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CEGL006435 Appalachian - Alleghenian Sandstone Dry Cliff Vegetation
Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Appalachian - Alleghenian Sandstone Dry Cliff Vegetation
Colloquial Name: Appalachian - Alleghenian Sandstone Dry Cliff
Hierarchy Level: Association
Type Concept: This dry sandstone cliff community occurs in the Western Allegheny Plateau and central Appalachian Mountains of the United States. Stands occur as steep to vertical rock exposures of sandstone bedrock. Aspect is variable, but stands are best developed on south- and west-facing slopes. Vascular plants are restricted to shelves, cracks and crevices in the rock, generally averaging less than 20% cover. Mosses and lichens are common, including crustose lichens. The sparse woody species include Tsuga canadensis, Betula alleghaniensis, Betula lenta, Rhododendron maximum, Rhododendron periclymenoides, Kalmia latifolia, Toxicodendron radicans, and rarely Hydrangea arborescens. Herbs are sparse but may include the forbs Agrostis perennans, Aquilegia canadensis, Eurybia divaricata, Mitchella repens, Sedum ternatum, and Viola blanda. Silene rotundifolia often occurs at the drip line. Ferns such as Asplenium montanum, Asplenium pinnatifidum, Asplenium rhizophyllum, Asplenium trichomanes, Cystopteris tenuis, Dennstaedtia punctilobula, Dryopteris intermedia, Dryopteris marginalis, Polypodium virginianum, Polypodium appalachianum, Woodsia obtusa, and the rare Asplenium bradleyi also occur. Massive cliffs in the gorges of the Gauley and Meadow rivers (West Virginia) can have dramatic overhangs which create unique dry habitats utilized by Allegheny woodrats (Neotoma magister) and antlions (larvae of insects in the family Myrmeleontidae).
Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available
Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available
Classification Comments: These cliffs are known in some areas as "rockhouses." In Ohio, Anderson (1996) provides several references to lichen composition on sandstone cliffs. Further work is needed to determine whether this association should be classified as lichen-dominated or sparse vegetation, or should be split to recognize dominance of some occurrences by crustose lichens.
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available
Floristics: Vascular plants are restricted to shelves, cracks and crevices in the rock, generally averaging less than 20% cover. Mosses and lichens are common, including crustose lichens. The sparse woody species include Tsuga canadensis, Betula alleghaniensis (= Betula lutea), Betula lenta, Rhododendron maximum, Rhododendron periclymenoides (= Rhododendron nudiflorum), Kalmia latifolia, Toxicodendron radicans, and rarely Hydrangea arborescens. The herbaceous layer contains the forbs Agrostis perennans, Aquilegia canadensis, Eurybia divaricata, Mitchella repens, Sedum ternatum, and Viola blanda. Silene rotundifolia often occurs at the drip line. Ferns such as Asplenium montanum, Asplenium pinnatifidum, Asplenium rhizophyllum, Asplenium trichomanes, Cystopteris tenuis, Dennstaedtia punctilobula, Dryopteris intermedia, Dryopteris marginalis, Polypodium virginianum, Polypodium appalachianum, Woodsia obtusa, and the rare Asplenium bradleyi also occur. Lichens identified in WV plots include Chrysothrix insulizans, Cladonia rangiferina, Cladonia squamosa, Lasallia papulosa, Lepraria finkii (= Lepraria lobificans), Lepraria caesiella, Lepraria neglecta, Phlyctis petraea, Porpidia albocaerulescens, Usnea amblyoclada, and Umbilicaria mammulata (in trace amounts); bryophytes in those plots include Andreaea rothii, Bazzania trilobata, Bryoandersonia illecebra, Dicranum scoparium, Diplophyllum apiculatum, Leucobryum albidum, Leucobryum glaucum, and Cheilolejeunea clypeata (= Leucolejeunea clypeata).
Dynamics: No Data Available
Environmental Description: This community occurs on sandstone cliff faces that are vertical or overhanging and are thus protected from light, rain and seepage, across the Western Allegheny Plateau and central Appalachian Mountains of the United States. Stands occur as steep to vertical rock exposures of sandstone bedrock. Aspect is variable, but stands are best developed on south- and west-facing slopes.
Geographic Range: This association is currently documented from the Western Allegheny Plateau and central Appalachian Mountains of the United States, extending to northern Cumberland Plateau and the New and Gauley rivers in West Virginia.
Nations: US
States/Provinces: MD, OH, PA, WV
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.684346
Confidence Level: Low
Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available
Grank: G4Q
Greasons: No Data Available
| Type | Name | Database Code | Classification Code |
|---|---|---|---|
| Class | 6 Open Rock Vegetation Class | C06 | 6 |
| Subclass | 6.B Temperate & Boreal Open Rock Vegetation Subclass | S04 | 6.B |
| Formation | 6.B.1 Temperate & Boreal Cliff, Scree & Other Rock Vegetation Formation | F034 | 6.B.1 |
| Division | 6.B.1.Na Eastern North American Temperate Cliff, Scree & Rock Vegetation Division | D051 | 6.B.1.Na |
| Macrogroup | 6.B.1.Na.1 Shrubby Fivefingers - Rock Polypody / Cup Lichen species Eastern North American Cliff & Rock Vegetation Macrogroup | M111 | 6.B.1.Na.1 |
| Group | 6.B.1.Na.1.c Appalachian Cliff & Rock Vegetation Group | G840 | 6.B.1.Na.1.c |
| Alliance | A2071 Appalachian Acidic Cliff Alliance | A2071 | 6.B.1.Na.1.c |
| Association | CEGL006435 Appalachian - Alleghenian Sandstone Dry Cliff Vegetation | CEGL006435 | 6.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: = Appalachian - Alleghenian Sandstone Dry Cliff Sparse Vegetation (Sneddon and Menard 2002)
< Cliff Communities (Anderson 1996)
< Cliff Communities (Anderson 1996)
- Anderson, D. M. 1996. The vegetation of Ohio: Two centuries of change. Draft. Ohio Biological Survey.
- Eastern Ecology Working Group of NatureServe. No date. International Ecological Classification Standard: International Vegetation Classification. Terrestrial Vegetation. NatureServe, Boston, MA.
- ONHD [Ohio Natural Heritage Database]. No date. Vegetation classification of Ohio and unpublished data. Ohio Natural Heritage Database, Division of Natural Areas and Preserves, Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Columbus.
- Perles, S. J., G. S. Podniesinski, E. A. Zimmerman, E. Eastman, and L. A. Sneddon. 2006d. Vegetation classification and mapping at Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site. Technical Report NPS/NER/NRTR--2006/079. National Park Service, Philadelphia, PA.
- Sneddon, L., and S. Menard, editors. 2002. International classification of ecological communities: Terrestrial vegetation of the United States, Western Allegheny Plateau. Draft revisions based on contributions of the Western Allegheny Plateau Ecology Group. Unpublished report. NatureServe, Boston, MA.
- Vanderhorst, J. P., B. P. Streets, Z. Arcaro, and S. C. Gawler. 2010. Vegetation classification and mapping at Gauley River National Recreation Area. Technical Report NPS/NER/NRTR--2010/148. National Park Service, Philadelphia, PA.
- Vanderhorst, J. P., J. Jeuck, and S. C. Gawler. 2007. Vegetation classification and mapping of New River Gorge National River, West Virginia. Technical Report NPS/NER/NRTR-2007/092. National Park Service, Philadelphia, PA. 396 pp.
- WVNHP [West Virginia Natural Heritage Program]. No date. Unpublished data. West Virginia Natural Heritage Program, Elkins.