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CEGL007700 Quercus montana - Quercus spp. / Vaccinium arboreum - (Kalmia latifolia, Styrax grandifolius) Forest
Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Chestnut Oak - Oak species / Farkleberry - (Mountain Laurel, Bigleaf Snowbell) Forest
Colloquial Name: Interior Low Plateau Chestnut Oak - Mixed Oak Forest
Hierarchy Level: Association
Type Concept: This community occurs over shallow, rocky soils on narrow ridgetops, upper slopes, and midslopes of south- to southwest-facing ridges in the Interior Low Plateau and nearby provinces such as the Southern Cumberlands and adjacent Southern Ridge and Valley. It may also occur in the Upper East Gulf Coastal Plain. This is the dominant forest type found on narrow ridges of the dissected western escarpment of the Eastern Highland Rim of Tennessee at about 350 m (1100 feet) elevation. These forests have canopies which are strongly dominated by Quercus montana, with Quercus coccinea and/or Quercus velutina, and with lesser amounts of Quercus rubra, Quercus alba, Nyssa sylvatica, Acer rubrum var. rubrum, and Carya tomentosa. The understory may contain Oxydendrum arboreum, Fagus grandifolia, Sassafras albidum, Aralia spinosa, and/or Cornus florida. The shrub stratum may be dense to sparse, partly dominated by ericaceous species. Typical shrub species can include Viburnum acerifolium, Hypericum frondosum, Vaccinium stamineum, Vaccinium arboreum, Vaccinium pallidum, Vaccinium corymbosum, and Gaylussacia baccata. Some examples will contain patches of Kalmia latifolia, or Styrax grandifolius may replace Viburnum acerifolium in some locales. Smilax glauca and Smilax rotundifolia are typically present. Castanea dentata may occur as root sprouts, and decaying stumps may still be evident. Scattered individuals of Pinus echinata or Pinus virginiana may be present in the subcanopy of some examples. The herb layer is typically sparse and includes subshrubs such as Epigaea repens and Chimaphila maculata. Other common species may include Tipularia discolor, Antennaria plantaginifolia, Cypripedium acaule, Danthonia spicata, Epigaea repens, Helianthus divaricatus, Helianthus hirsutus, Dichanthelium dichotomum, and Polystichum acrostichoides. Mats of mosses may cover the ground surface where herbaceous cover and leaf litter are sparse.
Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available
Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available
Classification Comments: This is at least part of the historic chestnut oak forest after loss of chestnut in the Interior Low Plateau and related ecoregions. More detailed floristic information is needed to reliably distinguish this association from other closely related forests in this alliance, such as ~Quercus montana - Carya ovata - Quercus rubra / Acer saccharum Forest (CEGL007268)$$ of the Ridge and Valley, ~Quercus (montana, coccinea) / Kalmia latifolia / (Galax urceolata, Gaultheria procumbens) Forest (CEGL006271)$$ of the Southern Blue Ridge, and the apparently more xeric ~Quercus montana / Smilax spp. Forest (CEGL005022)$$ of the lower Midwest and Kentucky.
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available
Floristics: These forests have canopies which are strongly dominated by Quercus montana (= Quercus prinus), with Quercus coccinea and/or Quercus velutina, and with lesser amounts of Quercus rubra, Quercus alba, Nyssa sylvatica, Acer rubrum var. rubrum, and Carya tomentosa (= Carya alba). The understory may contain Oxydendrum arboreum, Fagus grandifolia, Sassafras albidum, Aralia spinosa, and/or Cornus florida. The shrub stratum may be dense to sparse, partly dominated by ericaceous species. Typical shrub species include Viburnum acerifolium, Hypericum frondosum, Vaccinium stamineum, Vaccinium pallidum, Vaccinium corymbosum, and Gaylussacia baccata. Some examples will contain patches of Kalmia latifolia. Some Tennessee stands (e.g., in 222Eg, the Western Highland Rim) are outside of the range of Viburnum acerifolium, which is typically replaced by Styrax grandifolius in these situations. Smilax glauca and Smilax rotundifolia are typically present. Castanea dentata may occur as root sprouts, and decaying stumps may still be evident. Scattered individuals of Pinus echinata or Pinus virginiana may be present in the subcanopy of some examples. The herb layer is typically sparse and includes subshrubs such as Epigaea repens and Chimaphila maculata. Other common species may include Tipularia discolor, Antennaria plantaginifolia, Cypripedium acaule, Danthonia spicata, Epigaea repens, Helianthus divaricatus, Helianthus hirsutus, Dichanthelium dichotomum (= Panicum dichotomum), and Polystichum acrostichoides. Mats of mosses may cover the ground surface where herbaceous cover and leaf litter are sparse.
