Floristics of wetland pine savannas in the Big Thicket National Preserve, southeast Texas

11 Pages·1998·3.8 MB·English

by  Barbara R Macroberts

Phytologia (July 1998)85(l):40-50.
FLORISTICS OF WETLAND PINE SAVANNAS IN THE BIG THICKET
NATIONAL PRESERVE, SOUTHEAST TEXAS
BarbaraR. MacRoberts&MichaelH.MacRoberts
BogResearch,740Columbia,Shreveport,Louisiana 71104 U.S.A.
&
Herbarium,MuseumofLifeSciences,LouisianaStateUniversityinShreveport,
Shreveport, Louisiana 71115 U.S.A.
ABSTRACT
Wedescribethefloristicsandedaphicconditionsof wetland pine savannas
insoutheasternTexas.
KEY WORDS: Wetland pine savanna. Big Thicket National Preserve,
floristics, pitcherplants,Texas
INTRODUCTION
Southeast Texas is the western limit of once extensive wetland pine savannas
(Bridges & Orzell 1989; Folkerts 1991; Harcombe et d. 1993; Marks & Harcombe
1981; Stout & Marion 1993; Streng & Harcombe 1982). In the West Gulf Coastal
Plain(WGCP), wetlandpinesavannaislimitedtocoastalterracesofAllen, Calcasieu,
Jefferson Davis, and Beauregard parishes in southwest Louisiana and to Jasper!
Newton, Hardin,andTylercountiesinTexas(Bridges&Orzell 1989;Harcombeetd.
1993).
Wetlandpinesavannaisopen, relativelyflat, and is periodically inundated. Soils
aresaturatedduringthewinterandspring. Thereoftenarescattered,stuntedpines;the
rich herbaceous layer consists of carnivorous species, grasses, sedges, and forbs.
Sphagnumisabundantatsomesites.
Wetland pine savanna is more technically referred to as Longleaf pine-Beakrush
{Piniispalustris - Rhynchospora) Series (Diamond etd. 1987), or Pinus palustris -
saturatedwoodlandalliance(Weakleyetd. 1998).
40
&
MacRoberts MacRoberts: Wetlandpinesavannafloristics 41
IntheWGCP, wetlandpinesavanna is considered threatened (Texas Organization
for Endangered Species 1992; Texas Natural Heritage Program 1995; Louisiana
NaturalHeritageProgram 1993;Noss etd. 1995).
Therearedifferingopinionson thecommunitystatus ofwetlandpine savannas in
WGCP &
the (Bridges Orzell 1989; Louisiana Natural Heritage Program 1988;
Sheridan 1991;Texas Natural Heritage Program 1995). IDo wetland pine savannas
representoneortwocommunities? Arethe northern sites, which have pitcherplants,
thesameoradifferentcommunityfrom those in the south, which lackpitcherplants?
Are wetland pine savannas floristically different from hillside pitcher plant bogs
(Bridges&Orzell 1989;MacRoberts&MacRoberts 1993;Nixon&Ward 1986)?
The purpose of this paper is twofold. First, we describe the floristics of
representativewetland pine savanna in southeastern Texas. Second, using standard
methods ofassessing community differences, we compare two sites that have been
designatedasbelongingtotwodifferentcommunities.
METHODS
In 1997and 1998, weconductedafloristicinventoryoftwo3 hasites on the Big
ThicketNational Preserve, Texas (Ajilvsgi 1979; Gunter 1993; Marks & Harcombe
1981;Watson 1979). LanceRosier, thesouthernmostsite, ifintheLanceRosier Unit
about 8 km southwest of Kountze, Hardin County, near Little Rock Church (see
Marks & Harcombe 1981 or Watson 1979 for maps of the Big Thicket National
Preserve). Thissiteis"classic"wetlandpinesavanna. It is about29 km south of the
naturalextentofpitcherplants. Thepimplemoundsthatoccuratthissite areexcluded
fromoursampleasbelongingtoanuplandcommunity.
