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CEGL006393 Vaccinium angustifolium / Schizachyrium scoparium - Carex lucorum Shrub Grassland
Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Lowbush Blueberry / Little Bluestem - Blue Ridge Sedge Shrub Grassland
Colloquial Name: Northern Sandplain Grassland
Hierarchy Level: Association
Type Concept: This type includes shrub-herbaceous sandplain grasslands along the Coastal Plain from southern Maine through Connecticut. It occurs on flat sandy plains or on deep outwash deposits on sites that are away from direct maritime influence. Vegetation is dominated by Danthonia spicata, Schizachyrium scoparium, Carex lucorum or Carex pensylvanica, and Vaccinium angustifolium. Associated species can include Lechea maritima, Piptatheropsis pungens, Solidago bicolor, Liatris scariosa var. novae-angliae, Viola sagittata, Lysimachia quadrifolia, Asclepias tuberosa, Baptisia tinctoria, Carex vestita, Ionactis linariifolius, Sericocarpus asteroides, and Calystegia spithamaea. Scattered patches of Arctostaphylos uva-ursi, Comptonia peregrina, Gaylussacia baccata, and Photinia melanocarpa are common, as well as scattered individuals of Pinus rigida, Betula populifolia, and Prunus pensylvanica. Soils are extremely well-drained and acidic. Where this community occurs, native tree cover has been eliminated, with subsequent regular management through burning and/or cutting. In presettlement times, this community appears to have been maintained via a natural fire regime. This vegetation has been used extensively for blueberry production in certain locations; cover of Vaccinium has been greatly enhanced by fire and herbicide use. This community can also be found along some powerline rights-of-way where few or no herbicides are used.
Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available
Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available
Classification Comments: The one viable Maine occurrence is in conservation ownership and is managed for the rare community, rare animals, and rare plants found there. Prescribed burning is a major management tool. This type appears to have been historically more common from southern Maine, New Hampshire, and eastern Massachusetts, but nearby sites that might have supported this community have either been developed or are in commercial blueberry production, where pesticide use precludes development of this community (Gawler 2001). It is related to pitch pine barrens vegetation, but without trees.
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available
Floristics: Vegetation is dominated by Danthonia spicata, Schizachyrium scoparium, Carex lucorum or Carex pensylvanica, and Vaccinium angustifolium. Associated species can include Lechea maritima, Piptatheropsis pungens (= Oryzopsis pungens), Solidago bicolor, Liatris scariosa var. novae-angliae, Viola sagittata, Lysimachia quadrifolia, Asclepias tuberosa, Baptisia tinctoria, Carex vestita, Ionactis linariifolius, Sericocarpus asteroides, and Calystegia spithamaea. Scattered patches of Arctostaphylos uva-ursi, Comptonia peregrina, Gaylussacia baccata, and Photinia melanocarpa are common, as well as scattered individuals of Pinus rigida, Betula populifolia, and Prunus pensylvanica.
Dynamics: Where this community occurs, native tree cover has been eliminated, with subsequent regular management through burning and/or cutting. In presettlement times, this community appears to have been maintained via a natural fire regime.
Environmental Description: This type includes shrub-herbaceous sandplain grasslands along the Coastal Plain from southern Maine through Connecticut. It occurs on flat sandy plains or on deep outwash deposits on sites that are away from direct maritime influence. Soils are extremely well-drained and acidic.
Geographic Range: This association is found in near-coastal southern Maine through Massachusetts to Connecticut and New York.
Nations: US
States/Provinces: CT?, MA, ME, NH, NY
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.685772
Confidence Level: Low
Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available
Grank: GNR
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.4 Temperate to Polar Scrub & Herb Coastal Vegetation Formation | F005 | 2.B.4 |
Division | 2.B.4.Na Eastern North American Coastal Scrub & Herb Vegetation Division | D026 | 2.B.4.Na |
Macrogroup | 2.B.4.Na.2 American Beachgrass - Sea-oats - Seaside Goldenrod Dune & Grassland Macrogroup | M057 | 2.B.4.Na.2 |
Group | 2.B.4.Na.2.e Bear Oak - Sheep Laurel - Kinnikinnick Sand Barrens Group | G063 | 2.B.4.Na.2.e |
Alliance | A4369 Northern Bayberry / Little Bluestem species Heath & Grassland Alliance | A4369 | 2.B.4.Na.2.e |
Association | CEGL006393 Lowbush Blueberry / Little Bluestem - Blue Ridge Sedge Shrub Grassland | CEGL006393 | 2.B.4.Na.2.e |
Concept Lineage: No Data Available
Predecessors: No Data Available
Obsolete Names: No Data Available
Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: = Sandplain Grassland (Vickery 1990)
- Eastern Ecology Working Group of NatureServe. No date. International Ecological Classification Standard: International Vegetation Classification. Terrestrial Vegetation. NatureServe, Boston, MA.
- Edinger, G. J., D. J. Evans, S. Gebauer, T. G. Howard, D. M. Hunt, and A. M. Olivero, editors. 2014a. Ecological communities of New York state. Second edition. A revised and expanded edition of Carol Reschke''s ecological communities of New York state. New York Natural Heritage Program, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, Albany, NY.
- Gawler, S. C. 2002. Natural landscapes of Maine: A guide to vegetated natural communities and ecosystems. Maine Natural Areas Program, Department of Conservation, Augusta, ME.
- Gawler, S. C., R. E. Zaremba, and Cogan Technology, Inc. 2017. Vegetation mapping inventory project: Minute Man National Historical Park, Massachusetts. Natural Resource Report NPS/MIMA/NRR--2017/1450. National Park Service, Fort Collins, CO.
- Gawler, S. C., and A. Cutko. 2010. Natural landscapes of Maine: A classification of vegetated natural communities and ecosystems. Maine Natural Areas Program, Department of Conservation, Augusta.
- Metzler, K. J., and J. P. Barrett. 2001. Vegetation classification for Connecticut. Draft 5/21/2001. Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection, Natural Resources Center, Natural Diversity Database, Hartford.
- Sperduto, D. D., and W. F. Nichols. 2004. Natural communities of New Hampshire: A guide and classification. New Hampshire Natural Heritage Bureau, DRED Division of Forests and Lands, Concord. 242 pp.
- Swain, P. C., and J. B. Kearsley. 2014. Classification of the natural communities of Massachusetts. Version 2.0. Natural Heritage & Endangered Species Program, Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife. Westborough, MA. [http://www.mass.gov/nhesp/http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/dfg/dfw/natural-heritage/natural-communities/classification-of-natural-communities.html]
- Thompson, E., and J. Jenkins. 1992. Summary of field data from Minuteman National Park plant communities study. A report prepared under a contract with the Massachusetts Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program for the National Park Service. 39 pp.
- Vickery, P. D. 1990. Report on grassland habitats in relation to the presence of grasshopper sparrows (Ammodramus savannarum) and other rare vertebrates in Maine. A report prepared for the Maine Natural Heritage Program, Augusta, ME. 29 pp.