) and sugar maple. Species on older substrates, for example in sloughs, oxbows, and swamps, support water tupelo, baldcypress, and water-elm (Planera aquatica). On poorly-drained sites overcup oak (Quercus lyrata), laurel oak (Q. laurifolia), red maple (Acer rubrum), American elm (Ulmus americana), green ash (Fraxinus pennsylvanica), water hickory (Carya aquatica), sugarberry (Celtis laevigata), and hackberry (C. occidentalis) are interspersed with black tupelo and cypress. Ridges in low areas with short hydroperiods and few herbaceous species support sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua), willow oak (Quercus phellos), water oak (Q. nigra), cherrybark oak (Q. pagoda), swamp chestnut oak (Q. michauxii), hickories (Carya spp.), and black tupelo [18]. Higher ridges may have understory species of ferns, orchids, bromeliads, and epiphytic ferns. Other understory species include buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis), strangler fig (Ficus aurea), pond apple (Annona glabra), grape (Vitis spp.), peppervine (Ampelopsis arborea), deciduous holly (Ilex decidua), water locust (Gleditsia aquatica), Alabama supplejack (Berchemia scandens), common trumpetcreeper (Campsis radicans), and redbay (Persea borbonia) [18]. Plant communities in the southern floodplain forest have been classified across an anaerobic gradient. However, this classification may be oversimplified and not useful for all wetland ecology [18]. For detailed information on cypress stands not related to fire refer to Ewel and Odum [5]. WILDLIFE : A wide variety of invertebrates, fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals occur in the southern floodplain forest. Some include mollusks and other crustaceans, spiders, minnows, pickerels, salamanders, frogs, snakes, turtles, herons, egrets, ducks, warblers, woodpeckers, beavers, otters, nutria, mink, white-tailed deer, bobcats, rabbits, and squirrels [18]. ECOLOGICAL RELATIONSHIPS : Groundwater levels and flooding determine the type and productivity of vegetation in the southern floodplain forest. Hydroperiod ultimately limits species composition. Flooding during the growing season has a greater effect on species survival than during the nongrowing season. Floodplain forests may be important for providing nutrients to downstream ecosystems [18]. Climatic climax communities rarely occur in southern floodplain forests because of the dynamic nature of the ecosystem. Successional trends are complex, and it is difficult to define distinct seral community stages. However, newly-formed sandbars along stream and river margins are generally colonized by black willow, black cottonwood, sugar maple, and river birch. As these stands mature, sites with short hydroperiods usually develop into sycamore-sweetgum-American elm or sugarberry-American elm-green ash stands. Cypress and tupelo stands grow best on sites inundated for long periods and persist indefinitely on these sites. On poorly drained sites overcup oak and water hickory stands can be interspersed with cypress and tupelo. If these sites are drained they succeed to sugarberry-American elm-green ash. Chestnut oak and cherrybark oak usually indicate the more stable communities [18]. For more detailed information on ecological relationships of the individual species mentioned here, refer to Eyre [6]. If the substrate and hydroperiods remain stable, mixed hardwood species typically form climax communities [23]. Also, black tupelo and slash pine (Pinus elliottii) may dominate cypress swamps in fire's absence [3]. Because mature cypress are more resistant to fire than swamp hardwoods, infrequent fires of low intensity favor cypress dominance [1,8]. Cypress may dominate in drained areas with periodic surface fires, although pines invade cypress domes following extended droughts [4]. Severe fires (usually following drought conditions or drainage and drying of the peat layer) in cypress-mixed hardwood swamps often eliminate the prefire vegetation, allowing willow species to invade by seed. Willow sprouts with frequent fire. If relict cypress and hardwood species remain in these sites, they will reestablish their dominance in the absence of fire [3,8].

