Natural Resources
Conservation Service
Ecological site F144AY014CT
Wet Sandy Low Floodplain
Last updated: 5/01/2019
Accessed: 04/19/2024
General information
Provisional. A provisional ecological site description has undergone quality control and quality assurance review. It contains a working state and transition model and enough information to identify the ecological site.
MLRA notes
Major Land Resource Area (MLRA): 144A–New England and Eastern New York Upland, Southern Part
MLRA 144A: New England and Eastern New York Upland, Southern Part
The eastern half of the eastern part of this MLRA is in the Seaboard Lowland Section of the New England Province of the Appalachian Highlands. The western half of the eastern part and the southeastern half of the western part are in the New England Upland Section of the same province and division. The northwestern half of the western part is in the Hudson Valley Section of the Valley and Ridge Province of the Appalachian Highlands. This MLRA is a very scenic area of rolling to hilly uplands that are broken by many gently sloping to level valleys that terminate in coastal lowlands. Elevation ranges from sea level to 1,000 feet in much of the area, but it is 2,000 feet on some hills. Relief is mostly about 6 to 65 feet in the valleys and about 80 to 330 feet in the uplands.
This area has been glaciated and consists almost entirely of till plains and drumlins dissected by narrow valleys with a thin mantle of till. The southernmost boundary of the area marks the farthest southward extent of glaciation on the eastern seaboard. The river valleys and coastal plains are filled with glacial lake sediments, marine sediments, and glacial outwash. The bedrock in the eastern half of the area consists primarily of igneous and metamorphic rocks of early Paleozoic age. Granite is the most common igneous rock, and gneiss, schist, and slate are the most common metamorphic rocks. In the parts of the MLRA in northeastern Pennsylvania and in eastern and southeastern New York, Devonian- to Pennsylvanian-age sandstone, shale, and limestone bedrock is dominant. Carbonate rocks, primarily dolomite and limestone, are the dominant kinds of bedrock in the part of this MLRA in northwestern Connecticut.
Ecological site concept
The site consists of deep, coarse-loamy, poorly drained, alluvial soils on low floodplains of mostly small to medium sized river valleys but can also be found within large river valleys. These floodplains are subject annual flooding. Water is at or near the surface for much of the growing season. Representative soil is Rippowam.
The reference plant community is considered to be an alluvial red maple dominated forest. Silver maple may occur along riverbanks, with lesser amounts of American elm, sugar maple, green ash, white oak, and shagbark hickory. Common shrubs include northern arrow-wood, silky dogwood, and buttonbush. Sensitive fern, cinnamon fern, false nettle, jewelweeds, awned sedge, and rice cutgrass are common herbaceous plants.
The frequency, duration, and timing of floods is the primary natural disturbance affecting species composition. Floodplain forests are commonly found in early to mid-successional stages because of the dynamic nature of floodplains (Thompson and Sorenson 2000). Eastern cottonwood and or black willow would be more common in an early successional forest type along major rivers (Swain and Kearsley 2011).
Invasive exotic plants are a significant threat to the community since many can successfully displace native species. Common invasive exotic plants are glossy alder-buckthorn, Japanese barberry, Norway maple, Oriental bittersweet, European bush honeysuckle, moneywort, garlic mustard, and Japanese stiltgrass.
Table 1. Dominant plant species
| Tree |
(1) Acer rubrum |
|---|---|
| Shrub |
(1) Viburnum dentatum |
| Herbaceous |
(1) Onoclea sensibilis |
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