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CEGL007858 (Quercus palustris) / Panicum rigidulum var. rigidulum - Panicum verrucosum - Eleocharis acicularis Marsh
Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: (Pin Oak) / Redtop Panicgrass - Warty Panicgrass - Needle Spikerush Marsh
Colloquial Name: Shenandoah Valley Sinkhole Pond (Typic Type)
Hierarchy Level: Association
Type Concept: This community occurs in seasonally flooded depression ponds developed by solution and collapse of carbonate rocks underlying acidic colluvial materials deposited on the eastern edge of the Great Valley of Virginia, in Augusta, Rockingham, and southern Page counties, Virginia. This community has a variable physiognomy, from an open woodland with scattered individuals or groves of Quercus palustris, to entirely herbaceous with a marginal zone of trees. Quercus palustris is the most common and characteristic tree species; other trees include Acer rubrum, Nyssa sylvatica, Pinus rigida, and Diospyros virginiana. The shrub (and woody vine) stratum is usually sparse or absent; it can include Vaccinium corymbosum, Vaccinium fuscatum, Cephalanthus occidentalis, and Smilax rotundifolia. The herb stratum is well-developed. Herbaceous species with high constancy include Panicum rigidulum var. rigidulum, Panicum verrucosum, Eleocharis acicularis, Agrostis perennans, Dichanthelium acuminatum, Hypericum boreale, Helenium virginicum (endemic to this and related communities in Virginia and Missouri), Panicum philadelphicum, Bidens frondosa, Viola lanceolata, Erechtites hieraciifolius, Symphyotrichum dumosum, Fimbristylis autumnalis, Rhexia mariana, and Rhexia virginica.
Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available
Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available
Classification Comments: Examples occur in the Maple Flats pond complex (Augusta County, Virginia) and other similar ponds and pond complexes in Augusta, Rockingham, and southern Page counties, Virginia. This is the most prevalent and characteristic community of the Shenandoah Valley sinkhole ponds. No comparable or similar vegetation has been documented elsewhere in Virginia or nationally.
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available
Floristics: This community has a variable physiognomy, from an open woodland with scattered individuals or groves of Quercus palustris, to entirely herbaceous with a marginal zone of trees. Quercus palustris is the most common and characteristic tree species; minor trees include Acer rubrum, Nyssa sylvatica, Pinus rigida, and Diospyros virginiana. The shrub stratum is usually sparse or absent, but can include Vaccinium corymbosum, Vaccinium fuscatum, and Cephalanthus occidentalis. Thick tangles of Smilax rotundifolia are typical around pond borders. The herb layer is usually well-developed. Eleocharis acicularis often forms the first vegetation patches during late stages of flooding and early draw-down. As it matures, sprouts of Panicum rigidulum (including both var. rigidulum and var. pubescens), Panicum verrucosum, and many other species appear and constitute the late-season draw-down vegetation. Additional species with high constancy include Agrostis perennans, Dichanthelium acuminatum, Hypericum boreale, Hypericum gymnanthum, Helenium virginicum (endemic to this and related communities in Virginia and Missouri), Juncus spp., Panicum philadelphicum, Bidens frondosa, Viola lanceolata, Erechtites hieraciifolius, Symphyotrichum dumosum (= Aster dumosus), Fimbristylis autumnalis, Rhexia mariana, and Rhexia virginica. Intermittently flooded ponds may support dry-site plants such as Schizachyrium scoparium, Sorghastrum nutans, Andropogon virginicus, Baptisia tinctoria, Diodia teres, Hypericum gentianoides, Polygala nuttallii, and Salix humilis var. tristis. The recently named and described Boltonia montana (Townsend and Karaman-Castro 2006) occurs in several ponds supporting this community type, as well as in limesink ponds in New Jersey. Cyperus dentatus, Echinodorus tenellus, Eleocharis melanocarpa, Helenium virginicum, Hypericum boreale, Lysimachia hybrida, and Sabatia campanulata are rare plants associated with this vegetation type. The flora of Shenandoah Valley sinkhole ponds is noteworthy for its high percentage of rarities and disjuncts with various biogeographic affinities. Helenium virginicum was considered endemic to these habitats until recently, when a disjunct population was discovered in a seasonal pond in Missouri (Simurda and Knox 2000).
