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CEGL008482 Pinus palustris - Pinus (echinata, taeda) Upper West Gulf Coastal Plain Woodland
Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Longleaf Pine - (Shortleaf Pine, Loblolly Pine) Upper West Gulf Coastal Plain Woodland
Colloquial Name: Texas Upper West Gulf Coastal Plain Longleaf Pine Woodland
Hierarchy Level: Association
Type Concept: This association represents extremely rare occurrences of Pinus palustris-dominated vegetation along the periphery of the historic range limits of the species west of the Mississippi River in the Upper West Gulf Coastal Plain of eastern Texas. As currently understood, this type is not known to occur in Louisiana where Pinus palustris-dominated vegetation did not occur historically in the Upper West Gulf Coastal Plain. However, this type also includes other isolated patches of Pinus palustris vegetation on loamy soils in the region within the West Gulf Coastal Plain but north of the main belt of contiguous pure Pinus palustris vegetation. All known occurrences in Texas are currently extremely isolated from one another and from other Pinus palustris communities. These areas were likely not subject to the most frequent fires typically associated with Pinus palustris. Due to infrequency of natural fires and loamy soil conditions, the overstory may be somewhat closed and supports a natural mixture of Pinus palustris, Pinus echinata, and Pinus taeda. No known examples have an open, woodland structure, but this type is placed in the Pinus palustris Woodland Alliance. In some stands, the only Pinus palustris present are relicts. This type has a well-developed, fairly diverse layer of hardwoods in the subcanopy, midstory, and short-shrub stratum. The herbaceous layer may be sparse to non-existent, and no particular species are diagnostic of this type. However, this type lacks species typical of xeric and very dry environments of the region.
Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available
Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available
Classification Comments: This type was originally conceived to cover only the most peripheral and isolated examples of Pinus palustris along the western margins of its range in the Upper West Gulf Coastal Plain. The concept was expanded to include fire-infrequent loamy Pinus palustris stands within the West Gulf Coastal Plain as well. It is placed in a woodland alliance, although the current and probable historical examples may have had canopy closures greater than 60%. This community is considered a natural type, in part, because increment core samples from Pinus palustris trees from two occurrences indicate that stand age exceeds 140 years (R. Evans pers. comm.). This effectively dates the establishment of these stands prior to any known efforts to plant Pinus palustris in the region. These two sites are found in Shelby County, Texas, on the Sabine National Forest. This association is not known to occur in Louisiana (L. Smith pers. comm.).
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available
Floristics: Any given stand may be locally variable in terms of component vegetation due to historic and current management differences. The overstory density of residual Pinus palustris varies greatly from approximately 50-60% of the overstory trees, with the remainder being largely Pinus echinata and Pinus taeda. None of the known examples support herbaceous-dominated understories typically associated with frequently burned Pinus palustris communities. Floristic diversity is fairly low in these examples (relative to "classic" longleaf woodlands of the West Gulf Coastal Plain), and the composition of the herbaceous layer of these stands may be considered relatively unimportant to the overall concept of the type. The vegetation mainly consists of various hardwood and shrub species, none of which are particularly useful to floristically differentiate this type. However, at a single plot location on the Sabine National Forest, Prunus gracilis had unusually high cover values relative to other pine-oak-dominated plots. In addition, Stenanthium gramineum was present in much higher levels than recorded elsewhere. Woody species documented in eastern Texas plots with fairly high cover values include Quercus stellata, Quercus falcata, Carya tomentosa (= Carya alba), Carya cordiformis, Fraxinus americana, Quercus nigra, Liquidambar styraciflua, Nyssa sylvatica, Callicarpa americana, Morella cerifera (= Myrica cerifera), Vaccinium arboreum, Cornus florida, Chionanthus virginicus, and Frangula caroliniana. Vines are common in most examples, including Gelsemium sempervirens, Parthenocissus quinquefolia, Berchemia scandens, Vitis rotundifolia, Vitis mustangensis, Smilax rotundifolia, and Toxicodendron radicans. The scattered herbaceous layer is quite variable within and among stands of this type due to variations in management history and moisture status. Species documented in plots attributed to this type include Chasmanthium sessiliflorum, Vitis aestivalis, Tragia urens, Strophostyles umbellata, Salvia azurea, Pteridium aquilinum, Euphorbia corollata, Eupatorium rotundifolium, Baptisia nuttalliana, Aristolochia reticulata, Centrosema virginianum, Smilax pumila, Mitchella repens, Schizachyrium scoparium, Scleria oligantha, Baptisia nuttalliana, Solidago odora, Galactia volubilis, Lespedeza hirta, Rhus aromatica, Desmodium canescens, Aristolochia serpentaria, Desmodium paniculatum, Gymnopogon ambiguus, and others.