KUCHLER TYPE VALUE AND USE

KUCHLER TYPE: Southern floodplain forest
FORESTRY VALUES : About 17 percent of the timberland in the Southeast is southern floodplain forest. Commercially valuable species include willow oak, water oak, laurel oak, Nuttall oak (Quercus nuttallii), swamp chestnut oak, cherrybark oak, water tupelo, black tupelo, sweetgum, and baldcypress. Timberlands have been lost from conversion to agriculture and the reduction of undrained areas available for timber production [18]. For detailed information on logging in southern wetlands refer to Jackson and Chambers [10]. Sycamore, sweetgum, and American elm can pioneer on logged sites or on oldfields in riverbottoms. Logging favors sweetgum on sweetgum-willow oak-dominated sites. When cut, swamp chestnut oak-cherrybark oak may succeed to sugarberry-green ash-American elm-red maple [18]. Frequent fire (25-year intervals) in the Okefenokee Swamp, combined with logging, allows mixed hardwoods to dominate over cypress [3]. In south Florida logging followed by severe fire usually leads to a climax of hardwoods without cypress [8]. Hackberry-elm-ash is temporary following logging and fire [16]. RANGE VALUES : Many southern floodplain forests have been cleared for pastures [18]. WILDLIFE VALUES : Southern floodplain forests provide valuable wildlife habitat for many species, especially those that occur in aquatic-terrestrial ecotones. The ecotones tend to support a greater number of species than aquatic or terrestrial habitats alone. Four attributes of the southern floodplain forest have been listed as important to wildlife: the predominance of woody vegetation for cover; the presence of surface water and soil moisture for greater food availability; the interspersion of swamps with forests for greater habitat diversity; and the presence of riparian forests that provide travel corridors for migration and dispersion [18]. OTHER VALUES : The southern floodplain forest provides recreation opportunities for wildlife viewing, camping, hunting, and fishing [18]. MANAGEMENT CONCERNS : An estimated 69 percent of southern floodplain forests have been lost since European settlement. Diking and draining severely disrupt hydrological regimes and alter plant communities, destroying ecological diversity and integrity. Wildlife habitat has been fragmented due to agriculture, subdivision, and commercial development. The Bachman's warbler (possibly extinct), the ivory-billed woodpecker, and the Florida panther are federally listed as endangered in the southern floodplain forest [18].

KUCHLER TYPE FIRE ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT

KUCHLER TYPE: Southern floodplain forest
FUELS, FLAMMABILITY, AND FIRE OCCURRENCE : Typically, fires are infrequent in the mixed wetland hardwoods of the Southeast [1]. In mixed hardwood swamps where hydroperiods last from 6 to 7 months, about two fires occur per century. Where hydroperiods last from 1 to 6 months, fires may only occur once per century. Fires may be less frequent on drier sites where rapid decomposition and occasional floods retard fuel accumulation [3]. Where drainage of swamps accelerates litter buildup and increases productivity, fires are usually more severe [4]. Okefenokee Swamp studies indicate that fires follow drought, occurring every 10 to 50 years [17]. Duever and others [2] hypothesized that where cypress grows on peats in direct contact with the water table, fire frequency and severity are low; where cypress grows on peats more removed from the water table, fires are more severe and frequent. FIRE EFFECTS ON SITE : Severe fires reduce the peat depth which can alter water availability, hydroperiod, and nutrient availability [2]. For detailed information about the effects of fire on soil chemical and physical properties refer to Christensen [24]. FIRE EFFECTS ON VEGETATION : Fire kills many trees of the southern floodplain forest directly and usually initiates rot in survivors [23]. The thin bark of water tupelo and black tupelo offers little protection against fire [11,13]. The same situation exists for most of the oaks found in these forests, including laurel oak, overcup oak, swamp chestnut oak, water oak, and willow oak. Bark thickness in relation to fire resistance has been recorded for some southern wetland species. They are (in order of decreasing resistance) cypress, sweetbay, red maple, water oak, water tupelo, and sweetgum [9]. All of these species sprout following fire if roots are not killed [14,16,19,20,21,22,25,26,27]. For more fire information on individual species refer to species reports in the FEIS database. Mature cypress survives surface fires better than its hardwood associates. Survival is better following summer and early fall fires than following fires in other seasons. Slow-burning peat fires, which can ignite when moisture levels go below 30 percent, kill cypress roots and prevent them from sprouting [8]. A December wildfire, following a dry autumn, severely burned two cypress "dome" sites in Florida. Fires smoldered for several days but did not expose mineral soil on the two domes. Species composition on both sites before the fire was given as follows (hardwoods are black tupelo, sweetgum, and sweetbay): Site One Site Two Before: Cypress 52% Before: Cypress 44% Pines 27% Pines 14% Hardwoods 21% Hardwoods 42% Percent decreases in species composition on both sites 1 year after the fire were given as follows: Site One Site Two After: Cypress 18% After: Cypress 22.5% Pines 96% Pines 96% Hardwoods 98% Hardwoods 83% Pines were present because both sites had been drained for several years. A small percentage of cypress sprouted following this fire. The organic layer was thicker in the center, where more trees were killed than around the edges of the swamp. It appears that after long drought periods fires will do greater damage in the center of swamps where the organic layer is thicker. Here tree roots are imbedded in peat and, therefore, not protected from fire by mineral soil [4]. FIRE EFFECTS ON RESOURCE MANAGEMENT : NO-ENTRY FIRE USE CONSIDERATIONS : NO-ENTRY FIRE MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : Fires in logged cypress stands are more detrimental than fires in unlogged stands. Slash and dense regrowth provide enough fuels for "hot" fires to consume seed sources and eliminate vegetative regrowth [8]. Severe burning after logging or draining hardwood swamps may destroy seeds and roots. In south Florida this may lead to colonization by willows followed by succession to mixed hardwoods [3]. REHABILITATION OF SITES FOLLOWING WILDFIRE : NO-ENTRY

