Ecological dynamics
[Caveat: The vegetation information contained in this section and is only provisional, based on concepts, not yet validated with field work.*]
The vegetation groupings described in this section are based on the terrestrial ecological system classification and vegetation associations developed by NatureServe (Comer 2003). Terrestrial ecological systems are specifically defined as a group of plant community types (associations) that tend to co-occur within landscapes with similar ecological processes, substrates, and/or environmental gradients. They are intended to provide a classification unit that is readily mappable, often from terrain and remote imagery, and readily identifiable by conservation and resource managers in the field. A given system will typically manifest itself in a landscape at intermediate geographic scales of tens-to-thousands of hectares and will persist for 50 or more years. A vegetation association is a plant community that is much more specific to a given soil, geology, landform, climate, hydrology, and disturbance history. It is the basic unit for vegetation classification and recognized by the US National Vegetation Classification (US FDGC 2008; USNVC 2017). Each association will be named by the diagnostic and often dominant species that occupy the different height strata (tree, shrub, and herb). Within the NatureServe Explorer database, ecological systems are numbered by a community Ecological System Code (CES) and individual vegetation associations are assigned an identification number called a Community Element Global Code (CEGL).
[*Caveat] The information presented is representative of very complex vegetation communities. Key indicator plants and ecological processes are described to help inform land management decisions. Plant communities will differ across the MLRA because of the naturally occurring variability in weather, soils, and geography. The reference plant community is not necessarily the management goal. The drafts of species lists are merely representative and are not botanical descriptions of all species occurring, or potentially occurring, on this site. They are not intended to cover every situation or the full range of conditions, species, and responses for the site.
The Wet Lake Plains ecological site occurs on poorly-drained flats and depressions in protected areas along the coast and is characterized mainly by coastal forests, and variants such as wet “sunken” forests. These wet coastal forests are highly varied and range from deciduous swamps dominanted by red maple to sunken forests dominated by pin oak and swamp white oak to wet evergreen swamps dominated by Atlantic white cedar (Chamaecyparis thyoides). These wet lake plains in coastal settings are not well-described but may in part, include vegetation within the Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain Basin Swamp and Wet Hardwood Forest system (CES203.520) and in part by the Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain Basin Peat Swamp system (CES203.522) (NatureServe 2017).
State 1
Reference State (Wet Lake Plains)
Predominately coastal forests
• Northeastern Pin Oak - Swamp White Oak Wet Forest, (Pin Oak - (Swamp White Oak ) - Red Maple / Highbush Blueberry / Cinnamon Fern Wet Forest), [Quercus palustris - (Quercus bicolor) - Acer rubrum / Vaccinium corymbosum / Osmunda cinnamomea Wet Forest], - CEGL006240
• Coastal Plain Atlantic White-cedar Swamp Forest, (Atlantic White-cedar / Inkberry - Swamp Azalea Swamp Forest). [Chamaecyparis thyoides / Ilex glabra - Rhododendron viscosum Swamp Forest], - CEGL006188
Other plant communities may include:
• Lower New England Red Maple Swamp Forest, (Red Maple / Swamp Azalea - Coastal Sweet-pepperbush Swamp Forest), [Acer rubrum / Rhododendron viscosum - Clethra alnifolia Swamp Forest], - CEGL006156
• Red Maple / Upright Sedge Wet Woodland, (Red Maple / Upright Sedge - Sensitive Fern Wet Woodland), [Acer rubrum / Carex stricta - Onoclea sensibilis Wet Woodland], - CEGL006119
(Source: NatureServe 2018 [accessed 2019], USNVC 2017 [accessed 2019]).
Community 1.1
Pin Oak - (Swamp White Oak ) - Red Maple / Highbush Blueberry / Cinnamon Fern Wet Forest
Northeastern Pin Oak - Swamp White Oak Wet Forest, (Pin Oak - (Swamp White Oak ) - Red Maple / Highbush Blueberry / Cinnamon Fern Wet Forest), [Quercus palustris - (Quercus bicolor) - Acer rubrum / Vaccinium corymbosum / Osmunda cinnamomea Wet Forest], - CEGL006240
This association is a woody, deciduous, seasonally flooded forest with a closed to partially open canopy, often located on sandy loams or clayey soils of glacial lakeplains in basin areas that are seasonally wet (winter and early spring) with a shallow, perched water table, that may become drier in late summer and early fall creating a hummock-and-hollow microtopography. There is generally some layer that impedes drainage. The canopy is codominated by pin oak (Quercus palustris) and/or swamp white oak (Quercus bicolor) and red maple (Acer rubrum). Common associates include blackgum (Nyssa sylvatica) and occasionally bitternut hickory (Carya cordiformis) and sometimes eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis). The shrub layer may be sparse or dense and contains winterberry (Ilex verticillata), highbush blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum), smooth arrowood (Viburnum dentatum), buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis), and sheep laurel (Kalmia angustifolia). The sparse herb layer may include cinnamon fern (Osmunda cinnamomea), marshfern (Thelypteris palustris), Massachusetts fern (Thelypteris simulata), sensitive fern (Onoclea sensibilis), royal fern Osmunda regalis)common woolsedge (Scirpus cyperinus), Frank’s sedge (Carex frankii), fowl mannagrass (Glyceria striata), and fringed sedge (Carex crinita). (Source: NatureServe 2018 [accessed 2019], USNVC 2017 [accessed 2019]).
