The Sycamore - River Birch Floodplain Forest grows on stony bars (boulders, cobbles, gravel, and sand) in rapids in the Potomac or Shenandoah rivers. In a setting such as this one, the geology of the underlying bedrock is not as influential as the influx of nutrients and minerals coming in with new sediments. This regular influx creates a fertile setting for plants. However, frequent swift-running floodwaters make it hard for plants to hold on and keep growing. That’s why the trees here are small and stunted and often leaning precariously.

This natural community is typically flooded several times each year for brief periods of time. Less frequently, there are deeper floods of longer duration. In winter, the flooding can include ice floes that batter tree trunks. The plants that live here are those that can withstand saturated roots, flowing water, and damage from chunks of ice and other debris. There are also plants that can grow from seed, and quickly produce more seeds during a single dry summer, when these stony bars can be quite droughty.

Ecobit: Erosion and Sediment Transport: Earth in Motion
Ecobit: Floods—Rich But Hard to Live With

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