Print Report

CEGL006057 Quercus montana - Quercus rubra / Hamamelis virginiana Forest

Type Concept Sentence: This dry-mesic chestnut oak - northern red oak forest of the Central Appalachians is intermediate both in composition and habitat between dry ridgetop oak forests and richer oak - hickory forests in coves or on more sheltered slopes; the tree canopy is codominated by Quercus montana and Quercus rubra, with Liriodendron tulipifera, Acer rubrum, Carya spp., Acer saccharum, Tilia americana, Fagus grandifolia, and Betula lenta.

Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Chestnut Oak - Northern Red Oak / American Witch-hazel Forest

Colloquial Name: Central Appalachian Dry-Mesic Chestnut Oak - Northern Red Oak Forest

Hierarchy Level:  Association

Type Concept: This closed-canopy, dry-mesic oak forest of the central Appalachian Mountains is a montane forest of somewhat protected rocky slopes. The canopy is codominated by Quercus montana and Quercus rubra. Associated canopy species include Liriodendron tulipifera, Acer rubrum, Carya glabra, Carya ovalis, Carya tomentosa, Acer saccharum, Tilia americana, Fagus grandifolia, and Betula lenta. The tall-shrub layer is most often characterized by Hamamelis virginiana and Acer pensylvanicum. The lower shrub layer is patchy and contains a mixture of scrambling vines, ericads, and non-ericaceous species. The herbaceous layer is usually sparse but may include Dryopteris marginalis, Dioscorea quaternata, Eurybia divaricata, Ageratina altissima, Polygonatum biflorum, Solidago caesia, Festuca subverticillata, Thelypteris noveboracensis, Sanicula trifoliata, Prenanthes altissima, Polystichum acrostichoides, Desmodium nudiflorum, Galium latifolium, Houstonia purpurea, and Maianthemum racemosum. This association is more or less intermediate in site conditions and composition between oak / heath forests of exposed, xeric, infertile sites and richer cove or montane oak-hickory forests of sheltered, fertile sites.

Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available

Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available

Classification Comments: No Data Available

Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available

Floristics: The vegetation is usually a closed-canopy forest codominated by Quercus montana (= Quercus prinus) and Quercus rubra in variable proportions. Over the full geographic range, overstory associates are reported to include Liriodendron tulipifera, Fraxinus americana, Tilia americana, Betula lenta, Acer rubrum, Magnolia acuminata, Nyssa sylvatica, Robinia pseudoacacia, Carya glabra, Carya ovalis, and Carya tomentosa (= Carya alba). Less frequent, and more local, overstory and understory trees include Acer saccharum, Amelanchier arborea, Asimina triloba, Fagus grandifolia, Ostrya virginiana, and Tsuga canadensis. A tall-shrub layer is occasionally absent but usually characterized by Hamamelis virginiana and, less frequently, by Cornus florida and Acer pensylvanicum, the latter more common at higher elevations. The lower shrub layer contains scrambling or climbing vines of Parthenocissus quinquefolia, Vitis aestivalis, and Toxicodendron radicans, along with Viburnum acerifolium, Hydrangea arborescens, Vaccinium pallidum, and Vaccinium stamineum. In general, ericaceous species are patchy to sparse in this community. The herbaceous layer is usually sparse but may include Dryopteris marginalis, Dioscorea quaternata, Eurybia divaricata (= Aster divaricatus), Ageratina altissima, Polygonatum biflorum, Solidago caesia, Festuca subverticillata, Thelypteris noveboracensis, Sanicula trifoliata, Prenanthes altissima, Polystichum acrostichoides, Desmodium nudiflorum, Galium latifolium, Houstonia purpurea, and Maianthemum racemosum. Although not one of the more constant herbs, Aralia nudicaulis may occasionally dominate the herb layer of this community in large, clonal patches. This association is more-or-less intermediate in site conditions and composition between oak/heath forests of exposed, xeric, infertile sites and richer cove or montane oak-hickory forests of sheltered, fertile sites.

