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CEGL006215 Quercus stellata / Schizachyrium scoparium - Andropogon gerardii - Pycnanthemum tenuifolium - Packera paupercula Wooded Grassland
Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Post Oak / Little Bluestem - Big Bluestem - Narrowleaf Mountainmint - Balsam Groundsel Wooded Grassland
Colloquial Name: Southern Blue Ridge Mafic Barrens
Hierarchy Level: Association
Type Concept: This association is restricted to Virginia''s Blue Ridge. It occurs over amphibolite, which weathers to produce high base status soils. This community is known only from Buffalo Mountain in the southern Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. Although floristically related to other more common types of glades, this is a distinct type that reflects the unusual environmental conditions of the small glades on amphibole gneiss bedrock of Buffalo Mountain. There are several small openings with this type of glade set within a matrix of oak-dominated vegetation. Typical stands of this association contain Quercus stellata and Juniperus virginiana var. virginiana in the open to sparse canopy, with Schizachyrium scoparium as a dominant grass and Castilleja coccinea as a characteristic herb.
Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available
Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available
Classification Comments: No Data Available
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available
Floristics: This community ranges in physiognomy from scrub to woodland. Tree cover is typically stunted and sparse with Juniperus virginiana, Quercus stellata, and Carya ovata being the most constant canopy trees. Other woody species usually present include Amelanchier arborea, Ostrya virginiana, and Rosa carolina, but the shrub layer is patchy and not well-developed. The herbaceous layer covers 50-100% of the ground and is usually dominated by Schizachyrium scoparium. Numerous other herbaceous species and graminoids occur in this community such as Danthonia spicata, Carex pensylvanica, Solidago nemoralis, Elymus hystrix, Muhlenbergia capillaris, Polygonum tenue, Scleria pauciflora, Sorghastrum nutans, Phemeranthus teretifolius (= Talinum teretifolium), Asclepias verticillata, Euphorbia corollata, Packera paupercula (= Senecio pauperculus), Ionactis linariifolius, Dichanthelium commutatum, Lechea racemulosa, Pycnanthemum tenuifolium, Allium cernuum, and Helianthus divaricatus.
Dynamics: No Data Available
Environmental Description: This association is restricted to Virginia''s Blue Ridge. It occurs over amphibolite, which weathers to produce high base status soils. This community is known only from Buffalo Mountain in the southern Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. Although floristically related to other more common types of glades, this is a distinct type that reflects the unusual environmental conditions of the small glades on amphibole gneiss bedrock of Buffalo Mountain. There are several small openings with this type of glade set within a matrix of oak-dominated vegetation.
Rawinski and Wieboldt (1993) describe the single site for this type, which occurs on Buffalo Mountain, a 3971-foot monadnock in the Blue Ridge uplands. The amphibole gneiss bedrock is exposed in many places at the upper elevations where the soils are thin and poorly developed. This community occurs on upper-mid to lower-mid slope positions where lateral water drainage probably enriches the soils. However, dry summers and a southern aspect contribute to generally droughty moisture conditions. Rawinski and Wieboldt (1993) hypothesized that the seasonal wetness, soil consistency and erosiveness, and the magnesium-rich parent material create a stressful environment with a diagnostic flora.
Rawinski and Wieboldt (1993) describe the single site for this type, which occurs on Buffalo Mountain, a 3971-foot monadnock in the Blue Ridge uplands. The amphibole gneiss bedrock is exposed in many places at the upper elevations where the soils are thin and poorly developed. This community occurs on upper-mid to lower-mid slope positions where lateral water drainage probably enriches the soils. However, dry summers and a southern aspect contribute to generally droughty moisture conditions. Rawinski and Wieboldt (1993) hypothesized that the seasonal wetness, soil consistency and erosiveness, and the magnesium-rich parent material create a stressful environment with a diagnostic flora.
Geographic Range: This community is known only from Buffalo Mountain in the southern Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia.
Nations: US
States/Provinces: VA
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.685100
Confidence Level: Moderate
Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available
Grank: G1
Greasons: No Data Available
| Type | Name | Database Code | Classification Code |
|---|---|---|---|
| Class | 2 Shrub & Herb Vegetation Class | C02 | 2 |
| Subclass | 2.B Temperate & Boreal Grassland & Shrubland Subclass | S18 | 2.B |
| Formation | 2.B.2 Temperate Grassland & Shrubland Formation | F012 | 2.B.2 |
| Division | 2.B.2.Nc Eastern North American Grassland & Shrubland Division | D024 | 2.B.2.Nc |
| Macrogroup | 2.B.2.Nc.1 Catawba Rosebay / Michaux''s Saxifrage - Flattened Oatgrass Felsic & Mafic Scrub & Grassland Macrogroup | M506 | 2.B.2.Nc.1 |
| Group | 2.B.2.Nc.1.c Little Bluestem - Balsam Groundsel - Prairie Groundsel Appalachian Mafic Glade Group | G180 | 2.B.2.Nc.1.c |
| Alliance | A2074 White Ash - Post Oak / Pennsylvania Sedge Appalachian Mafic-Circumneutral Scrub Alliance | A2074 | 2.B.2.Nc.1.c |
| Association | CEGL006215 Post Oak / Little Bluestem - Big Bluestem - Narrowleaf Mountainmint - Balsam Groundsel Wooded Grassland | CEGL006215 | 2.B.2.Nc.1.c |
Concept Lineage: Part of CEGL006215 was split off into CEGL006353 (in 1997?), but then in 2005 part of CEGL006353 was merged back into CEGL006215.
Predecessors: No Data Available
Obsolete Names: No Data Available
Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: = Juniperus virginiana - Quercus stellata / Castilleja coccinea Association (Rawinski and Wieboldt 1993)
= Quercus stellata / Schizachyrium scoparium - Sorghastrum nutans - Pycnanthemum tenuifolium - Packera paupercula Wooded Herbaceous Vegetation (Fleming and Coulling 2001)
= Quercus stellata / Schizachyrium scoparium - Sorghastrum nutans - Pycnanthemum tenuifolium - Packera paupercula Wooded Herbaceous Vegetation (Fleming and Coulling 2001)
- Fleming, G. P., K. D. Patterson, and K. Taverna. 2017. The natural communities of Virginia: A classification of ecological community groups and community types. Third approximation. Version 3.0. Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, Division of Natural Heritage, Richmond, VA. [http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/natural-heritage/natural-communities/]
- Fleming, G. P., and K. D. Patterson. 2009b. Classification of selected Virginia montane wetland groups. In-house analysis, December 2009. Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, Division of Natural Heritage, Richmond.
- Fleming, G. P., and P. P. Coulling. 2001. Ecological communities of the George Washington and Jefferson national forests, Virginia. Preliminary classification and description of vegetation types. Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, Division of Natural Heritage, Richmond, VA. 317 pp.
- Fleming, Gary P. Personal communication. Ecologist, Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, Division of Natural Heritage, Richmond, VA.
- Rawinski, T. J., and T. F. Wieboldt. 1993. Classification and ecological interpretation of mafic glade vegetation on Buffalo Mountain, Floyd County, Virginia. Banisteria 2:3-10.
- Southeastern Ecology Working Group of NatureServe. No date. International Ecological Classification Standard: International Vegetation Classification. Terrestrial Vegetation. NatureServe, Durham, NC.