REFERENCES

KUCHLER TYPE: Southern floodplain forest
REFERENCES : 1. Christensen, Norman L. 1981. Fire regimes in southeastern ecosystems. In: Mooney, H. A.; Bonnicksen, T. M.; Christensen, N. L.; [and others], technical coordinators. Fire regimes and ecosystem properties: Proceedings of the conference; 1978 December 11-15; Honolulu, HI. Gen. Tech. Rep. WO-26. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service: 112-136. [4391] 2. Duever, Michael J,; Carlson, John E.; Riopelle, Lawerence A. 1984. Corkscrew Swamp: A virgin cypress stand. In: Ewel, Katherine Carter; Odum, Howard T., eds. Cypress swamps. Gainesville, FL: University of Florida Press: 334-348. [14856] 3. Ewel, Katherine C. 1990. Swamps. In: Myers, Ronald L.; Ewel, John J., eds. Ecosystems of Florida. Orlando, FL: University of Central Florida Press: 281-322. [17392] 4. Ewel, Katherine Carter; Mitsch, William J. 1978. The effects of fire on species composition in cypress dome ecosystems. Florida Scientist. 41(1): 25-31. [14634] 5. Ewel, Katherine Carter; Odum, Howard T., eds. 1984. Cypress swamps. Gainesville, FL: University of Florida. 472 p. [14778] 6. Eyre, F. H., ed. 1980. Forest cover types of the United States and Canada. Washington, DC: Society of American Foresters. 148 p. [905] 7. 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] 8. Gunderson, Lance H. 1984. Regeneration of cypress in logged and burned strands at Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary, Florida. In: Ewel, Katherine Carter; Odum, Howard T., eds. Cypress swamps. Gainesville, FL: University of Florida Press: 349-357. [14857] 9. Hare, Robert C. 1965. Contribution of bark to fire resistance of southern trees. Journal of Forestry. 63(4): 248-251. [9915] 10. Jackson, Ben D.; Chambers, Jim L. 1981. Timber harvesting in wetlands: Proceedings, 30th annual forestry symposium; [Date of symposium unknown]; [Place of symposium unknown]. Baton Rouge, LA: Louisiana State University, Division of Continuing Education. 166 p. [22189] 11. Johnson, R. L. 1990. Nyssa aquatica L. water tupelo. In: Burns, Russell M.; Honkala, Barbara H., technical coordinators. Silvics of North America. Volume 2. Hardwoods. Agric. Handb. 654. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service: 474-478. [22203] 12. 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] 13. McGee, Charles E.; Outcalt, Kenneth W. 1990. Nyssa sylvatica Marsh. black tupelo; N. sylvatica Marsh. var sylvatica; N. sylvatica var. biflora (Walt.) Sarg. In: Burns, Russell M.; Honkala, Barbara H., technical coordinators. Silvics of North America. Volume 2. Hardwoods. Agric. Handb. 654. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service: 482-489. [22202] 14. Curtis, James D. 1946. Preliminary observations on northern white cedar in Maine. Ecology. 