Table 17. Some environmental factors affecting the fauna of the bottom- 

 land hardwoods (and the ecosystem in general), and their relative 

 importance in each bottomland hardwood zone. (Zone I la is tupelo gum- 

 cypress; Zone lib is swamp black gum-cypress backswamp). Importance: 

 negligible or none, 1 low, 2 moderate, 3 high. (Wharton et al. 1981.) 



Factors 



Retardation of "side flooding" from 

 tributary streams (damming effect) 



Organic matter production 



Detritus source for feeding downstream 

 life by annual inundation (includes 

 coastal estuary) 



Detritus source for feeding downstream 

 life on 5-7 year pulse cycle (includes 

 coastal estuary) 



Diversity of oak species (acorns for 

 food) (excluding Quercus palustn's , 

 bicolor , macrocarpa , imbricaria ) 



A mix of white oaks (bear each year) 

 and red oaks (bear every second year) 



Availability of non-coniferous nut- 

 bearing trees other than oaks 

 (hickories, pecan, beech) 



Diversity of berries and soft fruits in 

 high canopy (sugarberry, tupelo, black gum, 

 persimmon, etc.) 



Availability of berries and soft fruits in 

 subcanopy and shrub zone (deciduous holly, 

 haws ( Crataegus ), mulberry, paw paw, 

 Elliott's blueberry, American holly, swamp 

 palm, tall gallberry, etc.) 



Availability of berries and soft fruits 

 of vines (grapes, poison ivy, supplejack 

 [ Berchemia J, etc.) 



Availability of herbs as browse for 

 birds and mammals (cane, greenbrier, 

 jewelweed, sedges, etc.) 



Availability of small terrestrial fauna 

 (insects, snails, earthworms, etc.) 



(continued) 





 





 



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