Thesecondsite,TurkeyCreek("PitcherPlantTrail"),is about32 km north ofthe
LanceRosiersavannaintheTurkeyCreekUnitabout8kmsoutheastofWarren,Tyler
County. This site has extensive stands of pitcher plants and occurs on the
southernmostedgeoftheextentofpitcherplantsinTexas.
Bothsitesareopen. Turkey Creek has scatteredshrubs and small longleafpines.
LanceRosier has more woody vegetation, but the canopy is not more than twenty
percentoverallandmosttreesarestunted.
Exceptfor mid-winter, we conducted floristic surveys monthly and visited each
sitethirteentimesbetweenJuly 1997andNovember 1998. Allspecies were identified
and mostcollected. Voucherspecimens will be deposited inTEX. Ateachsite, we
establishedtwo 1^ plots tomeasure species richness. We follow Kartesz (1994) and
Jonesetd. (1997) fornomenclatureinmostinstances(butsee also Nesom [1994] for
Aster and Brown & Gandhi [1989] for a discussion of Hypericum; we do not
distinguish betweenNy^ja sylvaticaMarsh. andM bijiora Wall., nor between Persea
borbonia(L.) Spreng. andP.palustris).
TheTurkeyCreeksite was burned in the winterof 1997-98 and has been burned
regulariy for many years (Geraldine Watson, pers. comm.). The Lance Rosier site
PHYTOLOGIA
42 July 1998 volume85(1):40.50
was burned in March 1983 and October 1990 (£)avid McHugh, pcrs. comm.).
Qimaticinformationcanbe found in Marks & Harcombe(1981) and in Harcombeet
d. (1993).
J^rcomparativepurposes, wemadebriefsurveys ofotherwetland pine savannas
inbothLouisianaandTexas.
Soil samples were taken from the upper 15 cm and sent to A & L Laboratory,
Memphis,Tennessee,forchemicalanalysis.
RESULTS
Table1 liststhevascularplantsfoundintheLanceRosierand Turkey Creek study
sites. Ourcollectionnumberisincluded. Specimenswithoutcollectionnumbers were
identifiedinthefield.
Table 1. Plants of Lance Rosier and Turkey Creek wetland pine savannas (LR
LanceRosier,TC=TurkeyCreek).
SPHAGNACEAE
Sphagnumsp. [LR,TC3504]
BLECHNACEAE
Woodwardiaareolata(L.)T. Moore [LR]
W. virginica(L.) Sm. [LR.TC]
LYCOPODIACEAE
Lycopodiellaappressa(Chapm.) R. Cranfill [LR3734, TC3506]
L. caroliniana(L.) P. Sermolli [TC]
OSMUNDACEAE
OsmundacinnamomeaL. [TC3794]
O.regalisL. [TCi79i]
PINACEAE
PinuspalidstrisP. Mill [LR,TC]
P.taedaL. [LR,TC]
AMARYLUDACEAE
Hypoxis hirsiita(L.) Cov. [LR,TC3720]
BURMANNIACEAE
Bunnanniacapitata(Walt.)Mart. [LR,TC]
CYPERACEAE
CarexglaucescensEll. [LR]
MacRoberts&MacRoberts: Wetlandpinesavannaflorisiics 43
DichromenalatifoUaBaldw. exEll. [LR3940,TC3891]
EUocharismicrocarpaTon. [LR3852,TC3937]
E. tuberculosa(Michx.)Roem. &Schult. [LR3858,TC3883]
Fuirenabreviseta(Coville)Coville [LR3480]
F.bushiiKi2\ [TC5577]
RhynchosporacaducaEll. [LR5540]
R. debilisGale [LR5857]
7?. eUiottuA. Dietr. [LR3927, TC5948]
