This study characterizes representative plant communities on Davis Hill and adjacent bottomlands of Davis Bayou and the Trinity River at Davis Hill State Park in Liberty County, Texas. Aerial photography provided a practical method of identifying and mapping plant communities. Community types were delineated on a digitized infrared aerial photograph with ArcView software. A total of 17 transects representing nine upland and eight bottomland communities were sampled with Point Center Quarter transects. Upland communities were dominated by Pinus laeda; in seven of eight floodplain communities the dominant species were Quercus spp., Ulmus crassifolia, and Liquidambar styracaflua. Forest communities are typical of the Pineywoods vegetational region, with notable differences. Size class distribution of forest communities indicates they have been selectively harvested and are early-to-mid-successional. Botanical surveys resulted in a floristic inventory of 633 taxa, which included several rare species. |