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CEGL006919 Fagus grandifolia - Quercus (alba, velutina, montana) / Kalmia latifolia Forest
Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: American Beech - (White Oak, Black Oak, Chestnut Oak) / Mountain Laurel Forest
Colloquial Name: Northeastern Coastal Plain-Piedmont Oak - Beech / Heath Forest
Hierarchy Level: Association
Type Concept: This mixed forest of beech and oaks occurs on the Inner Coastal Plain and eastern Piedmont from New Jersey to southern Virginia. It is particularly common on steep ravine slopes and bluffs of dissected terrain with highly acidic soils. It occurs occasionally on short, steep bluffs of the Outer Coastal Plain, and occasionally occurs on elevated swamp islands with sandy, oligotrophic soils. The overstory is composed of Fagus grandifolia with variable codominance by several oaks, particularly Quercus montana, Quercus alba, and Quercus velutina. Minor associates include Quercus coccinea, Acer rubrum, Carya spp., and Liriodendron tulipifera. Typical subcanopy trees include Sassafras albidum, Acer rubrum, Nyssa sylvatica, Cornus florida, Amelanchier arborea, and Ilex opaca, the latter frequently dominating in Coastal Plain stands. An evergreen shrub layer with strong dominance by Kalmia latifolia is characteristic, with low-cover associates of Rhododendron periclymenoides, Vaccinium spp., and Gaylussacia baccata. Deciduous ericads alone are dominant in rare patches that lack Kalmia latifolia. On northern exposures, Fagus grandifolia tends to strongly dominate, and Kalmia latifolia may achieve >75% cover.
Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available
Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available
Classification Comments: A variant of this type was described by A. Windisch (OH1 or DOf1) at Fort Dix. This association is similar to ~Quercus velutina - Quercus coccinea - Quercus montana / Kalmia latifolia Forest (CEGL006374)$$, however, it lacks Fagus grandifolia, Liriodendron tulipifera, or Carya spp.
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available
Floristics: The overstory is composed of Fagus grandifolia with variable codominance by several oaks, particularly Quercus montana (= Quercus prinus), Quercus alba, and Quercus velutina. Minor associates include Quercus coccinea, Acer rubrum, Carya spp., and Liriodendron tulipifera. Typical subcanopy trees include Sassafras albidum, Acer rubrum, Nyssa sylvatica, Cornus florida, Amelanchier arborea, and Ilex opaca, the latter frequently dominating in Coastal Plain stands. An evergreen shrub layer with strong dominance by Kalmia latifolia is characteristic, with low-cover associates of Rhododendron periclymenoides, Vaccinium spp., and Gaylussacia baccata. Deciduous ericads alone are dominant in rare patches that lack Kalmia latifolia. On northern exposures, Fagus grandifolia tends to strongly dominate, and Kalmia latifolia may achieve >75% cover.
Dynamics: The relatively mesic, sheltered habitats of this association may have protected this vegetation and Fagus grandifolia (a fire-intolerant species) from fires compared to drier slopes that support oak / heath forests. Beech is thin-barked and highly fire-sensitive, so mature stands of beech-(co)dominated forest indicate a very infrequent to nonexistent fire regime, especially stands of almost pure beech on very mesic to subhydric sites of the Inner Coastal Plain.
Environmental Description: This association is characteristic of steep ravine slopes and bluffs in dissected terrain of the Inner Coastal Plain and eastern Piedmont. It also occurs occasionally on short, steep bluffs of the Outer Coastal Plain, as well as on elevated swamp islands with sandy, oligotrophic soils. Sites are mesic to submesic, with extremely acidic, infertile soils. The type occurs on slopes of various aspects but tends to favor northerly ones. Soil samples collected from 24 Virginia and Maryland sites had a mean pH of 4.2 and very low cation and base saturation levels. In the southern part of the range, this association is fairly common in dissected landscapes of the Inner Coastal Plain and fall-line zone of the Piedmont, but occurs in progressively smaller and more isolated patches westward in the Piedmont, typically on steep cut-slopes on the outside of meander bends in large creeks and small rivers.
Geographic Range: This mixed forest of beech and oaks occurs on the Inner Coastal Plain and eastern Piedmont along the fall zone, from New Jersey to southern Virginia.
