Class: Vaccinium corymbosum - Rhododendron viscosum - Clethra alnifolia Shrubland (Highbush Blueberry Shrub Forest) TNC Alliance Code: III.B.2.N.e.7.  6371 CMI Code:  6371 Type Locator: Fire Island and the Floyd Estate Cross-Section:

TNC Alliance Description:  This community occurs in a small saturated basins riddled with swale microtopography. The substrate is dark silt loam over sand. This association is a dense shrub thicket with Amelanchier canadensis, Rhododendron viscosum, and Vaccium corymbosum draped with vines, such as Smilax rotundifolia and S. glauca. The herbaceous layer is sparse with Triadenum virginianum and Thelypteris palustris, which are more abundant in swales.
 

Photo Interpretation: This is a wet shrub type found on both Fire Island and the William Floyd Estate. It is a brown color finely dissected with dark lines, which is the water showing through the canopy. It is seen in noticeable depressions or swales throughout the interdune area.
 

Aerial Photo Samples:

 

Field Notes:  Vaccium corymbosum is the dominant vegetation with Smilax rotundifolia often present.
 

Ground Photos:

Vaccinium corymbosum with Myrica pensylvanica	Vaccinium corymbosum in wetland

Similar Alliances:  Baccharis halimifolia - Iva frutescens / Panicum virgatum Shrubland (Northern Salt Shrub): Dominated by Baccharis halimifolia rather than Vaccinium corymbosum.