7?.yf/(/&//aA. Gray[LR3485]
R. globularis(Chapm.) Small [LR3864,TC3934]
R. glomerata(L.) Vahl [LR3646]
R. gracUentaA. Gray [LR3488-C, TC3496]
R. inexpansa(Michx.) Vahl [LR5547]
7?. oUganthaA. Gray [TC3495]
R. pliimosaEll. [LR3861, TC3885]
R. piisillaChapm. exM.A. Curtis [LR3479]
R. rarijlora(Miphx.) Ell. [LR3867, TC3884]
ScleriageorgiamCore [LR5488,TC3882]
S. reticularisMichx. [syn. =S. muhlenbergiiSteud.] [LR3667,TC5499]
ERIOCAULACEAE
EriocaulondecangiilareL. [LR,TC]
Lachnocaulonaiiceps(Walt.)Morong. [TC]
IRIDACEAE
SisyrinchiumatlanticumBickn. [LR3875,TC]
UUACEAE
A/e/maureaWalt. [LR5659, TC3629]
Schoenolirioncroceum(Michx.) Wood [LR3783,TC3792]
Tofieldiaracemosa(Walt.)B.S.P. [TC5575]
ORCHIDACEAE
Calopogontuberosns(L.) B.S.P. [LR3924,TC5945]
SpirantlieslongilabrisLindl. [LR4047]
5. praecoxi"^dli.)S. Wats. [LR5865]
&
5. v^r«fl/wEngelm. Gray [LR5979]
POACEAE
Ant/iaenantiarufa(Ell.)Schultes [LR3665,TC5679]
Aristidapalitstris(Chapm.) Vasey [LR3542,TC5678]
AristidapurpurascemPoir. var. virgata(Trin.)Allred fTC3498]
Axonopiisfissifoliiis(Raddi)Kuhlm. [LR3653-B, TC]
Coeloraclusrugosa(Nutt.) Nash [LR5657]
Dic}iant1ieliumacuminatum (Swartz) Gould & Clark var. wrightianum (Scribn.)
Gould &Clark [LR3385,TC]
D. consanguineum(Kunth) Gould&Clark [LR3862]
D. scabriusculum(Ell.)Gould&Clark [LR3482, TC3938]
Eragrostisrefracta(Muhl.) Scribn. [LR3654, TC3623]
Erianthiisgiganteus(Walt.) Muhl. (LR]
MulUenbergiacapillaris(Lam.)Trin. [LR3656]
PHYTOLOGIA
44 July 1998 volume85(1):40-50
PanicumbrachyanthumSteud. [LR,TC3634]
PanicumrigidulumBosc. exNeesvar.pubescens(Vasey)Lelong[LR3732^TC]
PanicumtenerumBey. exTrin. [LR5457,TC]
PumcumverrucosumMuhl. [LR5666,TC3634-B]
PanicumvirgatumL. [LR]
PaspalumfloridanumMichx. (TC5626]
PaspalumlaeveMichx. [LR5665]
PaspalumplicatulufnMichx. [LR,TC]
PaspalumpraecoxWalL [LR5757,TC5779]
Schizachyriumscoparium(Michx.)Nash [LR,TC]
Tridensambiguus(Ell.)Schulles [LR3544, TC3620]
T. strictus(Null.) Nash [LR3722]
SMIL\CACEAE
SmilaxlaurifoliaL. [LR,TC3632]
XYRIDACEAE
Xyris ambiguaBey. exKunth [LR,TC5657]
X. baldmnianaSchultes [TC5879]
Tq
X. caroUnianaWalt. [LR,
X. diformisChapm. var. diformis [LR3657]
X. louisianicaBridges&Orzell [LR3535, TC5507]
X. tornSm. [TC3946]
ACERACEAE
AcerrubrumL. [LR,TC]
APIACEAE
Centellaerecta(L./.) Fern. [LR,TC]
EryngiumintegrifoliiimWalt. [LR,TC3507]
Oxypolisfiliformis(Walt.)BritL [LR3478,TC]
O. r/^/V/wr(L.) Raf. [TC]
Ptilimmumcapillaceiim(Michx.)Raf. [LR,TC]
AQUIFOUACEAE
Ilexcoriacea(Pursh) Chapm. [LR,TC3892]
7. opacaAil. [LR]
7. vomitoriaAit. [LR,TC]
ASCLEPIADACEAE
AsclepiaslongifoliaMichx. [LR5574,TC]
ASTERACEAE
Arnoglossum ovatnm(Walt.)H.E. Robins. [LR,TC3508]
AsterdnmosusL. [LR3648, TC5745]
