Environmental Description:  This association is typically found on upper sideslopes or summits of limestone, dolomite, or marble ridges with dry soils. Along the New River in West Virginia, it is found in small patches on lower to middle gorge slopes eroded from calcareous geologic formations. These are alkaline forests associated with calcareous soils, often surrounding, or in association with, limestone or dolomite glades. The soils are well-drained, dry, and shallow with outcrops or boulders often present. In the Ridge and Valley and Central Appalachians of Virginia (Fleming 1999), stands of this type are evidently confined to substrates weathered from limestone and dolomite, most frequently occupying submesic to subxeric, southeast- to west-facing slopes at relatively low elevations (mean = 569 m [1867 feet]). These habitats usually appear to be quite dry, rocky, and at least somewhat exposed. The stands are most often situated on middle slopes but range into both lower and upper slope topographic positions. The slope shape is typically convex in at least one direction. Soils are yellow-brown to reddish-brown clay loams and silty clay loams; soil reaction ranges from strongly acidic (pH 5.3) to mildly alkaline (pH 7.4), with mean calcium (Ca) levels of 2474 ppm. In soils weathered from dolomite, magnesium (Mg) levels may exceed 1000 ppm (Fleming 1999). Soil chemistry analyzed from the one WV plot at New River Gorge had high pH (6.8) and high levels of total cation-exchange capacity, calcium (4180 ppm), potassium (121 ppm), and magnesium (424 ppm) compared to most other soils nearby.