Flood Tolerance of Plant Species in Bottomland Forests of the Southeastern United States.

摘要

Vegetation data on species composition along a hydrologic gradient were collected at 17 bottomland forest sites throughout the southeastern United States. Weighted averages based on importance values calculated from 55 stands resulted in flood tolerance index (FTI) numbers, the optimum position for each species along the defined hydrologic gradient, for 312 identified species. Commonly occurring species were evaluated using cluster analyses and discriminant function analyses. Data on tree, sapling, and vine species clustered into distinct groups, with tree species being the most reliable; however, shrubs and herbaceous species did not cluster distinctly. Discriminant function analysis using FTI numbers for tree species proved to be 82 percent reliable in predicting zones. The accuracy of the Flood Tolerance Index (FTI) numbers did not vary regionally in the southeastern United States. Therefore, a single FTI number calculated for each species can be used to predict hydrologic zones for the entire study area.... Bottomland forest, FTI, Vegetation, Flood tolerance, Hydrologic zones, Flood tolerance index, Species composition.