BoltoniadiffusaEll. [LR5652,TC3509]
Cliaptaliatonientosa Vent. [LR3733, TC5624]
CoreopsislinifoliaNun. [LR5662,TC5627]
Eupatoriiimleucolepis(DC.)Torrey&Gray [LR5647,TC]
£". rotundifoliumL. [LR,TC]
HeleniumdrummondiiH. Rock [LR5784, TC3786]
MacRoberts&MacRoberts: Wetlandpinesavannafloristics 45
HelianthusangustifoliusL. [LR3735]
UatrisacidotaEngelm.&Gray [LR4005,TC]
L.pycnostachyaMichx. [LR3648,TC]
Marshalliagramimfolia(WalL)Small [LR3378, TC4006\
Pityopsisgramini/olia(Michx.)NutL [TC3715]
PluchearoseaGodfrey [LR3653,TC]
CAMPA>njLACEAE
LobeliaJlaccidifoliaSmall [LR3920]
L. reverchoniiB.L. Turner [LR,TC]
CLUSIACEAE
Hypericumcrux-andreae(L.) Crantz [LR3389]
H.fascicuiatuinLdm. [LR4001,TC3502]
H. hypericoides(L.) Crantz [LR,TC]
CYRILLACEAE
CyrillaracemijloraL. [LR,TC3505]
DROSERACEAE
DroserabrevifoliaPursh [LR3781, TC3789]
D. capillarisPoir. [LR3860, TC3889]
FABACEAE
MimosaqnadrivalvisL. var. hystricina(Small)Bameby [LR3660]
TephrosiaonobryclioidesNull. [LR]
GENTIANACEAE
Bartoniavema(Michx.)Muhl. [TC3757]
SabatiagentianoidesEll. [LR5655. TC4007]
HALORAGIDACEAE
ProserpitiacapectinataLam. [LR547^^]
HAMAMEUDACEAE
UquidambarstyracifluaL. [LR,TC]
LAMIACEAE
//yp//5a/rtto(Raf.) Shinners [LR3484, TC3625]
ScutellariaintegrifoliaL. [LR3876, TC5857]
LAURACEAE
Perseaborbonia(L.) Spreng. [LR,TC]
LENTIBULARIACEAE
Pingniculapumila Michx. [LR576/, TC5790]
Utriculariasubiilata L. [LR,TC5895]
UNACEAE
Limimmedium(Planch.) Britl. [LR3546, TC]
PHYTOLOGIA
46 July 1998 volume85(1):40-50
LOGANIACEAE
Cynoctonumsessilifolium(Walt.)St. Hil. [LR3483, TC3510]
Gelsemiumsempervirens(L.) St. Hil. [LR,TC]
MAGNOUACEAE
MagnoliavirginianaL. [LR,TC]
MELj\STOMATACEAE
RhexialuteaV^dXi. [U(.3388,1C3944\
R. mariamL. [LR3489, TC3942]
MYRICACEAE
MyricaceriferaL. [LR.TC]
M.heterophyllaRaf. [LR,TC]
NYSSACEAE
Nyssa sylvaticaMarsh. [LR,TC]
ONAGRACEAE
LudwigiahirtellaRaf. [LR]
L. linearisWalt. [LR3538]
L.pilosa'NdAt. [LR,TC3500]
POLYGALACEAE
PolygalacruciataL. {TC3943]
P. marianaP. Mill. [LR5726, TC]
P. ra/nojaEll. [LRJ877, TC]
ROSACEAE
Aroniaarbutifolia(L.) Pers. [TC3759]
RUBIACEAE
D/orf/avirginianaL. [LR5475, TC]
SARRACENIACEAE
SarraceniaalataV^ood. (TC]
SCROPHULARIACEAE
Gra/w/abrevifoliaRaf. [LR5976, TC5956]
VIOLACEAE
ViolalanceolataL. [LR5762, TC3787]
V.primulifoUaL. [TC5785]
Therewere 117species,76genera,and40familiesattheLanceRosiersite. There
were 106species,75genera,and41 familiesat the Turkey Creek site. TheSorensen
Index ofSimilarity(Sorensen 1948) between LanceRosier andTurkey Creek is 79,
which falls into the normal range of variation for different samples of the same
communitytype. Thetwo 1 m^plotsatTurkeyCreek had 20 and 24 species; the two
1 m^ plotsatLanceRosierhad 19and21 species, indicatingarich,diverse flora.
