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

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inga by the following spring. Successful red maple reproduction occurred primarily from stump spmuts or mot suckers. he mica^ and phyraial Properties of Soils The chemical and physical properties of soils have been correlated with floristic variation of forested wetlands in a number of studies (e.g., Monk 1966; Heinselman 1970; Messier 1980; Conner et al. 1981; Huenneke 1982; Parsons and Ware 1982; Reynolds et al. 1982; Paratley and Fahey 1986; Dunn and Stearns 1987b). Among the soil characteristics that have been related to swamp floristics are nutrient status, pH, organic matter content, and texture. Quantitative investigations of the influence of such soil features on the flora of red maple swamps are almost entirely lacking. For this reason, the following discussion is based primarily on qualitative information. Nutrient status, which refers to the relative abundance and availability of essential plant nutrients, may be one of the most important soil properties influencing the species composition of red maple swamps. Nutrient status is closely tied to hydrology, which in turn is shaped by the topographic position or geomorphic setting of the wetland. The swamp's setting determines the volumes of groundwater and surface water it receives. The chemistry of the water feeding the wetland is influenced by the mineral composition of the local bedrock and surficial deposits, the sources of water entering the wetland, the slope of the surrounding land, and the size of the wetland in relation to the size of its watershed. Nutrient availability within a wetland may be affected by water regime and by the organic matter content of the soil, which is largely a function of water regime. In wetlands where soils are saturated for much of the growing season, decomposition of organic matter is slowed, and nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus may be tied up in undecomposed plant material. The retarded growth of red maple on fibric (bog) soils has been attributed to a shortage of such nutrients in a continuously anaerobic soil environment (Moizuk and Livingston 1966). Seasonal fluctuation of water levels allows aerobic decomposition of organic matter to proceed, releasing nutrients for plant growth. As noted previously, thick deposits of acid, nutrient-poor organic material may effec- tively isolate plant roots from mineral-rich soil layers beneath. Nutrient levels near the soil surface also may be influenced by Sphugnurn moss, which has the ability to extract bases from already dilute soil water, lowering its pH (Moore and Bellamy 1974). Damman and Kershner (1977) placed soil fertility high on a list of factors (including disturbance history and moisture regime) affecting species composition of upland and wetland forests in western Connecticut. Floristically rich red maple swamps were encountered primarily where nutrient-rich groundwater inflow was evident. They noted that their study area contained a much greater variety of plant communities than eastern Connecticut landscapes with similar gneissic bedrock. They conjectured that the possible incorporation of calcareous material into the glacial till deposited in their study area may have been responsible for the greater floristic variation. Groundwater flowing downslope along the upper surface of bedrock or dense till layers could carry calcium and other bases leached from upland soils to lower slopes and valleys where it would be deposited in wetlands. Messier (1980) provided the most detailed discussion to date on the influence of soil chemistry on the floristics of red maple swamps. He gathered data on floristic composition, water regimes, soil fertility, and pH in 10 wetland communities in northwestern Connecticut, including five types of red maple swamps. Fertility was equated with nitrogen availability and expressed as a carbon-tonitrogen (C/N) ratio in his study. Assuming that only organic matter with a C/N ratio of 20 or less could provide direct mineral nitrogen to the soil through decomposition, Messier calculated C/N ratios for all communities and classified their nutrient status as nutrient-pmr (W > 40), nutrientmedium (C/N 20-40), or nutrient-rich (C/N < 20). He noted that soil pH generally increased as the C/N ratio declined, so pH also could be used as a rough index of soil fertility Of the 10 wetland communities examined, only wooded bogs were classified as nutrient-poor; the nutrient status of red maple swamps ranged from medium to rich. The medium-fertility Osmunda cinnarnomea-Acer and Rfmckdendron viscosurn- Acer swamps had C/N ratios of about 20 at the soil surface and 26-30 at a depth of 1 m. Messier noted that the communities wiLhin this fertility range were separated primarily by moisture regime. Soil pH values for these two communities ranged from
dwuL 4.3 6.3. C ~ ~ ~ strisk- P C I ~ Amr ~ SWEI~~~~S, S.ym - ~wrnips, RII~ c~ttr~nion w~ntx~rlzq FVL?(B mmt ofhn plm~q>t~ f~~tidd8- .&Y>Y'T $Waf np, =lid
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Technical IIbpg~rt Series U.S. Fish
Page 5 and 6:
Preface In many areas of the glacia
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Acer rubrum (red maple) diagnostic
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Zone 111 . St . Lawrence Valley and
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Fig . 3.7. Red maple swap with unde
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Table 4.5. Flood tolerance of trees
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Chapter I. Introduction Wetland kbr
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Regional Setting throughout the gla
Page 19 and 20:
C-J Spruce-Fa Beech-Birch-Maple Mit
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Fig. 1.4. The range of red maple (a
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~ b 1.5, h fircort~ of Wet landc Ir
Page 25 and 26:
Fig. 22. &~lrit~ve Irtndtici~pe yos
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egional groundwakr table by the roc
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y e~rr~mtrtm~~,irzst ion. Cat~t,inu
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inflow^ Outflows OF SWQ SWI Fig. 25
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Fig, 23.6,Soasonally flmded red map
Page 35 and 36: Fig. 27. Water levels in six mode I
Page 37 and 38: The duration of soil saturation has
Page 39 and 40: Organic soils are always very poorl
Page 41 and 42: Chapter 3. The Plant Community The
Page 43 and 44: .dar02f 'B Xi? s%u?mma -?sway+xqq p
Page 47 and 48: Community S tructare Red maple swam
Page 49 and 50: suggesta a strong correlation betwe
Page 51 and 52: Table 3.2. Stmtuml chumcteristics o
Page 53 and 54: Table 3.3. Continued. "- -- - Speci
Page 55 and 56: Table __ 3.3. _ Continued ._.lll.__
Page 57 and 58: Table 3.3. Continued. . * - __.. ^.
