Shrub Swamp State Rank: S5 - Secure cover of tall shrubs with Shrub Swamp Communities are a well decomposed organic common and variable type of wetlands soils. If highbush occurring on seasonally or temporarily blueberries are dominant flooded soils; They are often found in the transition zone between emergent the community is likely to marshes and swamp forests; be a Highbush Blueberry Thicket, often occurring on stunted trees. The herbaceous layer of peat. Acidic Shrub Fens are shrub swamps is often sparse and species- peatlands, dominated by poor. A mixture of species might typically low growing shrubs, along include cinnamon, sensitive, royal, or with sphagnum moss and marsh fern, common arrowhead, skunk herbaceous species of Shrub Swamp along shoreline. Photo: Patricia cabbage, sedges, bluejoint grass, bur-reed, varying abundance. Deep Serrentino, Consulting Wildlife Ecologist. swamp candles, clearweed, and Emergent Marshes and Description: Wetland shrubs dominate turtlehead. Invasive species include reed Shallow Emergent Marshes Cottontail, have easy access to the shrubs Shrub Swamps. Shrub height may be from canary grass, glossy alder-buckthorn, are graminoid dominated wetlands with and protection in the dense thickets. The <1m to 5 meters, of uniform height or common buckthorn, and purple <25% cover of tall shrubs. Acidic larvae of many rare and common moth mixed. Shrub density can be variable, loosestrife. Pondshore/Lakeshore Communities are species feed on a variety of shrubs and from dense (>75% cover) to fairly open broadly defined, variable shorelines associated herbaceous plants in shrub (25-75% cover) with graminoid, around open water. Shorelines often swamps throughout Massachusetts. herbaceous, or open water areas between merge into swamps or marshes. Fresh/ shrubs. These common, widespread Brackish Tidal Shrubland are dense to Examples with Public Access: communities can be found where the open shrublands along tidal sections of Greenler Reservation (ECGA), Boxford; water table is at or above the soil surface coastal rivers. Forested swamp Westminster Conservation land Tophet for most of the year - in lowlands, along communities such as Red Maple Swamp Swamp, Westminster; Jacobs Hill the margins of rivers, streams and other and its variants often contain a significant Reservation (TTOR), Royalston; waterbodies, and along or within forested shrub component, and may include Wekepeke WCE (Clinton Water Dept.), or herbaceous dominated wetlands. Soils patches of shrub swamp where the tree Sterling; 19th Hill WCE (MGCT), may be mineral or well decomposed canopy cover is <25%. Winchendon. organic material. Sweet Pepperbush, common in eastern Shrub Swamps. Photo: Keith Love. Habitat for Associated Fauna: Characteristic Species: The species Many Shrub Swamps provide high-quality composition of Shrub Swamps is highly Differentiating from Related vernal-pool habitats. Relatively long variable within and among sites. Communities: The physical and hydroperiods ensure that amphibian larvae Dominant and codominant shrubs include biological characteristics of Shrub have plenty of time to develop, and the alders, meadowsweet, buttonbush, swamp Swamp, Acidic Shrub Fen, Highbush diverse vegetation structure provides both azalea, silky dogwood, winterberry, Blueberry Thickets, Fresh/Brackish Tidal cover for larvae and egg-attachment arrowwood, and poison sumac. Low Shrubland, emergent marshes, and substrates for breeding adults. Many growing, weak stemmed shrubs include shoreline communities overlap and species of migratory birds use the dense dewberry, water-willow, and Canadian intergrade. They all lack tree cover (<25% shrub thickets as protected nesting habitat. burnet. In general, shrub communities canopy cover) and they are all on wet In the winter when the surface is frozen, Shrub Swamp with mixed graminoids. Photo: substrates. Shrub Swamps have >25% browsers, including New England Patricia Serrentino, Consulting Wildlife have <25% canopy cover of scattered and Ecologist. From: Classification of Natural Communities of Massachusetts htthttpp://www;mass;gov/nhesp/://www;mass;gov/nhesp/ Updated: 2016 Natural Heritage & Endangered Species Program, Division of FishFisheeriesries & Wildlife, 1 Rabbit Hill Rd;, Westborough, M! 01581 (508) 389-6360 .