Ecology of Red Maple Swamps in the Glaciated Northeast: A ...

mmdwakr depression wetlands. Because md
maple sprauts pmlificdly after cutting, eatover
swsmps usually supprt a dense cover of 1nnyIe
saplings within a few years, and the progression
toward forested wetland resuxnes. &~r,re shrub
cover may hmprcrrily retard the resurgence of
red maple after cutting.
Fire md hurricanes may dm be agents of m?hgr-etwive
change in fom&x.3 wetlmsds, but Iwth are
relatively unimporLAnt in no&reaskrn rod maple
swamps. The potentid irrrpact of fire is 1inrita.d by site
wetness and by fire pm~ion pmpm~~s, while hurricane
danlage tends Lo be infkquent a d highly
locdid.
Sumssionctl Relationships A morzg
Wt land Forest Trees
Grace (1972) argued that red maple. lacks the
ability to replace itself unless cut, and that irr
northeastern Connecticut it will evexxtually lose
dominance to eastern herniock, white pine, or
wet-site hardwoods such as yellow birch, Grwcc
also noted that the canopy of red nraple stands
opens with age and suggested that, if ttlcbrc. were
no advanced rege.cl~eratiorr of other tree speeics to
fill the gaps, even understory shrubs such as
sweet pepperbush might assume donlinanc*u.
The validity of these assertiorrs is open to dcbate.
The great predominance of red nraple
swamps throughout major sectZions of the glaciated
Northeast suggests that this wetland type is
the normal endpoint of wetlarrd development in
these areas. Sprouting frequerltly occurs in wixzdthrown
trees and in trees with decayed stems, as
well as in trees that have beer1 cut. In addition,
openings in the forest canopy created by trec
mortality allow sunlight to reach mounds 01) the
forest floor where red maple seedlings may dcvelop.
While species such as hemlock may outcompete
red maple on seasorlally saturated,
porly j.iramcd @oils inr certain weas of the Northtaast,
evidence for jnrI-'~-srtllt.' future repiacenrent
of red tllrtPlt? as tfar? domirlmrt species in northeastertl
wtbtlrtnd firrests is lackixlg.
Ille stlcct~ss~uxltill rclatiorlship between red maple
arid Atlantic white cedar also is a subject of
great intprcst, t.aIx~.c.cittll~~ because of the continuing
dcxllnt. of codttr (1.aderinan 1987). In his 1950
morrograqh or) At iant ic white cedar, Little stated
that, it1 the XPW Jersey Pine Barrens, cedar
stands exre s~tt~'llnrax e-43 swanrp hardwoods associ~tion
cforlrgx1atit.d by red nraple, black gum, and
sweetbay xnrlgrlolia (fifq~r~oliu rjir2piniana). He observed
tttat, lllll~~8 cedar is clearcut in large
trach, it will eventually be replaced by hardwoods
because (I) ctadi~r trccds ope11 gonuination sites to
nrhicve t ht. ~rutini grotvtl~ rah necessary to compete
with bardwocadu; (2) urrlike llardwood skmds,
cridnr sttsnds ztro typically even-aged, and the
trees do not rcylircc themselves under a forest
canopy; and (3) rapid growth of hardwood sprouts
gives thc*:n AIL ctdvraxrtnge over cedar seedlings ixr
forest* thzzt ttxts seicctiveiy cut,
l%cwearc*h suggust,~ that water reginre may
be an inlpr~rtaixlt frrctor ixlfluencirrg the rate of
conversion frc)r~r htIaxltic white cedar to red
~nrrpir. Irx fZh~rdc Is~Hx~c~, average surface water
hyctroycr~od,r r+rc. longer, and xncnlr water levels
sllghtiy highcar, irl cedar swamps than in
maple swailtlrs (1,owry 1984). Little (2950) also
fouxld in grebc+r~lrctuo;c studies that cedar seedlings
werv best nbXe to compete with hardwoods
wtierc* wcitor levels were highest. However,
cvt>n or1 nna~st~rally wet sites, red maple
colonization of rxlnunds is highly Iikeiy when
caxropy o~texlillgs occur in cedar forests due to
tree death, w~tltitfrlruw, or selective cutting.
Oxleu rcati rrraple as ttstablished it1 an Atlantic
whitt~ ccdt~r forest, conversion to a mapledonlixliated
swr*nal, appears to be inevitable
(Iitt it. 1950).