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CEGL007213 Quercus alba - Fagus grandifolia / Hydrangea quercifolia - Viburnum acerifolium / Carex picta Forest
Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: White Oak - American Beech / Oakleaf Hydrangea - Mapleleaf Viburnum / Painted Sedge Forest
Colloquial Name: Cumberland Plateau Mesic White Oak - Beech Forest
Hierarchy Level: Association
Type Concept: This association includes mesic beech - white oak forests of the southern Cumberland Plateau and Ridge and Valley of Alabama (as well as the adjacent Upper East Gulf Coastal Plain and Piedmont ecoregions). This forest occurs on low, sheltered slopes and along small streams in narrow ravines, and on small, well-drained stream terraces and flats, usually over acidic to subacidic soils. This is a deciduous forest with a well-developed canopy and subcanopy, a variable shrub layer, and an open to sparse herbaceous layer. The canopy is always dominated by Quercus alba with codominance by Fagus grandifolia and/or Liriodendron tulipifera. Some examples may have large individuals of Pinus taeda blending in from forests on adjacent, higher slopes, or as an artifact of past disturbance. Species most typically abundant in the subcanopy include Ostrya virginiana, Acer floridanum, Magnolia macrophylla, and Ilex opaca. The most typically abundant shrubs are Hydrangea quercifolia, Euonymus americanus, and Viburnum acerifolium. Common vines are Decumaria barbara, Smilax rotundifolia, and Toxicodendron radicans. Herbaceous composition varies from site to site. The most abundant and constant species are Carex picta, Polystichum acrostichoides, Solidago caesia, and Brachyelytrum erectum. The diagnostic characters of this community include the dominance of Quercus alba in association with mesic hardwood species (Fagus grandifolia, Liriodendron tulipifera, Tilia americana var. heterophylla, Magnolia acuminata), the mesic environment on protected slopes and in narrow ravines, and the occurrence of a suite of species indicative of the Alabama Cumberland Plateau, e.g., Hydrangea quercifolia, Magnolia macrophylla, Styrax grandifolius, Carex picta, and Decumaria barbara.
Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available
Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available
Classification Comments: This association is found in a "transition region" where Quercus rubra may be present in parts of the upper Coastal Plain and conversely some more southerly-affiliated species (e.g., Decumaria barbara) range farther north. Some examples may have large individuals of Pinus taeda blending in from forests on adjacent, higher slopes, or as an artifact of past disturbance. Similar forests, dominated by Fagus grandifolia, but without Quercus alba are classed in ~Fagus grandifolia - Liriodendron tulipifera / Euonymus americanus / Athyrium filix-femina ssp. asplenioides Forest (CEGL007201)$$. Similar forests from the Interior Low Plateau of Tennessee, and perhaps the adjacent East Gulf Coastal Plain, are classed in ~Fagus grandifolia - Quercus alba / Cornus florida Forest (CEGL007881)$$. Similar white oak - mesic hardwood small stream forests from the southern Ridge and Valley of northwestern Georgia are classed in ~Quercus alba - (Liriodendron tulipifera, Liquidambar styraciflua) / Calycanthus floridus / Athyrium filix-femina Forest (CEGL008428)$$. The association CEGL008428 lacks the Cumberland Plateau species, but includes species such as Liquidambar styraciflua, Acer leucoderme, Calycanthus floridus, and Rhododendron alabamense.
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available
Floristics: This is a deciduous forest with a well-developed canopy and subcanopy, a variable shrub layer, and an open to sparse herbaceous layer. The canopy is always dominated by Quercus alba with codominance by Fagus grandifolia and/or Liriodendron tulipifera. Some examples may have large individuals of Pinus taeda blending in from forests on adjacent, higher slopes, or as an artifact of past disturbance. Other common canopy trees include Tilia americana var. heterophylla, Magnolia acuminata, Liquidambar styraciflua, Quercus montana (= Quercus prinus), Quercus rubra, and Carya tomentosa (= Carya alba) Species most typically abundant in the subcanopy include Ostrya virginiana, Acer floridanum (= Acer barbatum), Magnolia macrophylla, and Ilex opaca. Other subcanopy species include Acer rubrum, Carpinus caroliniana, Carya tomentosa, Carya glabra, Carya cordiformis, Cornus florida, and Ulmus rubra. The most typically abundant shrubs are Hydrangea quercifolia, Euonymus americanus, and Viburnum acerifolium. Other shrubs are Asimina triloba, Asimina parviflora, Lindera benzoin, Styrax grandifolius, Ilex opaca, Arundinaria gigantea, Kalmia latifolia, and Rhododendron canadense. Common vines are Decumaria barbara, Smilax rotundifolia, and Toxicodendron radicans. Herbaceous composition varies from site to site. The most abundant and constant species are Carex picta, Polystichum acrostichoides, Solidago caesia, and Brachyelytrum erectum. Other typical species include Chasmanthium sessiliflorum, Chimaphila maculata, Dioscorea quaternata, Goodyera pubescens, Hexastylis arifolia, Epifagus virginiana, Campanula divaricata, Desmodium nudiflorum, Dioscorea quaternata, Maianthemum racemosum, Mitchella repens, Thelypteris noveboracensis, and Tiarella cordifolia. In addition, Hybanthus concolor may be present. A plot attributed here from the Talladega National Forest, Oakmulgee Ranger District has abundant Illicium floridanum (NatureServe Ecology unpubl. data). This sample is atypical and presumably at the southern range limit of the type.
Dynamics: No Data Available
Environmental Description: This forest occurs on low, sheltered slopes, and along small streams in narrow ravines, and on small, well-drained stream terraces and flats. It is associated with sandstone, siltstone, and shale geology.
Geographic Range: This association is known from the southern Cumberland Plateau and Ridge and Valley of Alabama (as well as the adjacent Upper East Gulf Coastal Plain and Piedmont ecoregions of Alabama extending to northern Mississippi).
Nations: US
States/Provinces: AL, MS
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.683841
Confidence Level: Low
Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available
Grank: G3G4
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.3 Appalachian-Interior-Northeastern Mesic Forest Macrogroup | M883 | 1.B.2.Na.3 |
| Group | 1.B.2.Na.3.a American Beech - Tuliptree - Yellow Buckeye Forest Group | G020 | 1.B.2.Na.3.a |
| Alliance | A3265 American Beech - Northern Red Oak Piedmont-Ridge & Valley Forest Alliance | A3265 | 1.B.2.Na.3.a |
| Association | CEGL007213 White Oak - American Beech / Oakleaf Hydrangea - Mapleleaf Viburnum / Painted Sedge Forest | CEGL007213 | 1.B.2.Na.3.a |
Concept Lineage: No Data Available
Predecessors: No Data Available
Obsolete Names: No Data Available
Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: No Data Available
- ALNHP [Alabama Natural Heritage Program]. 2018. Unpublished data on file. Alabama Natural Heritage Program, Auburn University.
- NatureServe Ecology - Southeastern United States. No date. Unpublished data. NatureServe, Durham, NC.
- Southeastern Ecology Working Group of NatureServe. No date. International Ecological Classification Standard: International Vegetation Classification. Terrestrial Vegetation. NatureServe, Durham, NC.