Dynamics:  Wind and ice damage to tree crowns, damage to Cornus florida from dogwood anthracnose (Discula destructiva), and a few small fire scars were disturbances noted in plots. Although Castanea dentata logs and wood were not abundant in plots, frequent sprouts indicate that Castanea dentata was at least an associate tree in this type prior to the arrival of chestnut blight. The northwest slopes of Peters Mountain in Alleghany County, Virginia, contains old-growth examples of the type with large, widely spaced canopy trees in the 43- to 72-cm (17-28 inches) dbh range. Representative old-age trees include a 59-cm (23 inches) dbh Quercus montana >220 years old; a 63-cm (25 inches) dbh Quercus montana about179 years old; a 67-cm (26 inches) dbh Quercus montana 265 years old; and a 71-cm (28 inches) dbh Quercus rubra >247 years old (Fleming and Moorhead 2000).
Environmental Description:  Sites occupied by this dry-mesic oak forest are mostly protected rocky mountain slopes. In the Central Appalachians of Virginia, West Virginia, and Maryland, the type occurs at low and middle elevations, from <300 m (1000 feet) to about 1100 m (3600 feet), reaching optimal development at 610-915 m (2000-3000 feet). Habitats are underlain by a variety of bedrock types, including metabasalt (greenstone), pyroxene-rich granitic rocks, Antietam and Tuscarora quartzites, metasiltstone and phyllite, shale, and sedimentary material (interbedded sandstone, siltstone, and shale). Among plot-sampled Mid-Atlantic stands, lower to middle slope topographic positions predominate, along with steep (mean = 27°), usually concave slopes, and relatively high surface cover of outcrops, boulders, and stones. Slope aspect is variable, but the majority of aspects range from north to southeast. Soil samples collected from plots were strongly to very strongly acidic (mean pH = 4.8) but had moderately high levels of calcium (mean = 1019 ppm), reflecting the frequent occurrence of this community on moderately base-rich substrates.
Geographic Range: This association occurs throughout the Central Appalachian region of Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and possibly farther north. In Virginia, it is a large-patch community type in both the Northern Blue Ridge and Ridge and Valley provinces. Small-patch outliers of this type occur in rocky, sheltered ravines of the northern Virginia and Maryland Piedmont.

Nations: US

States/Provinces:  DE, MD, NJ, PA, VA, WV


Confidence Level: Moderate

Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available
Grank: G5

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.2 Appalachian-Northeastern Oak - Hardwood - Pine Forest & Woodland Macrogroup M502 1.B.2.Na.2
Group 1.B.2.Na.2.c White Oak - Chestnut Oak - Pignut Hickory Forest & Woodland Group G650 1.B.2.Na.2.c
Alliance A4435 Chestnut Oak / Mountain Laurel - Blue Ridge Blueberry Forest Alliance A4435 1.B.2.Na.2.c
Association CEGL006057 Chestnut Oak - Northern Red Oak / American Witch-hazel Forest CEGL006057 1.B.2.Na.2.c
Concept Lineage: No Data Available

Predecessors: No Data Available

Obsolete Names: No Data Available

Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: > Quercus montana - Quercus rubra / Acer pensylvanicum - Hamamelis virginiana Forest (Fleming and Moorhead 2000)
= Quercus montana - Quercus rubra / Cornus florida / Viburnum acerifolium Forest (Young et al. 2007a)
= Quercus montana - Quercus rubra / Vitis aestivalis var. bicolor - Parthenocissus quinquefolia / Aralia nudicaulis - Dryopteris marginalis Forest (Fleming 2002b)
> Quercus montana - Robinia pseudoacacia / Ribes rotundifolium Association (Rawinski et al. 1994)
= Quercus prinus - Quercus rubra / Hamamelis virginiana Forest (Fleming and Coulling 2001)
= Quercus prinus - Quercus rubra / Hamamelis virginiana Forest (Fleming 2007)
> Quercus rubra - Magnolia acuminata Association (Fleming and Moorhead 1996)
= Quercus rubra - Quercus montana / Parthenocissus quinquefolia - Vitis aestivalis var. bicolor / Dryopteris marginalis - Aralia nudicaulis Forest (Fleming and Patterson 2003)
= Quercus rubra - Quercus montana / Parthenocissus quinquefolia / Aralia nudicaulis - Dryopteris marginalis Forest (Fleming 2002a)
> Quercus rubra - Quercus prinus - Liriodendron tulipifera / Parthenocissus quinquefolia - Dryopteris marginalis Association (Rawinski et al. 1996)
= Chestnut Oak - Black Birch community (Ehrenfeld 1977)
< Chestnut Oak: 44 (Eyre 1980) [chestnut oak - northern red oak variant]
> Chestnut oak-red oak/ericad forest: (matrix) N slopes (CAP pers. comm. 1998)
? Mixed oak / hardwoods mesic forest (Windisch 1993)
? Red Oak - Chestnut Oak Community Type (Stephenson and Adams 1991)
Concept Author(s): G. Fleming and P. Coulling (2001)

Author of Description: G. Fleming, P. Coulling, S.L. Neid and. G. Fleming

Acknowledgements: No Data Available

Version Date: 10-02-06
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