Dynamics: No Data Available
Environmental Description: This community occurs in seasonally flooded depression ponds developed by solution and collapse of carbonate rocks underlying acidic materials eroded from the Blue Ridge and deposited along the eastern edge of the Great Valley of Virginia in massive alluvial fans. Ponds supporting this community range in size from about 0.04 hectare (0.1 acre) to over 1.0 hectare (2.4 acres). Flooding duration is controlled by groundwater fluctuations and ranges from intermittent to extended, but is often characterized by relatively short seasonal flooding. The dates during which ponds draw down vary widely with annual rainfall patterns, but these habitats are almost always exposed by the end of the growing season. Soils are predominantly clay loams with thin organic horizons of matted, partly decomposed leaf litter and Sphagnum. Soil samples collected from 19 sites were very strongly acidic (mean pH = 4.5), with high levels of aluminum (Al) and arsenic (As), and low levels of boron, calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, and potassium. Low pH in combination with high Al and As may impair the assimilation of macronutrients by plants. These data suggest that soil chemistry, in combination with hydrologic conditions, produce unusual edaphic stresses that strongly influence floristic composition in these ponds.
Geographic Range: This community is known only from natural pond complexes along the western foot of the Blue Ridge in Augusta, Rockingham, and southern Page counties, Virginia
Nations: US
States/Provinces: VA
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.685302
Confidence Level: High
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.C Shrub & Herb Wetland Subclass | S44 | 2.C |
| Formation | 2.C.4 Temperate to Polar Freshwater Marsh, Wet Meadow & Shrubland Formation | F013 | 2.C.4 |
| Division | 2.C.4.Nd Eastern North American Temperate Freshwater Marsh, Wet Meadow & Shrubland Division | D323 | 2.C.4.Nd |
| Macrogroup | 2.C.4.Nd.2 Broadleaf Cattail - White Snakeroot - Rush species Marsh, Wet Meadow & Shrubland Macrogroup | M069 | 2.C.4.Nd.2 |
| Group | 2.C.4.Nd.2.d Appalachian-Northeast Wet Meadow & Shrub Swamp Group | G903 | 2.C.4.Nd.2.d |
| Alliance | A4680 <i>Dulichium arundinaceum - Polygonum hydropiperoides - Carex</i> spp. Sinkhole Marsh Alliance | A4680 | 2.C.4.Nd.2.d |
| Association | CEGL007858 (Pin Oak) / Redtop Panicgrass - Warty Panicgrass - Needle Spikerush Marsh | CEGL007858 | 2.C.4.Nd.2.d |
Concept Lineage: No Data Available
Predecessors: No Data Available
Obsolete Names: No Data Available
Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: = Quercus palustris / Panicum rigidulum - Panicum verrucosum - Eleocharis acicularis Wooded Herbaceous Vegetation (Fleming and Coulling 2001)
= Quercus palustris / Panicum rigidulum var. rigidulum - Panicum verrucosum - Eleocharis acicularis community (Fleming and Van Alstine 1999)
= Quercus palustris / Panicum rigidulum var. rigidulum - Panicum verrucosum - Eleocharis acicularis community (Fleming and Van Alstine 1999)
- Buhlmann, K. A., J. C. Mitchell, and L. R. Smith. 1999. Descriptive ecology of the Shenandoah Valley sinkhole pond system in Virginia. Banisteria 13:23-51.
- 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 N. E. Van Alstine. 1999. Plant communities and floristic features of sinkhole ponds and seepage wetlands in southeastern Augusta County, Virginia. Banisteria 13:67-94.
- 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.
- Mitchell, J. C., and K. A. Buhlmann. 1999. Amphibians and reptiles of the Shenandoah Valley sinkhole pond system and vicinity, Augusta County, Virginia. Banisteria 13:129-142.
- Roble, S. M. 1999. Dragonflies and damselflies (Odonata) of the Shenandoah Valley sinkhole pond system and vicinity, Augusta County, Virginia. Banisteria 13:101-127.
- Simurda, M. C., and J. S. Knox. 2000. ITS sequence evidence for the disjunct distribution between Virginia and Missouri of the narrow endemic Helenium virginicum (Asteraceae). Journal of the Torrey Botanical Society 127:316-323.
- Southeastern Ecology Working Group of NatureServe. No date. International Ecological Classification Standard: International Vegetation Classification. Terrestrial Vegetation. NatureServe, Durham, NC.
- Townsend, J. F., and V. Karaman-Castro. 2006. A new species of Boltonia (Asteraceae) from the Ridge and Valley province, U.S.A. Sida 22(2):873-886.
- Young, J., G. Fleming, P. Townsend, and J. Foster. 2006. Vegetation of Shenandoah National Park in relation to environmental gradients. Final Report (v.1.1). Research technical report prepared for USDI, National Park Service. USGS/NPS Vegetation Mapping Program. 92 pp. plus appendices.
- Young, J., G. Fleming, W. Cass, and C. Lea. 2009. Vegetation of Shenandoah National Park in relation to environmental gradients, Version 2.0. Technical Report NPS/NER/NRTR--2009/142. National Park Service, Philadelphia, PA. 389 pp.