Print Report
CEGL008572 Pinus palustris / Quercus incana / Schizachyrium scoparium - Croton argyranthemus Woodland
Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Longleaf Pine / Bluejack Oak / Little Bluestem - Healing Croton Woodland
Colloquial Name: West Gulf Coastal Plain Subxeric Longleaf Pine Sandhill
Hierarchy Level: Association
Type Concept: This subxeric woodland of the West Gulf Coastal Plain is dominated by an open to fairly closed Pinus palustris canopy. Pinus palustris is usually the only overstory tree present in high-quality, well-burned examples. Quercus incana is the other most diagnostic and important woody species. Unlike more xeric sites, the herbaceous layer is fairly continuous and dominated by Schizachyrium scoparium with patches of lichen cover (Cladonia spp. and Cladina spp.) with patches of exposed sand encountered only infrequently. This community is further characterized by the presence of many species typical of very dry/subxeric sites of the region, such as Croton argyranthemus, Tragia urticifolia, Tragia smallii, and Pityopsis graminifolia. Indicator species of the most extreme xeric sites in the region (Stylisma pickeringii, Cnidoscolus texanus, Eriogonum longifolium, etc.) may be present but in relatively low levels.
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: Pinus palustris is usually the only overstory tree present in high-quality, well-burned examples. The presence of Pinus echinata and Pinus taeda in the canopy indicate lower quality, fire-suppressed examples, such as within the Upland Island Wilderness Area of the Angelina National Forest in eastern Texas. In addition to Quercus incana, woody species encountered in eastern Texas also include Sassafras albidum, Rhus copallinum, Cornus florida, Callicarpa americana, Ilex vomitoria, Liquidambar styraciflua, and Pinus taeda. The latter three species are thought to have become more common in the absence of frequent fire. The understory supports a well-developed herbaceous layer dominated by Schizachyrium scoparium, along with Andropogon gerardii, Panicum virgatum, Andropogon ternarius, Dichanthelium aciculare, Sporobolus junceus, and Coelorachis cylindrica. Other species include Scleria oligantha, Galactia regularis, Aristolochia reticulata, Physalis pumila, Vernonia texana, Solidago odora, Euphorbia corollata, Stillingia sylvatica, Lespedeza hirta, Tephrosia virginiana, Stylosanthes biflora, Vitis aestivalis, Berlandiera pumila, and others.
Dynamics: This type exists in a matrix of pyrogenic Pinus palustris communities and is believed to have been subject to historically frequent fires with average return intervals of approximately 2-10 years. This type is known from the Upland Island Wilderness Area (Angelina National Forest) in eastern Texas which has not been burned since the mid 1980s. Among the vegetation differences between these stands and examples known from other parts of the national forests in Texas which are still fire managed are greater shrub and Pinus taeda density and lower species richness in the graminoid layer (notably lacking in Sporobolus junceus, Coelorachis spp., etc.).
Environmental Description: This community occurs on ridgetops and upper slopes in highly dissected to rolling topography over extremely well-drained, deep (Grossarenic) sands. In eastern Texas this community is found primarily on the Carrizo Formation and more rarely on the Wilcox Formation, and possibly on the Catahoula, Manning, and Wellborn formations. In western and central Louisiana this type is presumably more widespread on the Pleistocene High Terraces, certain members of the Fleming Formation, and is particularly well-expressed on the Catahoula and Sparta formations.
Geographic Range: This type is restricted to the West Gulf Coastal Plain of eastern Texas and likely occurs in central and western Louisiana as well.
Nations: US
States/Provinces: LA?, TX
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.683637
Confidence Level: Moderate
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.1 Warm Temperate Forest & Woodland Formation | F018 | 1.B.1 |
| Division | 1.B.1.Na Southeastern North American Forest & Woodland Division | D006 | 1.B.1.Na |
| Macrogroup | 1.B.1.Na.1 Longleaf Pine / Pineland Three-awn Woodland Macrogroup | M007 | 1.B.1.Na.1 |
| Group | 1.B.1.Na.1.c Longleaf Pine / Turkey Oak Xeric Woodland Group | G154 | 1.B.1.Na.1.c |
| Alliance | A3122 Longleaf Pine / Bluejack Oak Woodland Alliance | A3122 | 1.B.1.Na.1.c |
| Association | CEGL008572 Longleaf Pine / Bluejack Oak / Little Bluestem - Healing Croton Woodland | CEGL008572 | 1.B.1.Na.1.c |
Concept Lineage: No Data Available
Predecessors: No Data Available
Obsolete Names: No Data Available
Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: < IB6a. Western Xeric Sandhill (Allard 1990)
< Longleaf Pine - Bluejack Oak / Tragia Grossarenic Dry Uplands (Turner et al. 1999)
= Upland Longleaf Pine Savanna, Subtype 2 - Xeric sandhill (Bridges and Orzell 1989a)
< Longleaf Pine - Bluejack Oak / Tragia Grossarenic Dry Uplands (Turner et al. 1999)
= Upland Longleaf Pine Savanna, Subtype 2 - Xeric sandhill (Bridges and Orzell 1989a)
- Allard, D. J. 1990. Southeastern United States ecological community classification. Interim report, Version 1.2. The Nature Conservancy, Southeast Regional Office, Chapel Hill, NC. 96 pp.
- Bridges, E. L., and S. L. Orzell. 1989a. Longleaf pine communities of the West Gulf Coastal Plain. Natural Areas Journal 9:246-263.
- Diamond, D. D. 1993. Classification of the plant communities of Texas (series level). Unpublished document. Texas Natural Heritage Program, Austin. 25 pp.
- LNHP [Louisiana Natural Heritage Program]. 2009. Natural communities of Louisiana. Louisiana Natural Heritage Program, Louisiana Department of Wildlife & Fisheries, Baton Rouge. 46 pp. [http://www.wlf.louisiana.gov/sites/default/files/pdf/page_wildlife/6776-Rare%20Natural%20Communities/LA_NAT_COM.pdf]
- Southeastern Ecology Working Group of NatureServe. No date. International Ecological Classification Standard: International Vegetation Classification. Terrestrial Vegetation. NatureServe, Durham, NC.
- TNHS [Texas Natural History Survey]. No date. Unpublished data. Texas Natural History Survey, The Nature Conservancy, San Antonio.
- Turner, R. L., J. E. Van Kley, L. S. Smith, and R. E. Evans. 1999. Ecological classification system for the national forests and adjacent areas of the West Gulf Coastal Plain. The Nature Conservancy, Nacogdoches, TX. 95 pp. plus appendices.
- Turner, R. L., J. E. Van Kley, L. S. Smith, and R. E. Evans. No date. Unpublished data from the national forests and adjacent areas of the West Gulf Coastal Plain. The Nature Conservancy, Nacogdoches, TX.