Dynamics: The natural structure and fire regime of this community are not fully understood. If these examples occurred within the main belt of Pinus palustris in the region, the presumption would be that they are degraded and fire-suppressed, because all known examples have a forest structure composed of a mixture of Pinus palustris, Pinus echinata, and Pinus taeda, and lack a diverse herbaceous layer. However, the fact that they are so completely isolated from other known current and historical longleaf locations, and that they clearly occur along the range periphery of the species, may suggest that these areas would have been naturally fire infrequent (at least relative to other Pinus palustris communities) and consequently support a closed, mixed canopy including Pinus palustris, Pinus echinata, and Pinus taeda. Such mixed longleaf pine types along the range periphery of the species have been discussed by various authors, including Loughbridge (1880), Mohr (1897), Cruikshank and Eldredge (1939), Frost (1993), Ware et al. (1993), and Evans (1997).
Environmental Description: This association occurs on finer textured soils in the Upper West Gulf Coastal Plain of Texas on the Wilcox (and other) geological formations. Within the West Gulf Coastal Plain of Texas this type occurs primarily on the Yegua and Cook Mountain geologic formations. Soils at plot locations (Turner et al. unpubl. data) had silt loam surfaces, pH of 4.7-4.8, and low levels of all nutrients examined. These areas occur north of the main belt of existing and historical longleaf pine vegetation in the region (Bridges and Orzell 1989a, Evans 1997) where original patch size was much smaller, likely contributing to reduced numbers of lightning fire ignitions and greater fire-return intervals.
Geographic Range: This association occurs in the Upper West Gulf Coastal Plain of Texas and has been documented from Davy Crockett National Forest (Trinity and Houston counties) as well as Sabine National Forest (Shelby County).
Nations: US
States/Provinces: LA?, TX
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.683815
Confidence Level: Moderate
Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available
Grank: G1?
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.d Longleaf Pine / Sand Post Oak / Three-awn species Woodland Group | G009 | 1.B.1.Na.1.d |
| Alliance | A3124 Longleaf Pine / Little Bluestem West Gulf Coastal Plain Woodland Alliance | A3124 | 1.B.1.Na.1.d |
| Association | CEGL008482 Longleaf Pine - (Shortleaf Pine, Loblolly Pine) Upper West Gulf Coastal Plain Woodland | CEGL008482 | 1.B.1.Na.1.d |
Concept Lineage: No Data Available
Predecessors: No Data Available
Obsolete Names: No Data Available
Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: >< Upland Longleaf Pine Savanna, Subtype 1 - Typic (Bridges and Orzell 1989a)
- Bridges, E. L., and S. L. Orzell. 1989a. Longleaf pine communities of the West Gulf Coastal Plain. Natural Areas Journal 9:246-263.
- Cruikshank, J. W., and I. F. Eldridge. 1939. Forest resources of southeastern Texas. USDA Forest Service, Southern Forest Experiment Station. Miscellaneous Publication No. 326, New Orleans. 37 pp.
- Evans, R. E. 1997. Distribution and composition of historical forests in two eastern Texas counties, with special reference to longleaf pine. M.S. thesis, Stephen F. Austin University, Nacogdoches, TX.
- Frost, C. C. 1993. Four centuries of changing landscape patterns in the longleaf pine ecosystem. Pages 17-43 in: S. M. Hermann, editor. The longleaf pine ecosystem: Ecology, restoration and management. Proceedings of the 18th Tall Timbers Fire Ecology Conference. Tall Timbers Research Station, Tallahassee, FL. 418 pp.
- Loughbridge, R. H. 1880. Report on cotton production in the state of Texas. 10th Census of the United States, U.S. Department of the Interior, Washington, DC.
- Mohr, C. 1897. The timber pines of the southern United States. U.S. Department of Agriculture Bulletin No. 13, revised edition. 176 pp.
- NatureServe Ecology - Southeastern United States. No date. Unpublished data. NatureServe, Durham, NC.
- Outcalt, K. W. 1997a. Status of the longleaf pine forests of the West Gulf Coastal Plain. Texas Journal of Science 49(3):5-12.
- Smith, Latimore M. Personal communication. Natural Heritage Program Ecologist. Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, Natural Heritage Program, Baton Rouge.
- Southeastern Ecology Working Group of NatureServe. No date. International Ecological Classification Standard: International Vegetation Classification. Terrestrial Vegetation. NatureServe, Durham, NC.
- 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.
- Ware, S., C. C. Frost, and P. D. Doerr. 1993. Southern mixed hardwood forest: The former longleaf pine forest. Pages 447-493 in: W. H. Martin, S. G. Boyce, and A. C. Echternacht, editors. Biotic communities of the southeastern United States: Lowland terrestrial communities. John Wiley & Sons, New York.