Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Loblolly Pine - (Southern Red Oak, Water Oak) / Wax-myrtle / Muscadine Forest

Colloquial Name: Mid-Atlantic Coastal Maritime Forest

Hierarchy Level:  Association

Type Concept: This mid-Atlantic coastal upland loblolly pine forest occurs on the Outer Coastal Plain and on barrier islands in sheltered backdunes protected from salt spray and overwash. The substrate is rapidly drained, nutrient-poor sands or sandy loams. This community is dominated by Pinus taeda, which can be the sole canopy component or can be associated with Quercus falcata, Prunus serotina var. serotina, Quercus nigra, and Sassafras albidum. The tall-shrub layer, when present, is composed of Morella cerifera and Vaccinium corymbosum. Vines and lianas are nearly always present in abundance; Vitis rotundifolia is most common, but Toxicodendron radicans, Smilax rotundifolia, Smilax glauca, and Parthenocissus quinquefolia are often present in abundance as well. The herbaceous layer is typically sparse, particularly if shrubs and vines are dense, but Chasmanthium laxum may be fairly abundant in this community. Other herbs include Panicum amarum var. amarulum, Eupatorium hyssopifolium, and Elephantopus nudatus. In southern Virginia, Quercus virginiana and Gelsemium sempervirens may also be present, but Quercus virginiana is never abundant and when present is usually restricted to the understory. In the Chesapeake Marshlands, small patches of this community were observed on Smith Island and north of Bishops Head Point near the Chesapeake Bay Foundation lodge. Vegetation at Bishops Head occupied a small upland hummock which was presumably an old homesite and therefore very fragmented.

Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available

Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available

Classification Comments: This community has floristic affinity with communities of ~Quercus virginiana - Sabal palmetto Coastal Evergreen Forest Alliance (A3192)$$ but is differentiated by a strong dominance by Pinus taeda and lack of species of southern maritime forests such as Sabal minor and Osmanthus americanus. This community also shares a number of species in common with ~Prunus serotina / Morella cerifera / Smilax rotundifolia Scrub Forest (CEGL006319)$$ but is differentiated by a strong dominance by Pinus taeda, a structure characterized by generally taller and straighter trees, a better developed herbaceous layer, and in general, a more protected position in backdunes. In 2008, Virginia Heritage staff conducted an analysis of 65 maritime forest and woodland plots from across the range in Virginia, plus 12 North Carolina plots representing ~Quercus falcata - Pinus taeda - (Fagus grandifolia, Quercus nigra) / Persea palustris Maritime Forest (CEGL007540)$$. The 22 plots representing this association (CEGL006040) had significantly lower mean species richness (n = 15) than the 19 plots representing CEGL007540 in Virginia and North Carolina (n = 35). Another analysis of plot data from 174 loblolly pine-hardwood stands from across the Virginia Eastern Shore clearly indicated that the plots representing CEGL006040 were all located within a few hundred meters of either bay or ocean beaches, both on the mainland and barrier islands, on coarse sands of old dune ridges. None were located where large marshes occur between the mainland edge and the ocean of the bay. These were further distinguished compositionally from the remaining 152 plots of successional pine-hardwood forests by a suite of species with significantly higher constancy and mean cover, by a group of obligate dune species, and by the absence or rarity of numerous widespread species that are characteristic of the successional assemblages. Jason Harrison indicates that, in Maryland, this association is similarly restricted in distribution and similarly distinct from inland forests.

Similar NVC Types: No Data Available

note: No Data Available