State 1
Reference State (minimally-managed)

This site occurs in relatively flat areas (0-4% slopes) near the bottom of watersheds where water saturates both organic soils and coarse-textured mineral soils for most of the year. Soils are deep, poorly- to very poorly-drained and relatively more acidic than other wooded wetlands. The water table is seasonally high (within 18 inches of the surface) and typically dries out in late summer and fall. This site may have pit and mound topography, with ponding and organic matter accumulation in the low areas, and drier soil conditions on the mounds where most trees and shrubs are rooted. Black spruce, rhodora, Labrador tea, and other heath shrubs are abundant, with balsam fir, larch, black ash, and grey birch as common associates. Diverse herbs, shrubs, and bryophytes dominate the understory.

Resilience management. Treethrow, altered hydrology, and logging are common disturbances on this site. Small openings created by treethrow are typically colonized by species already present in the community and eventually return to black spruce dominance. Persistent ponding caused by beavers, man-made structures (such as roads, dams, etc.), or increased runoff in the watershed above can cause water levels to rise and kill cedar trees, resulting in an open ponded or marsh condition. If hydrology is restored to reference conditions, the site is likely to transition through a marsh and/or early seral forest phase before eventually returning to black spruce dominance. Logging is not common due to the poor productivity of this site, and is limited to very dry years or winter harvest methods due to the wetness of this site. Tree removal may result in an early seral phase dominated by balsam fir, grey birch, red maple, and other colonizers before eventually reverting to black spruce dominance. In some areas, this site has been logged and converted to perennial grass hay land.

Community 1.1
Hemlock - Hardwood Swamp

This site is a mixed swamp that occurs on mineral soils and deep muck in depressions which receive groundwater discharge, typically in areas with acidic substrate. These swamps usually have a fairly closed canopy (70 to 90% cover), sparse shrub layer, and low species diversity. The tree canopy is typically dominated by eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis), and co-dominated by yellow birch (Betula alleghaniensis) and red maple (Acer rubrum). Other less frequently occurring trees include white pine (Pinus strobus), blackgum (Nyssa sylvatica), and green ash (Fraxinus pennsylvanica). Characteristic shrubs include saplings of canopy trees plus highbush blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum) often dominant, with great rhododendron (Rhododenron maximum) and sweet pepperbush (Clethra alnifolia) becoming more common in Lower Hudson Valley examples. Other less frequently occurring shrubs include various viburnums (Viburnum nudum var. cassinoides, V. lentago, and V. lantanoides), winterberry (Ilex verticillata), and mountain holly (Nemopanthus mucronatus). Characteristic herbs are cinnamon fern (Osmunda cinnamomea) and sensitive fern (Onoclea sensibilis). Groundcover may also be fairly sparse. Other less frequently occurring herbs include sedges (Carex trisperma, C. folliculata, and C. bromoides), goldthread (Coptis trifolia), Canada mayflower (Maianthemum canadense), common wood-sorrel (Oxalis montana), foamflower (Tiarella cordifolia), and wild sarsaparilla (Aralia nudicaulis). Peat mosses (Sphagnum spp.) may be dominant or characteristic bryophyte forming a thin carpet over muck, but typically not developing deep peat. (Edinger et al. 2014)

Resilience management. New York Natural Heritage Program State Rank: S4- Apparently secure in New York State. Some occurrences are very small (1 to 2 acres or 0.4 to 0.8 ha). Water levels in these swamps typically fluctuate seasonally; they may be flooded in spring and relatively dry by late summer.

Community 1.2
Red Maple - Hardwood Swamp

A hardwood swamp that occurs in poorly drained depressions or basins, usually on inorganic soil, but occasionally on muck or shallow peat, that is typically acidic to circumneutral. This is a broadly defined community with several regional and edaphic variants. The hydrology varies from permanently saturated to the surface to seasonally flooded/wet with hummocks and hollows. In any one stand red maple (Acer rubrum) is either the only canopy dominant, or it is codominant with one or more hardwoods including ashes (Fraxinus pennsylvanica, F. nigra, and F. americana), elms (Ulmus americana and U. rubra), and yellow birch (Betula alleghaniensis). Other trees with low percent cover include butternut (Juglans cinerea), bitternut hickory (Carya cordiformis), blackgum (Nyssa sylvatica), American hornbeam (Carpinus caroliniana), swamp white oak (Quercus bicolor), and white pine (Pinus strobus). The trunks of maples are typically single-trunked unlike those of floodplain forests with multiple trunks. The shrub layer is usually well-developed and may be quite dense. Characteristic shrubs are winterberry (Ilex verticillata), spicebush (Lindera benzoin), alders (Alnus incana ssp. rugosa and A. serrulata), viburnums (Viburnum dentatum var. lucidum, V. nudum var. cassinoides), highbush blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum), common elderberry (Sambucus nigra ssp. canadensis), and various shrubby dogwoods (Cornus sericea, C. racemosa, and C. amomum). Swamp azalea (Rhododendron viscosum) is more common in southern examples, and poison sumac (Toxicodendron vernix) and black ash are more common in mineral-rich examples with slightly higher pH. The herbaceous layer may be quite diverse and is often dominated by ferns, including sensitive fern (Onoclea sensibilis), cinnamon fern (Osmunda cinnamomea), royal fern (O. regalis), and marsh fern (Thelypteris palustris), with much lesser amounts of crested wood fern (Dryopteris cristata), and spinulose wood fern (Dryopteris carthusiana). Characteristic herbs include skunk cabbage (Symplocarpus foetidus), white hellebore (Veratrum viride), sedges (Carex stricta, C. lacustris, and C. intumescens), jewelweed (Impatiens capensis), false nettle (Boehmeria cylindrica), arrow arum (Peltandra virginica), tall meadow rue (Thalictrum pubescens), and marsh marigold (Caltha palustris). Open patches within the swamp may contain other herbs characteristic of shallow emergent marsh. (Edinger et al. 2014)

Resilience management. More data are needed on reported variants of this community, such as forested seeps, successional hardwood swamp, red maple-white pine swamp on sandy soils, and red maple-tussock sedge swamp with shallow peat. New York Natural Heritage Program State Rank: S4/S5 S4: Apparently secure in New York State. S5: Demonstrably secure in New York State.