Dynamics: No Data Available
Environmental Description: Stands occur on dry/xeric upper slopes, midslopes and narrow ridgetops. Soils are typically shallow and occur over non-calcareous bedrock of sandstone, conglomerate, or shale, or, to the south, over thin loess and siliceous limestones and cherts.
Geographic Range: This chestnut oak - mixed oak forest community ranges in the United States from the Cumberlands / Southern Ridge and Valley, and Interior Low Plateau of Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia and Alabama (and possibly into the Upper East Gulf Coastal Plain of Mississippi).
Nations: US
States/Provinces: AL?, GA, KY, MS?, TN
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.684621
Confidence Level: Low
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.1 White Oak - Southern Red Oak - Shortleaf Pine Forest & Woodland Macrogroup | M016 | 1.B.2.Na.1 |
| Group | 1.B.2.Na.1.c White Oak - Southern Red Oak - Northern Red Oak Forest & Woodland Group | G159 | 1.B.2.Na.1.c |
| Alliance | A3291 Post Oak - Southern Red Oak - White Oak Interior Low Plateau Woodland Alliance | A3291 | 1.B.2.Na.1.c |
| Association | CEGL007700 Chestnut Oak - Oak species / Farkleberry - (Mountain Laurel, Bigleaf Snowbell) Forest | CEGL007700 | 1.B.2.Na.1.c |
Concept Lineage: No Data Available
Predecessors: No Data Available
Obsolete Names: No Data Available
Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: < CT IV Quercus prinus, Quercus alba, Acer rubrum, Oxydendron (sic) arboreum (Badger et al. 1997)
? IA6d. Chestnut Oak Slope and Ridge Forest (Allard 1990)
? IA6d. Chestnut Oak Slope and Ridge Forest (Allard 1990)
- Allard, D. J. 1990. Southeastern United States ecological community classification. Interim report, Version 1.2. The Nature Conservancy, Southeast Regional Office, Chapel Hill, NC. 96 pp.
- Badger, K. S., J. Taylor, B. Jones, and M. Shell. 1997. Mammoth Cave National Park forest vegetation study. Cooperative Agreement No. CA-5530-3-9001, Subagreement No. CA-5530-3-9003. Ball State University, Muncie, IN.
- Evans, M., B. Yahn, and M. Hines. 2009. Natural communities of Kentucky 2009. Kentucky Nature Preserves Commission, Frankfort, KY. 22 pp.
- MSNHP [Mississippi Natural Heritage Program]. 2006. Ecological communities of Mississippi. Museum of Natural Science, Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks, Jackson, MS. 9 pp.
- Nordman, C., M. Russo, and L. Smart. 2011. Vegetation types of the Natchez Trace Parkway, based on the U.S. National Vegetation Classification. NatureServe Central Databases (International Ecological Classification Standard: Terrestrial Ecological Classifications). Arlington, VA. Data current as of 11 April 2011. 548 pp.
- Pyne, M., E. Lunsford Jones, and R. White. 2010. Vascular plant inventory and plant community classification for Mammoth Cave National Park. NatureServe, Durham, NC. 334 pp.
- Southeastern Ecology Working Group of NatureServe. No date. International Ecological Classification Standard: International Vegetation Classification. Terrestrial Vegetation. NatureServe, Durham, NC.