Bottomland Vegetation Distribution along Passage Creek, Virginia, in Relation to Fluvial Landforms

Persistent distribution patterns of woody vegetation within the bottomland forest of Passage Creek, Virginia, were related to fluvial landforms, channel geometry, streamflow characteristics, and sediment—size characteristics. Vegetation patterns were determined from species presence as observed in t...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Ecology (Durham) 1985-06, Vol.66 (3), p.670-681
Main Authors: Hupp, Cliff R., Osterkamp, W. R.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal and plant ecology
Animal, plant and microbial ecology
Biological and medical sciences
Creeks
Floodplains
Floods
Fluvial landforms
Forest ecology
Fresh water ecosystems
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Geological surveys
Sediments
Synecology
Tablelands
Terraces
Vegetation
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Summary:Persistent distribution patterns of woody vegetation within the bottomland forest of Passage Creek, Virginia, were related to fluvial landforms, channel geometry, streamflow characteristics, and sediment—size characteristics. Vegetation patterns were determined from species presence as observed in transects and traverses on landforms developed along the stream. Distinct species distributional patterns were found on four common fluvial geomorphic landforms: depositional bar, active—channel shelf, floodplain, and terrace. Independent hydrologic characteristics (flow duration and flood frequency) were determined for each of the landforms. Vegetation data were analyzed by binary discriminant analysis, principal components analysis, and detrended correspondence analysis. Results and related field observations suggest that certain species are significantly associated with specific fluvial landforms. Vegetation patterns appear to develop more as a result of hydrologic processes associated with each fluvial landform rather than from sediment—size characteristics. Flood disturbance may be an important factor in maintaining the vegetation patterns, which may therefore be used as indicators for particular hydrogeomorphic site conditions.
ISSN:0012-9658
1939-9170
DOI:10.2307/1940528