27: 23-36. [19804] 15. Myers, Ronald L. 1984. Ecological compression of Taxodium distichum var. nutans by Melaleuca quinquenervia in Florida. In: Ewel, Katherine Carter; Odum, Howard T., eds. Cypress swamps. Gainesville, FL: University of Florida Press: 358-364. [14858] 16. Penfound, William T. 1952. Southern swamps and marshes. The Botanical Review. 18: 413-446. [11477] 17. Rykiel, Edward J., Jr. 1984. Okefenokee Swamp Watershed: water balance and nutrient budgets. In: Ewel, Katherine Carter; Odum, Howard T., eds. Cypress swamps. Gainsville, FL: University of Florida, University of Florida Press, Center for Wetlands: 374-385. [22201] 18. Sharitz, Rebecca R.; Mitsch, William J. 1993. Southern floodplain forests. 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: 311-372. [22014] 19. Schlaegel, Bryce E. 1990. Quercus phellos L. willow oak. In: Burns, Russell M.; Honkala, Barbara H., tech. coords. Silvics of North America. Vol. 2. Hardwoods. Agric. Handb. 654. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service: 715-720. [18954] 20. Toole, E. Richard. 1965. Fire damage to commercial hardwoods in southern bottom lands. In: Proceedings, 4th annual Tall Timbers fire ecology conference; 1965 March 18-19; Tallahassee, FL. Tallahassee, FL: Tall Timbers Research Station: 144-151. [8715] 21. Vince, Susan W.; Humphrey, Stephen R.; Simons, Robert W. 1989. The ecology of hydric hammocks: A community profile. Biological Rep. 85(7.26). Washington, DC: U.S. Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service, Research and Development. 82 p. [17976] 22. Vozzo, J. A. 1990. Quercus nigra L. water oak. In: Burns, Russell M.; Honkala, Barbara H., tech. coords. Agric. Handb. 654. Silvics of North America. Vol. 2. Hardwoods. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service: 701-703. [18957] 23. Wright, Henry A.; Bailey, Arthur W. 1982. Fire ecology: United States and southern Canada. New York: John Wiley & Sons. 501 p. [2620] 24. Christensen, Norman L. 1987. The biogeochemical consequences of fire and their effects on the vegetation of the Coastal Plain of the southeastern United States. In: Trabaud, L., ed. The role of fire in ecological systems. Hague, The Netherlands: SPB Academic Publishing: 1-21. [17285] 25. Boyer, William D. 1990. Growing-season burns for control of hardwoods in longleaf pine stands. Res. Pap. SO-256. New Orleans, LA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Southern Forest Experiment Station. 7 p. [14604] 26. Waldrop, Thomas A.; Van Lear, David H.; Lloyd, F. Thomas; Harms, William R. 1987. Long-term studies of prescribed burning in loblolly pine forests of the Southeastern Coastal Plain. Gen. Tech. Rep. SE-45. Asheville, NC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Southeastern Forest Experiment Station. 23 p. [11596] 27. Walters, Russell S.; Yawney, Harry W. 1990. Acer rubrum L. red maple. In: Burns, Russell M.; Honkala, Barbara H., technical coordinators. Silvics of North America. Vol. 2. Hardwoods. Agric. Handb. 654. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service: 60-69. [13956]

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