Nations: US
States/Provinces: DC, DE, MD, NJ, VA
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.683683
Confidence Level: High
Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available
Grank: G4
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.9 Pitch Pine - oak spp. - American Holly North Atlantic Forest Macrogroup | M525 | 1.B.2.Na.9 |
| Group | 1.B.2.Na.9.b Black Oak - American Beech - Pitch Pine Coastal Plain Forest Group | G894 | 1.B.2.Na.9.b |
| Alliance | A2054 American Beech - Northern Red Oak / Flowering Dogwood Forest Alliance | A2054 | 1.B.2.Na.9.b |
| Association | CEGL006919 American Beech - (White Oak, Black Oak, Chestnut Oak) / Mountain Laurel Forest | CEGL006919 | 1.B.2.Na.9.b |
Concept Lineage: No Data Available
Predecessors: No Data Available
Obsolete Names: No Data Available
Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: = Quercus alba - Fagus grandifolia / Kalmia latifolia - Rhododendron periclymenoides Forest (Fleming 2002a)
= Quercus montana - Carya alba / Vaccinium pallidum - Castanea pumila - Kalmia latifolia / Epigaea repens Forest (Walton et al. 2001)
= Quercus montana - Fagus grandifolia / Ilex opaca / Kalmia latifolia Forest (Fleming and Patterson 2003)
= Quercus montana / Kalmia latifolia Forest (McCoy and Fleming 2000)
= Quercus prinus - Fagus grandifolia / Ilex opaca / Kalmia latifolia Forest (Fleming 2002a)
= Beech - Oak Mesic Inner Coastal Plain Forest (OH2) (Windisch 2014a)
= Beech - mixed oak forest (Windisch 1995b)
= Quercus montana - Carya alba / Vaccinium pallidum - Castanea pumila - Kalmia latifolia / Epigaea repens Forest (Walton et al. 2001)
= Quercus montana - Fagus grandifolia / Ilex opaca / Kalmia latifolia Forest (Fleming and Patterson 2003)
= Quercus montana / Kalmia latifolia Forest (McCoy and Fleming 2000)
= Quercus prinus - Fagus grandifolia / Ilex opaca / Kalmia latifolia Forest (Fleming 2002a)
= Beech - Oak Mesic Inner Coastal Plain Forest (OH2) (Windisch 2014a)
= Beech - mixed oak forest (Windisch 1995b)
- Coxe, R. 2009. Guide to Delaware vegetation communities. Spring 2009 edition. State of Delaware, Division of Fish and Wildlife, Delaware Natural Heritage Program, Smyrna.
- Eastern Ecology Working Group of NatureServe. No date. International Ecological Classification Standard: International Vegetation Classification. Terrestrial Vegetation. NatureServe, Boston, MA.
- Fleming, G. P. 2002a. Ecological communities of the Bull Run Mountains, Virginia: Baseline vegetation and floristic data for conservation planning and natural area stewardship. Natural Heritage Technical Report 02-12. Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, Division of Natural Heritage, Richmond. 274 pp. plus appendices.
- Fleming, G. P. 2002b. Preliminary classification of Piedmont & Inner Coastal Plain vegetation types in Virginia. Natural Heritage Technical Report 02-14. Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, Division of Natural Heritage, Richmond. 29 pp.
- Fleming, G. P., K. D. Patterson, and K. Taverna. 2017. The natural communities of Virginia: A classification of ecological community groups and community types. Third approximation. Version 3.0. Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, Division of Natural Heritage, Richmond, VA. [http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/natural-heritage/natural-communities/]
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- Fleming, G. P., and K. D. Patterson. 2003. Preliminary vegetation classification for the National Capitol Region parks. Regional (VA-WVA-MD-DC) analysis prepared for NatureServe and USGS-NPS Vegetation Mapping Program, March 2003. Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, Division of Natural Heritage, Richmond.
- Harrison, J. W. 2011. The natural communities of Maryland: 2011 working list of ecological community groups and community types. Unpublished report. Maryland Department of Natural Resources, Wildlife and Heritage Service, Natural Heritage Program, Annapolis. 33 pp.
- Harrison, J. W., compiler. 2004. Classification of vegetation communities of Maryland: First iteration. A subset of the International Classification of Ecological Communities: Terrestrial Vegetation of the United States, NatureServe. Maryland Natural Heritage Program, Maryland Department of Natural Resources, Annapolis. 243 pp.
- McCoy, K. M., and G. P. Fleming. 2000. Ecological communities of U.S. Army Garrison, Fort Belvoir, Fort Belvoir, Virginia. Unpublished report submitted to the U.S. Army. Natural Heritage Technical Report 00-08. Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, Division of Natural Heritage, Richmond. 156 pp. plus appendices.
- Patterson, K. D. 2008c. Vegetation classification and mapping at Colonial National Historical Park, Virginia. Technical Report NPS/NER/NRTR--2008/129. National Park Service, Philadelphia, PA. 369 pp.
- Walton, D. P., P. P. Coulling, J. Weber, A. Belden, Jr., and A. C. Chazal. 2001. A plant community classification and natural heritage inventory of the Pamunkey River floodplain. Unpublished report submitted to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Natural Heritage Technical Report 01-19. Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, Division of Natural Heritage, Richmond. 200 pp. plus appendices.
- Windisch, A .G. 2014a. Pinelands ecological communities and higher level groups with crosswalk / proposed 2008 revisions to NVC. November 16, 2014 draft. New Jersey Natural Heritage Program, Trenton.
- Windisch, A. G. 1995b. Natural community inventory of Fort Dix, New Jersey. The Nature Conservancy report. New Jersey Natural Heritage Program, Office of Natural Lands Management. Trenton, NJ. 81 pp.