Cross-referenced plant community concepts (typically by political state):
Black Gum - Pin Oak - Swamp White Oak Perched Swamp (Swain 2016) [MA]
Red maple - swamp white oak swamp (Edinger et al. 2014) [NY]
Mixed Hardwood Swamp Forest (Greller 1977) [NY]
Community 1.2
Atlantic White-cedar / Inkberry - Swamp Azalea Swamp Forest
Coastal Plain Atlantic White-cedar Swamp Forest, (Atlantic White-cedar / Inkberry - Swamp Azalea Swamp Forest). [Chamaecyparis thyoides / Ilex glabra - Rhododendron viscosum Swamp Forest], - CEGL006188
This Atlantic white-cedar swamp occurs in poorly-drained depressions or basins generally overlaying sand and gravel deposits. The canopy is dominated by Atlantic white cedar (Chamaecyparis thyoides) or codominated with red maple (Acer rubrum). Less frequent canopy associates include pitch pine (Pinus rigida), blackgum (Nyssa sylvatica), and sometimes eastern white pine (Pinus strobus) and occasionally eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis). The shrub layer is very dense and diverse with sweet pepperbush (Clethra alnifolia), inkberry (Ilex glabra), northern bayberry (Morella pensylvanica), blue huckleberry (Gaylussacia frondosa), samp doghobble (Leucothoe racemosa), swamp azalea (Rhododendron viscosum), smooth winterberry (Ilex laevigata), winterberry (Ilex verticillata), black chockberry (Aronia melanocarpa), and highbush blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum). The herbaceous layer tends to be sparse or patchy and limited to sunny openings with cinnamon fern (Osmunda cinnamomea), marshfern (Thelypteris palustris), Virginia chainfern (Woodwardia virginica), netted chainfern (Woodwardia areolata), Massachusetts fern (Thelypteris simulata), eastern teaberry (Gaultheria procumbens), sundew (Drosera spp.), purple pitcherplant (Sarracenia purpurea), rose pogonia (Pogonia ophioglossoides), partridgeberry (Mitchella repens), Walter’s sedge (Carex striata), Collins’ sedge (Carex collinsii), prickly bogsedge (Carex atlantica), and poisen ivy (Toxicodendron radicans). The nonvascular layer can several species of peatmoss (Sphagnum), commonly Sphagnum fallax, Sphagnum flavicomans, Sphagnum magellanicum, Sphagnum pulchrum, Sphagnum recurvum, and Sphagnum palustre. (Source: NatureServe 2018 [accessed 2019], USNVC 2017 [accessed 2019]).
Coastal Atlantic White Cedar Swamp (Swain 2016) [MA]
Coastal plain Atlantic white cedar swamp (Edinger et al. 2014) [NY]
Coastal Plain Atlantic White Cedar Swamp (Sneddon et al. 2010) [Cape Cod National Seashore]
Pathway CP1.1-2.1
Community 1.1 to 1.2
Disturbance
Pathway CP1.2-1.1
Community 1.2 to 1.1
Abandonment, Sucession
State 2
Semi-natural State
Vegetation on lands somewhat conditioned by land use, e.g., managed native plant communities or invasive plant communities.
Community 2.1
Managed forest/woodlands/meadows
Community 2.2
Invasive Plants
Black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia), Norway Maple (Acer platanoides), tree-of-heaven (Ailanthus altissima), winged burningbush (Euonymus alatus), Japanese knotweed (Polygonum cuspidatum), and oriental bittersweet (Celatrus orbiculatus), multiflora rose (Rosa multiflora), wineberry (Rubus phoenicolasius), garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata), major celindine (Chelidonium majus), ground ivy (Glechoma hederacea), and European lily-of-the-valley (Convallaria majalis), can characterize the herb layer, which may also include native plants.
Pathway CP2.1-2.2
Community 2.1 to 2.2
Disturbance, Invasive species establishment
Pathway CP2.2-2.1
Community 2.2 to 2.1
Invasive spp. Control, Forest mgmt.
State 3
Cultural State
Landscapes heavily conditioned by land use, e.g., Plantations / Gardens / Cultivated / Pasture.
Community 3.1
Plantations / Gardens / Cultivated / Pasture
Transition T1-2
State 1 to 2
altered by human- induced Disturbance or Management
Tree/Shrub Establishment |
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Forest Land Management |
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Forest stand improvement for habitat and soil quality |
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Transition T1-3
State 1 to 3
Disturbance, clearing, cutting
Brush Management |
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Land Clearing |
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Herbaceous Weed Control |
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Restoration pathway R2-1
State 2 to 1
Plant removals, plantings, Invasive plant control, successional mgmt., forestry practices
Restoration & Mgmt, Forest Stand Improvement, Early Successional Habitat Development, Upland Wildlife Mgmt, Invasive spp. Control, Plant establishment
Brush Management |
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Tree/Shrub Establishment |
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Early Successional Habitat Development/Management |
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Forest Stand Improvement |
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Restoration and Management of Natural Ecosystems |
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Native Plant Community Restoration and Management |
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Forest Land Management |
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Invasive Plant Species Control |
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Transition T2-3
State 2 to 3
Land clearing, cutting
Brush Management |
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Land Clearing |
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Herbaceous Weed Control |
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Restoration pathway R3-1
State 3 to 1
Plant removals, plantings, Invasive plant control, successional mgmt., forestry practices
Restoration & Mgmt, Forest Stand Improvement, Early Successional Habitat Development, Upland Wildlife Mgmt, Invasive spp. Control, Plant establishment
Restoration and Management of Natural Ecosystems |
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Native Plant Community Restoration and Management |
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Transition T3-2
State 3 to 2
Abandonment. Plant establishment, Forest mgmt.
Tree/Shrub Establishment |
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Forest Stand Improvement |
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Forest Land Management |
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