Community 1.3
Spruce-fir Swamp

This site is a conifer or sometimes mixed swamp that occurs on acidic muck to shallow peat. This community typically occurs in a drainage basin, in some cases filling the basin, but also can occur at the edge of a lake or pond, or along gentle slopes of islands where there is some nutrient input from groundwater discharge or subsurface flow. In the Adirondacks and the Tug Hill these swamps are often found in drainage basins occasionally flooded by beaver (Castor canadensis). These swamps are usually dense, with a fairly closed canopy (80 to 90% cover). The dominant trees are usually red spruce (Picea rubens) and balsam fir (Abies balsamea); either one may be dominant in a stand or they may be codominant. In the Catskills, balsam fir may be absent with red maple (Acer rubrum) becoming codominant. In the Adirondacks, black spruce (Picea mariana) or white spruce (P. glauca) may replace red spruce as a dominant tree. Other trees with low percent cover include yellow birch (Betula alleghaniensis), white pine (Pinus strobus), black ash (Fraxinus nigra), tamarack (Larix laricina), northern white cedar (Thuja occidentalis), and eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis). The shrub layer is often sparse; characteristic and dominant shrubs include mountain holly (Nemopanthus mucronatus) along with sapling canopy trees. Other less frequently occurring shrubs include alders (Alnus viridis ssp. crispa, A. incana ssp. rugosa), blueberries (Vaccinium corymbosum, V. myrtilloides), wild raisin (Viburnum nudum var. cassinoides), mountain ash (Sorbus americana), and winterberry (Ilex verticillata). Characteristic herbs are cinnamon fern (Osmunda cinnamomea), sedges (Carex trisperma, C. folliculata), goldthread (Coptis trifolia), bunchberry (Cornus canadensis), starflower (Trientalis borealis), common wood-sorrel (Oxalis montana), creeping snowberry (Gaultheria hispidula), and dewdrop (Dalibarda repens). The nonvascular layer is often dominated by peat mosses, including Sphagnum girgensohnii, S. centrale, and S. angustifolium. Other characteristic bryophytes include the leafy liverwort Bazzania trilobata and big red stem moss (Pleurozium schreberi). Spruce-fir swamps occur in lowlands where they may grade into either spruce flats or balsam flats (upland forests). A spruce-fir swamp is distinguished from spruce flats by the lower elevation of the swamp, wetland soils, presence in the swamp of patches of peat mosses (Sphagnum spp.), and the absence of black cherry (Prunus serotina), a characteristic species of spruce flats and balsam flats. (Edinger et al. 2014)

Resilience management. New York Natural Heritage Program State Rank: S3- Typically 21 to 100 occurrences, limited acreage, or miles of stream in New York State. Additional data on characteristic fauna is needed.

State 2
Semi-natural State

Shifts in ecological site composition, functionality, and dynamics driven by natural disturbances, processes, and pressures (may have some anthropogenic drivers). More research is needed to determine the extent of the Semi-natural state associated with this ecological site.

Community 2.1
Invasiveness and Biological Introductions

Introduction of invasive species, pathogens, and/or pests resulting in shifts in ecological site composition, functionality, and dynamics. More research is needed to determine the extent of these effects on the semi-natural state associated with this ecological site.

Community 2.2
Ponded

Community 2.3
Transitional Marsh

Pathway 2.2a
Community 2.2 to 2.3

Remediation of hydrological alteration, decreased annual/decadal precipitation or flooding events

Pathway 2.3a
Community 2.3 to 2.2

hydrological alteration (beaver or debris), increased annual/decadal precipitation or flooding events

State 3
Cultural State

Shifts in ecological site composition, functionality, and dynamics that are primary driven by anthropogenic disturbances and pressures (may have some associated natural drivers). More research is needed to determine the extent of the cultural state associated with this ecological site.

Community 3.1
Drained

Transition T1A
State 1 to 2

climate change, hydrological alteration, increased nutrients or chemicals (pesticide, herbicide, fertilizer) transported to surface water, significant increase in flooding events and annual precipitation, introduction of invasive species, pests, and pathogens

Transition T1B
State 1 to 3

hydrologic alteration (barrier, obstruction, dam, diversion), landscape alteration, mechanical soil disturbance, landscape alteration

Restoration pathway R2A
State 2 to 1

remediation of hydrologic alteration, management of invasive species, pests, and pathogens, restoration of key native plant species, restoration of terrestrial and aquatic habitat

Transition T2A
State 2 to 3

hydrologic alteration (barrier, obstruction, dam, diversion), landscape alteration, mechanical soil disturbance, landscape alteration

Restoration pathway R3B
State 3 to 1

remediation of hydrologic alteration, seeding, planting, significant flooding events and increase in annual precipitation, compacted soil, establishment of key native plant species

Restoration pathway R3A
State 3 to 2