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CEGL002053 Quercus macrocarpa / Andropogon gerardii - Hesperostipa spartea Woodland
Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Bur Oak / Big Bluestem - Porcupine Grass Woodland
Colloquial Name: Central Tallgrass Bur Oak Mesic Woodland
Hierarchy Level: Association
Type Concept: This bur oak woodland community is associated with the floodplains of rivers and streams in the central-western tallgrass region of the midwestern United States. Stands occur on gentle to steep slopes with silt or loam soils. Soils are well-drained to moderately well-drained, sometimes shallow (0-40 cm), and formed from loess or glacial till. The overstory of this community is open and dominated by Quercus macrocarpa. Quercus muehlenbergii can be a common associate. Shrubs are absent to common, and include Cornus drummondii, Ceanothus herbaceus, Corylus americana, Prunus americana, Rhus glabra, Ribes missouriense, Symphoricarpos occidentalis, and Zanthoxylum americanum. The herbaceous stratum can be similar to dry prairie. It includes the grasses Andropogon gerardii, Schizachyrium scoparium, Sorghastrum nutans, Sporobolus heterolepis, and Hesperostipa spartea, as well as Maianthemum stellatum, Monarda fistulosa, and Solidago canadensis. In the past, periodic fires kept the canopy from closing. Where fire regimes have been disrupted, this community often begins to succeed to other, more closed oak types.
Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available
Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available
Classification Comments: In Missouri it''s possible that Quercus alba, Quercus rubra, and Quercus velutina were also present in the loess hills region. The type may have once occurred widely across glaciated northern Missouri (T. Nigh pers. comm. 2000). In Nebraska this type is fairly heterogeneous and needs further review. Currently Nebraska combines oak savanna and oak woodland in this type (Steinauer and Rolfsmeier 2003). This community may overlap with ~Quercus macrocarpa / Cornus drummondii / Aralia nudicaulis Forest (CEGL002072)$$ in a more closed condition, and can overlap with ~Quercus macrocarpa / Andropogon gerardii - Panicum virgatum Woodland (CEGL002052)$$ in stream bottoms. Type should be in southeastern South Dakota on loess soils.
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available
Floristics: The overstory of this community is open and dominated by Quercus macrocarpa. Quercus muehlenbergii can be a common associate. Shrubs are absent to common and include Cornus drummondii, Ceanothus herbaceus (= Ceanothus ovatus), Corylus americana, Prunus americana, Rhus glabra, Ribes missouriense, Symphoricarpos occidentalis, and Zanthoxylum americanum. The herbaceous stratum can be similar to dry prairie. It includes the grasses Andropogon gerardii, Schizachyrium scoparium, Sorghastrum nutans, Sporobolus heterolepis, and Hesperostipa spartea (= Stipa spartea), as well as Maianthemum stellatum, Monarda fistulosa, and Solidago canadensis. In the past, periodic fires kept the canopy from closing. Where fire regimes have been disrupted, this community often begins to succeed to other, more closed oak types (Nelson 1985, Lauver et al. 1999, Steinauer and Rolfsmeier 2003). See Steinauer and Rolfsmeier (2003) for variability within this community.
Dynamics: This community depends on fire to maintain a prairie understory and open canopy structure (Nelson 1985). Fires prevented the woody vegetation from forming a closed canopy and restricted it to lower slope mesic ravines.
Environmental Description: This community occurs near floodplains and on gently sloping to steep upland mesic sites especially within 30 km of the Missouri River but possibly along other rivers. In Nebraska it may have been most abundant in the southeast because conditions are most suitable for tree growth there. The soils on which this community occurs are silt or loam, shallow to deep, with a pH range from 5.6-7.3. The soils of this community are moderately well-drained to well-drained. The parent material is loess or glacial till (Nelson 1985, Lauver et al. 1999, Steinauer and Rolfsmeier 2003).
Geographic Range: This community is associated with the floodplains of rivers and streams in the central-western tallgrass region of the midwestern United States, ranging from Nebraska and northeastern Kansas to northwestern Missouri and western Iowa.
