Use of hummocks and hollows by trees in tidal freshwater forested wetlands along the Savannah River

Abstract

Tidal freshwater forested wetlands occupy a relatively narrow range, occurring where wind and lunar tides interact with coastal river systems, causing freshwater flooding onto the floodplain. A prominent component of this wetland type is hummock and hollow microtopography. Tidal freshwater forested wetlands along the Savannah River were differentiated into backswamp and streamside areas, and the degree to which trees occupied hummocks and hollows were compared at three scales: landscape (backswamp vs. streamside), tree community, and species (within community). The community- and species-level analyses were extended to determine whether trees were using either hummocks or hollows in a nonrandom manner. Trees in the backswamp setting were found to use hummocks more than trees in the streamside setting. At the community scale, three of the five treatment groups investigated differed based on the degree to which trees on hummocks outnumber trees in hollows. Further examination of microtopography usage confirmed that hummocks are used significantly more than hollows in two communities, both of which are located in the backswamp setting. Though no tree community used hollows significantly more than hummocks, species-level analyses confirmed that, within a specific tree community in the streamside setting, alder ( Alnus serrulata [Ait.] Willd.) is found more in hollows than on hummocks. Fourteen different species between the two communities in the backswamp setting are found on hummocks more than in hollows, and only one species, sweetgum ( Liquidambar styraciflua L.), is found more on hummocks than in hollows in the tree community in the streamside setting.