Vegetation of the Savannah River Site: Major community types

Abstract

The eight major plant community types of the Savannah River Site (SRS) are distributed along topographic and moisture gradients and strongly controlled by local management practices. Communities range from sandhill communities in the xeric uplands to bottomland or swamp forests in low-lying areas subject to periodic flooding. The variety of community types and extensive land area (78,000 ha) of the SRS provides habitat for a diversity of plant species. As a National Environmental Research Park, the SRS provides an area for study of man-altered systems in relation to natural systems. A site-wide Set-Aside Areas program designates specific parcels of land representing different community types on the SRS. These areas conserve habitat for plants and wildlife, including some endangered, threatened and rare species. This document provides descriptions, including community characteristics and species composition, for the eight major vegetation communities of the SRS (old field, sandhill, upland hardwood, pinelands, bottomland, swamp, Carolina bay and fresh water). Species lists of tree, shrub, vine, herbaceous, and lower plant species of the SRS, by community type, were compiled from existing literature, herbarium information, and solicited additions from researchers familiar with SRS vegetation; these are provided in appendices. 130 refs., 19 figs.