Nations: US
States/Provinces: IA, KS, MO, NE, SD
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.683064
Confidence Level: Low - Poorly Documented
Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available
Grank: G2G3
Greasons: No Data Available
| Type | Name | Database Code | Classification Code |
|---|---|---|---|
| Class | 1 Forest & Woodland Class | C01 | 1 |
| Subclass | 1.B Temperate & Boreal Forest & Woodland Subclass | S15 | 1.B |
| Formation | 1.B.2 Cool Temperate Forest & Woodland Formation | F008 | 1.B.2 |
| Division | 1.B.2.Na Eastern North American Forest & Woodland Division | D008 | 1.B.2.Na |
| Macrogroup | 1.B.2.Na.4 White Oak - Bur Oak - Shagbark Hickory Forest, Woodland & Savanna Macrogroup | M012 | 1.B.2.Na.4 |
| Group | 1.B.2.Na.4.b North-Central Oak - Hickory Forest & Woodland Group | G649 | 1.B.2.Na.4.b |
| Alliance | A0620 Bur Oak Central Tallgrass Woodland Alliance | A0620 | 1.B.2.Na.4.b |
| Association | CEGL002053 Bur Oak / Big Bluestem - Porcupine Grass Woodland | CEGL002053 | 1.B.2.Na.4.b |
Concept Lineage: This type occurs on loess soils in northwestern Missouri, but is so degraded that few examples occur. Those that remain bear some resemblance to this type.
Predecessors: No Data Available
Obsolete Names: No Data Available
Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: = Quercus macrocarpa / Andropogon gerardii - Hesperostipa spartea Woodland (Faber-Langendoen 2001)
< Bur Oak-Bitternut Hickory Community (Weaver 1965)
< Dry Savanna (Nelson 1985)
< Eastern Deciduous Forest Community (Rolfsmeier 1988)
= Oak Woodland (Steinauer and Rolfsmeier 2003)
< Bur Oak-Bitternut Hickory Community (Weaver 1965)
< Dry Savanna (Nelson 1985)
< Eastern Deciduous Forest Community (Rolfsmeier 1988)
= Oak Woodland (Steinauer and Rolfsmeier 2003)
- Faber-Langendoen, D., editor. 2001. Plant communities of the Midwest: Classification in an ecological context. Association for Biodiversity Information, Arlington, VA. 61 pp. plus appendix (705 pp.).
- INAI [Iowa Natural Areas Inventory]. 2017. Vegetation classification of Iowa. Iowa Natural Areas Inventory, Iowa Department of Natural Resources, Des Moines.
- Kindscher, K., H. Kilroy, J. Delisle, Q. Long, H. Loring, K. Dobbs, and J. Drake. 2011a. Vegetation mapping and classification of Homestead National Monument of America. Natural Resource Report NPS/HTLN/NRR--2011/345. National Park Service, Fort Collins, CO. 72 pp.
- Kindscher, K., H. Kilroy, J. Delisle, Q. Long, H. Loring, K. Dobbs, and J. Drake. 2011b. Vegetation mapping and classification of Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve: Project report. Natural Resource Report NRR/HTLN/NRR--2011/346. National Park Service, Fort Collins, CO. 76 pp.
- Lauver, C. L., K. Kindscher, D. Faber-Langendoen, and R. Schneider. 1999. A classification of the natural vegetation of Kansas. The Southwestern Naturalist 44:421-443.
- Leahy, Mike. Personal communication. Missouri Natural Heritage Database, Missouri Department of Conservation, Jefferson City.
- Midwestern Ecology Working Group of NatureServe. No date. International Ecological Classification Standard: International Vegetation Classification. Terrestrial Vegetation. NatureServe, Minneapolis, MN.
- Nelson, P. W. 1985. The terrestrial natural communities of Missouri. Missouri Natural Areas Committee, Jefferson City. 197 pp. Revised edition, 1987.
- Rolfsmeier, S. B. 1988. The vascular flora and plant communities of Seward County, Nebraska. Transactions of the Nebraska Academy of Sciences 16:91-113.
- Rolfsmeier, S. B., and G. Steinauer. 2010. Terrestrial ecological systems and natural communities of Nebraska (Version IV - March 9, 2010). Nebraska Natural Heritage Program, Nebraska Game and Parks Commission. Lincoln, NE. 228 pp.
- SDNHP [South Dakota Natural Heritage Program]. 2018. Unpublished data. South Dakota Natural Heritage Program, Pierre, SD.
- Steinauer, G. 1989. Characterization of the natural communities of Nebraska. Appendix D, pages 103-114 in: M. Clausen, M. Fritz, and G. Steinauer. The Nebraska Natural Heritage Program, two year progress report. Unpublished document. Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, Natural Heritage Program, Lincoln, NE.
- Steinauer, G., and S. Rolfsmeier. 2003. Terrestrial natural communities of Nebraska. (Version III - June 30, 2003). Nebraska Natural Heritage Program, Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, Lincoln. 163 pp.
- Weaver, J. E. 1965. Native vegetation of Nebraska. University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln. 185 pp.