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Betula nigra

L.

River Birch

G5Secure Found in 7 roadless areas NatureServe Explorer →
G5SecureGlobal Rank
Least concernIUCN
UnknownThreat Impact
Identity
Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.160835
Element CodePDBET020A0
Record TypeSPECIES
ClassificationSpecies
Classification StatusStandard
Name CategoryVascular Plant
IUCNLeast concern
Endemicendemic to a single nation
KingdomPlantae
PhylumAnthophyta
ClassDicotyledoneae
OrderFagales
FamilyBetulaceae
GenusBetula
Other Common Names
river birch (EN)
Concept Reference
Kartesz, J.T. 1994. A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. 2nd edition. 2 vols. Timber Press, Portland, OR.
Conservation Status
Rank Method Rank calculation - Biotics v2
Review Date2024-03-22
Change Date1984-02-14
Edition Date2024-03-22
Edition AuthorsSoteropoulos (2024)
Threat ImpactUnknown
Range Extent>2,500,000 square km (greater than 1,000,000 square miles)
Number of Occurrences> 300
Rank Reasons
Betula nigra is a wide-ranging perennial tree occurring throughout the eastern and central United States from New Hampshire to Minnesota south to Florida and Texas. It is considered to be common throughout most of its range, with more than 3,000 occurrences along rivers, streams, and floodplains. Threats include rights-of-way maintenance, development, logging, invasive species, erosion, and likely other threats in some places. Little is known about trends, but with a large range extent and large number of occurrences, this species is considered secure.
Range Extent Comments
Betula nigra occurs throughout the eastern and central United States from New Hampshire west to Minnesota and south to Florida west to Texas (FNA 1997). Range extent was estimated to be 3.9 million square kilometers using herbarium specimens and photo-based observations documented between 1993 and 2024 (GBIF 2024, iNaturalist 2024, SEINet 2024).
Occurrences Comments
By applying a 1 km separation distance to herbarium specimens and photo-based observations documented between 1993 and 2024, it is estimated that there are over 3,000 occurrences rangewide (GBIF 2024, iNaturalist 2024, SEINet 2024).
Threat Impact Comments
Although threats are not widely documented, Betula nigra is threatened by rights-of-way maintenance, development, logging, invasive species, erosion, and likely other threats in some places (NatureServe 2024). There is insufficient data, including anecdotal accounts, to understand the scope and severity of threats for this taxon. However, their overall impact is likely negligible given the species' broad range, large number of occurrences, and no obvious intrinsic vulnerabilities.
Ecology & Habitat

Habitat

Betula nigra grows in "riverbanks and flood plains, often where land is periodically inundated" (FNA 1997).
Terrestrial Habitats
Forest/Woodland
Other Nations (1)
United StatesN5
ProvinceRankNative
MississippiSNRYes
West VirginiaS5Yes
IndianaS5Yes
MissouriSNRYes
KentuckyS5Yes
South CarolinaS5Yes
MarylandSNRYes
New YorkS4Yes
PennsylvaniaS5Yes
TexasSNRYes
District of ColumbiaS5Yes
DelawareS5Yes
ConnecticutSNRYes
North CarolinaS5Yes
IllinoisS3Yes
TennesseeSNRYes
MassachusettsS3Yes
VermontSNRYes
IowaS4Yes
KansasS2Yes
ArkansasSNRYes
MichiganSNRYes
FloridaSNRYes
OklahomaSNRYes
OhioSNRYes
LouisianaSNRYes
WisconsinSNRYes
VirginiaS5Yes
New JerseyS5Yes
AlabamaSNRYes
New HampshireS2Yes
MinnesotaSNRYes
GeorgiaSNRYes
Threat Assessments
ThreatScopeSeverityTiming
1 - Residential & commercial developmentUnknownUnknownUnknown
4 - Transportation & service corridorsUnknownUnknownUnknown
5 - Biological resource useUnknownUnknownUnknown
5.3 - Logging & wood harvestingUnknownUnknownUnknown
5.3.5 - Motivation unknown/unrecordedUnknownUnknownUnknown
8 - Invasive & other problematic species, genes & diseasesUnknownUnknownUnknown
8.1 - Invasive non-native/alien species/diseasesUnknownUnknownUnknown
8.1.1 - Unspecified speciesUnknownUnknownUnknown
9 - PollutionUnknownUnknownUnknown
9.3 - Agricultural & forestry effluentsUnknownUnknownUnknown
9.3.2 - Soil erosion, sedimentationUnknownUnknownUnknown

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Plant Characteristics
DurationPERENNIAL, Long-lived
Economic Value (Genus)No
Roadless Areas (7)
Alabama (1)
AreaForestAcres
Oakey MountainTalladega National Forest6,129
Illinois (1)
AreaForestAcres
Burke BranchShawnee National Forest6,231
New Hampshire (1)
AreaForestAcres
Pemigewasset ExtWhite Mountain National Forest15,840
Virginia (3)
AreaForestAcres
JerkemtightGeorge Washington National Forest16,687
Little RiverGeorge Washington National Forest27,292
Shawvers Run AdditionJefferson National Forest1,927
West Virginia (1)
AreaForestAcres
Marlin MountainMonongahela National Forest9,344
References (7)
  1. Flora of North America Editorial Committee (FNA). 1997. Flora of North America north of Mexico. Vol. 3. Magnoliophyta: Magnoliidae and Hamamelidae. Oxford Univ. Press, New York. xxiii + 590 pp.
  2. Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF). 2024. Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) data portal. Online. Available: https://www.gbif.org/ (accessed 2024).
  3. iNaturalist. 2024. Online. Available: https://www.inaturalist.org (accessed 2024).
  4. Kartesz, J.T. 1994. A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. 2nd edition. 2 vols. Timber Press, Portland, OR.
  5. Little, E.L., Jr. 1979. Checklist of United States trees (native and naturalized). Agriculture Handbook No. 541. U.S. Forest Service, Washington, D.C. 375 pp.
  6. NatureServe. 2024. NatureServe Network Biodiversity Location Data. NatureServe, Arlington, Virginia.
  7. Southwest Environmental Information Network (SEINet). 2024. Collections Databases. Online. Available: https://swbiodiversity.org/seinet/collections/index.php (accessed 2024).