Composition and Structure of Bottomland Forest Vegetation at the Tiak Research Natural Area, McCurtain County, Oklahoma

Although southeastern Oklahoma has substantial areas of bottomland forest, few studies exist of this vegetation type. We analyzed forest community structure at the Tiak Research Natural Area of the Ouachita National Forest on the Upper Gulf Coastal Plain. Vegetation data were collected from 24 12m x 8m macroplots. Percent cover data were recorded for ferns, fern-allies, and herbaceous angiosperms. Tree sapling and shrub species were recorded in diameter classes, and numbers of stems in estimated height classes were recorded for midlevel and canopy trees. One hundred fifty-two taxa of woody and herbaceous plants were encountered. Toxicodendron radicans and Arundinaria gigantea were the common understory species. Acer rubrum, A. saccharum, Carpinus caroliniana, Carya alba, C. texana, Cornus florida, Fraxinus americana, Liquidambar styraciflua, and Nyssa sylvatica were common as mid-level species. Quercus lyrata and Q. phellos were the most common canopy layer trees.