Page 59 and 60: Zone I II III TV C" Drppnmriad* sp.
Page 61 and 62: on Long Island, pin oak, swamp whit
Page 63 and 64: fern moea (?ki.c&inz &limfulum), an
Page 65 and 66: countered (Table 3.3). The herb lay
Page 67 and 68: ~akareous Seepage Swamps England si
Page 69 and 70: and globeflower are. listed in four
Page 71 and 72: was the most likely reason for diff
Page 73 and 74: kvei fluctuation during the gmwing
Page 75 and 76: Table 4.2. .Rektit.e ~bmchnce w Q)
Page 77 and 78: difficuit to delineate in many inst
Page 79 and 80: in the librature btlx>~ithe moi~ttl
Page 81 and 82: Origin. an$ Relationship to Water R
Page 83 and 84: Influence on Swamp Vegetation Flori
Page 85: taka wpra-x li)wcir, t raac* df~rla
Page 89 and 90: Chapter 5. Ecosystem Processes Irr
Page 91 and 92: - 0 2 E E 0l *" C 8 g 00 - c_ m 3 -
Page 93 and 94: Ehnzdoltf (IWj wm mmht~nt, rru@w on
Page 95 and 96: 1976; I">irwia RE& vari iier Vdk 18
Page 97 and 98: Xletritus Exprort and 'sod Chain Su
Page 99: Chapter 6. Wetland Dynamics Most no
Page 102 and 103: since forested wetland is the endpo
Page 104 and 105: kettle bogs, lakes, or large rivers
Page 106 and 107: mmdwakr depression wetlands. Becaus
Page 108 and 109: (Mniotila varia), regularly breed i
Page 110 and 111: EXusbtand arid Eddleman (1Y30) quan
Page 112 and 113: census results. Twenty-five (40%) o
Page 114 and 115: elated to avian richness and abunda
Page 116 and 117: Fig. 7.6. Wood duck (Aix sponsa). T
Page 118 and 119: Table 7.5. Small-mammal communities
Page 120 and 121: ing the latter years of flowage occ
Page 122 and 123: Chapter 8. Values, Impacts, and Man
Page 124 and 125: of the bordering upland. Both studi
Page 126 and 127: Fig. 8.1. ST folia) in pel fer. .bu
Page 128 and 129: Table 8.1. Emrnpks ofgmss loss rate
Page 130 and 131: Fig. 8.3. Southern New England red
Page 132 and 133: Fig. 8.4. Electric utility lines pa
Page 134 and 135: e expected to cause more drastic fl
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and enhancement has been a highly c
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y capturing sediment, reducing nutr
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M.R.S.A., Sect. 480.A). Research by
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Broadfoot, W. M., and H. L. Willist
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Fefer, S. I. 1980. me palushe syste
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Jordan, R J. 1978. Glacial geology
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Xew Hampshire Xatural Areas Program
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Ren MAPLE SWAMR 137 Smith, H. 1984.
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Appendix A. Sources of Floristic Da
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Appendix B. Plants of Special Conce
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Appendix B. Continued Species d Car
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Appendix C. Vertebrates That Have B
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Mourning warbler ... Nashville warb
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Appendix D. Vertebrates of Special
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~tnte"and ronsewat ion stat ilu' d
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