MacRoberts&MacRoberts: Wetlandpinesavannafloristies 47
Lany Brown (pers. comm.) informs us that Spiranthes brevilabris Lind. var.
Jloridana(Wherry)Luer,whichwedidnotfindinoutLanceRosierstudy plot, occurs
intheimmediatearea{Brown &Liggio20418[SBSC]). Itisrarethroughoutitsrange
andisknown fromonlyafewlocationsinTexas(L.E. Brownpers. comm.,J. Liggio
pers. comm.).
Table 2 gives information on soil samples from the Lance Rosier and Turkey
Creeksites.
Table2. SoilsofLanceRosierandTurkeyCreekstudysites.
PHYTOLOGIA
48 July 1998 volume85(1):40-50
The differences and similarities we have found in this study also hold for
southwestern Louisiana. On thebasis ofincompletesurveys, the flora is essentially
the same in what are called pitcher plant bogs and wetland pine savannas. In
BeauregardParishandnorthernCalcasieuParish, pitcherplantsoccur. Farthersouth
thisspeciesdropsoutoftheflora,butthesamebasiccommunitycontinues.
Needlesstoadd, foracompleteunderstanding of thecommunitiesin the longleaf
pineregionofsoutheasternTexasandsouthwestern Louisiana, amuch largersample
of sites from a larger part of the region would be desirable, as would additional
informationon hydrology, soils, geology, topographic position, importance values,
covervalues,andotherfactorsthatmaybeusedtocharacterizesites. The factthatwe
found astrong similarityin flora between the Lance Rosier and Turkey Creek sites
does not negate the fact that they will differ in some manner and thereby be
&
recognizableas distinctatsome level. For example. Bridges Orzell (1989) found
differences between hillside bogs and wetland pine savannas in species importance
valuesandherbaceousspeciescomposition. Wealsohavefoundsuchdifferences, not
only between wetland pine savannas and hillside bogs, but among hillside bogs in
differentpartsof the WGCP. For example, differencesare apparentin Natchitoches
Parish, and Vernon and Beauregard parishes. While such species as Rudbeckia
scabrifoUaL.E. Brown, Uatrisacidota, Violalanceolata,Dichromenalatifolia,Hyptis
(data, Sarraceniaalata, Schoenolirion croceum, and Sabatiamacrophylla Hook, are
uncommonorabsent in northern bogs, they are common in southern ones. These
observationspointtotheneed for thorough quantification(Harcombeetal. 1993:86).
WGCP
Importantwouldbecompletesitespecificcensuses of bogs and wetland pine
savannas on anorth-southand east-westaxis. Such concerns underline the fact that
muchresearchneedstobedoneonplantcommunitiesinthelongleafpineregionofthe
WGCP andattestto the perduring problem in ecology and conservation biology of
defining communities and developing community classifications (MacRoberts &
MacRoberts 1998b).
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
RoyZipp,DavidMcHugh, and Doug Hutter, BigThicketNational Preserve, and
Sue Grace, National Wetlands Research Center, aided in various ways with the
project Financial support was provided, in part, by a USGS-Biological Resources
Division species at risk grantto the National Wetlands Research Center. Geraldine
WatsonprovidedmanyhoursofhertimehelpingusseewhattheBigThicket was like
in years past. Joe Liggio aided with understanding soils and orchids, notably
Spiratithes longilabris. Larry Brown helped with plant identifications, especially
grasses, Fiiirena, and brought the Spiratithes brevilabris specimen to our attention.
Larry Brown, Steve Orzell, Roy Zipp, and Sue Grace reviewedan eariierversion of
thispaper.
MacRoberts&MacRoberts: Wetlandpinesavannafloristics 49
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