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CEGL002143 Quercus muehlenbergii - Fraxinus (quadrangulata, americana) / Schizachyrium scoparium Woodland
Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Chinquapin Oak - (Blue Ash, White Ash) / Little Bluestem Woodland
Colloquial Name: Chinquapin Oak - Ash / Little Bluestem Woodland
Hierarchy Level: Association
Type Concept: This chinquapin oak - ash woodland community is found in the Ozark region of the United States, particularly Missouri and Arkansas. Stands occur on moderately steep to steep mid- to upper slopes of hills, ridges, and plains, and on steep slopes and bluffs along streams and rivers. Aspect can be in any direction, but most frequently southern to western. Soils are rapidly drained to well-drained, and very shallow to shallow (0-100 cm). The parent material is limestone, cherty limestone, or dolomite with rock fragments, boulders, or bedrock at or near the surface. The tree canopy is open, sometimes somewhat stunted or limby, and occasionally complex in pattern due to the bedrock influence. Tree canopies are short and slow-growing with slow replacement. Typical dominants include Quercus muehlenbergii, Fraxinus americana, and Fraxinus quadrangulata, along with Juniperus virginiana. Shrubs may include Rhus aromatica, Frangula caroliniana, Crataegus spp., or more rarely, Cotinus obovatus. Dominant ground layer species include Schizachyrium scoparium, Sorghastrum nutans, and Bouteloua curtipendula. Other characteristic species include Astragalus crassicarpus var. berlandieri, Galium arkansanum, Ophioglossum engelmannii, Polygala senega, Smilax bona-nox, and, in more western stands of the Springfield Plateau, Astragalus distortus, Berlandiera betonicifolia, and Erysimum capitatum. With a lack of fire, canopies become more closed, and the canopy and subcanopy develop more coverage by Acer saccharum and Quercus alba, with invasion by Juniperus virginiana, and with denser subcanopy and shrub strata.
Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available
Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available
Classification Comments: The concept of this type is taken in part from the Missouri state types Limestone/Dolomite Savanna and Dry Limestone/Dolomite Forest (Nelson 1985). The latter concept is interpreted here as a fire-suppressed phase of the former. Juniperus virginiana increases without fire, and its relative dominance in this type can be variable. Closed chinquapin oak - red-cedar stands are considered a fire-suppressed phase of this community. Pure red-cedar woodlands along bluffs or cliffs are treated as a distinct type, ~Juniperus virginiana Alkaline Bluff Woodland (CEGL002426)$$. More open limestone - dolostone savannas are placed in ~Quercus muehlenbergii / Schizachyrium scoparium - Bouteloua curtipendula Wooded Grassland (CEGL005284)$$.
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available
Floristics: The tree canopy is open, sometimes somewhat stunted or limby, and occasionally complex in pattern due to the bedrock influence. Typical dominants include Quercus muehlenbergii, Fraxinus americana, and Fraxinus quadrangulata, along with Juniperus virginiana. Shrubs may include Rhus aromatica, Frangula caroliniana (= Rhamnus caroliniana), Chionanthus virginicus, Ilex decidua, Sideroxylon lanuginosum, Viburnum rufidulum, Crataegus spp., or more rarely, Cotinus obovatus. Dominant ground layer species include Schizachyrium scoparium, Sorghastrum nutans, and Bouteloua curtipendula. Other characteristic species include Astragalus crassicarpus var. berlandieri (= Astragalus mexicanus), Galium arkansanum, Hexalectris spicata, Hybanthus concolor, Penstemon arkansanus, Tragia cordata, Ophioglossum engelmannii, Polygala senega, Smilax bona-nox, and, in more western stands of the Springfield Plateau, Astragalus distortus, Berlandiera betonicifolia (= Berlandiera texana), and Erysimum capitatum (Nelson 1985). Arkansas occurrences are often moderately steep, with associated species including Cotinus obovatus and Sideroxylon lanuginosum.
Dynamics: The key disturbances include a combination of drought and occasional fire, sometimes patchy because of the exposed bedrock (Nelson 1985). With a lack of fire, canopies become more closed, and the canopy and subcanopy develop more coverage by Acer saccharum and Quercus alba, with invasion by Juniperus virginiana (this phase formerly delineated as Quercus muehlenbergii - Juniperus virginiana - Acer saccharum / Frangula caroliniana Forest (CEGL002108) but now no longer a part of the NVC).
Environmental Description: Stands occur on moderately steep to steep upper slopes of hills, ridges, and plains, and on steep slopes and bluffs along streams and rivers. Aspect can be in any direction. Soils are rapidly drained to well-drained, and very shallow to shallow (0-100 cm). The parent material is limestone, cherty limestone, or dolomite with bedrock at or near the surface (Nelson 1985).
Geographic Range: This chinquapin oak - ash woodland community is found in the Ozark region of the United States, particularly Missouri and Arkansas.
Nations: US
States/Provinces: AR, MO
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.683972
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.1 White Oak - Southern Red Oak - Shortleaf Pine Forest & Woodland Macrogroup | M016 | 1.B.2.Na.1 |
| Group | 1.B.2.Na.1.e Chinquapin Oak - Shumard Oak - Blue Ash Forest & Woodland Group | G601 | 1.B.2.Na.1.e |
| Alliance | A3273 Chinquapin Oak - Blue Ash - Eastern Red-cedar Woodland Alliance | A3273 | 1.B.2.Na.1.e |
| Association | CEGL002143 Chinquapin Oak - (Blue Ash, White Ash) / Little Bluestem Woodland | CEGL002143 | 1.B.2.Na.1.e |
Concept Lineage: This association (CEGL002108) is now treated as a fire-suppressed phase of CEGL002143.
Predecessors: No Data Available
Obsolete Names: No Data Available
Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: = Quercus muehlenbergii - Fraxinus (quadrangulata, americana) / Schizachyrium scoparium Woodland (Faber-Langendoen 2001)
> Dry Limestone/Dolomite Forest (Nelson 1985)
> Limestone/Dolomite Savanna (Nelson 1985)
> Dry Limestone/Dolomite Forest (Nelson 1985)
> Limestone/Dolomite Savanna (Nelson 1985)
- Chastain, R. A., M.A. Struckhoff, K. W. Grabner, E. D. Stroh, H. He, D. R. Larsen, T. A. Nigh, and J. Drake. 2006. Mapping vegetation communities in Ozark National Scenic Riverways: Final technical report to the National Park Service. Open-File Report 2006-1354. U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, VA. 90 pp. plus appendices.
- Faber-Langendoen, D., editor. 2001. Plant communities of the Midwest: Classification in an ecological context. Association for Biodiversity Information, Arlington, VA. 61 pp. plus appendix (705 pp.).
- Hop, K., M. Pyne, T. Foti, S. Lubinski, R. White, and J. Dieck. 2012a. National Park Service vegetation inventory program: Buffalo National River, Arkansas. Natural Resource Report NPS/HTLN/NRR--2012/526. National Park Service, Fort Collins, CO. 340 pp.
- Midwestern Ecology Working Group of NatureServe. No date. International Ecological Classification Standard: International Vegetation Classification. Terrestrial Vegetation. NatureServe, Minneapolis, MN.
- Nelson, P. 2010. The terrestrial natural communities of Missouri. Revised edition. Missouri Natural Areas Committee, Department of Natural Resources and the Department of Conservation, Jefferson City.
- Nelson, P. W. 1985. The terrestrial natural communities of Missouri. Missouri Natural Areas Committee, Jefferson City. 197 pp. Revised edition, 1987.