Print Report

CEGL008523 Quercus montana - Quercus rubra / Vaccinium pallidum - (Rhododendron periclymenoides) Forest

Type Concept Sentence: This dry-mesic chestnut oak - northern red oak forest occurs on dry, exposed, convex slopes with infertile soil in the northern Blue Ridge and its eastern foothills; examples contain the trees Quercus montana and Quercus rubra, with Quercus velutina, Quercus alba, Betula lenta, and Carya spp.

Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Chestnut Oak - Northern Red Oak / Blue Ridge Blueberry - (Pink Azalea) Forest

Colloquial Name: Central Appalachian Dry Chestnut Oak - Northern Red Oak / Heath Forest

Hierarchy Level:  Association

Type Concept: This community is documented primarily from the northern Blue Ridge and its eastern foothills, from Amherst County in west-central Virginia to the Catoctin Mountains of northern Maryland, and extending into northeastern West Virginia. It is likely to be more widespread, but certain topographic and/or soil conditions on the northern Blue Ridge may favor its development and abundance there. This community occupies sites intermediate between the xeric, nutrient poor sites of chestnut oak/heath forests and the somewhat sheltered, submesic, subacidic sites of other montane mixed oak and oak-hickory forests. It occurs on chiefly convex, moderately steep middle to upper slopes, ridge crests, and boulderfields with southeastern to northwestern exposures. Soils are subxeric or xeric and strongly infertile. Many sites have high cover of boulders, cobbles, gravel, or mineral soil. Underlying bedrock includes massive quartzite of the Chilhowee group, various members of the northern Blue Ridge gneissic granitic complex, and less frequently metabasalt of the Catoctin Formation. This type spans a very broad range of elevations, from <300 m to nearly 1100 m (<1000-3600 feet). Quercus montana and Quercus rubra generally codominate the overstory, but either species may dominate discrete areas within stands. Minor canopy associates include Quercus velutina, Quercus alba, Betula lenta, Carya spp., Robinia pseudoacacia, and Pinus strobus. Acer rubrum cover may equal or exceed that of the diagnostic oak species in stands with recent harvesting. The shrub layer is dominated by patchy Vaccinium pallidum, Vaccinium stamineum, Rhododendron periclymenoides, and Kalmia latifolia. Acer pensylvanicum and Smilax rotundifolia may be present in minor amounts. A suite of low-cover, xerophytic herbs is characteristic, including Houstonia longifolia, Campanula divaricata, Potentilla canadensis, Lysimachia quadrifolia, Carex pensylvanica, Aureolaria laevigata, and Hieracium paniculatum.

Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available

Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available

Classification Comments: Analysis of 28 plots from Virginia, Maryland, and West Virginia provided the basis for this type''s current circumscription. This community type bears some similarity to a number of units in the USNVC. ~Quercus alba - Quercus (rubra, montana) / Rhododendron calendulaceum - (Gaylussacia ursina) Forest (CEGL007230)$$ is a broadly defined association from the Southern Blue Ridge. It differs from the present community type in the presence of several Southern Appalachian endemics (Gaylussacia ursina, Halesia tetraptera, Magnolia fraseri) whose range does not extend to the Northern Blue Ridge and by the general absence (except for Lysimachia quadrifolia) of the xerophytic herbs characteristic of this type. ~Quercus montana - Quercus rubra / Hamamelis virginiana Forest (CEGL006057)$$ is common in the Central Appalachians, possibly ranging north to New Jersey. This association represents mixed oak / sparse heath vegetation on very rocky, somewhat sheltered sites. Acer pensylvanicum, Hamamelis virginiana, and Carya spp., which are characteristic of CEGL006057, are relatively unimportant in stands of the present type. ~Quercus montana - Quercus (rubra, velutina) / Vaccinium (angustifolium, pallidum) Forest (CEGL006282)$$, which ranges from Maine to Virginia, is characterized by a low, speciose ericaceous layer and lacks the herbaceous species diagnostic of this community type. Plots from the Allegheny Mountains of West Virginia previously attributed to this association (CEGL008523) (Vanderhorst 2001a, Vanderhorst and Streets 2006) have been reclassified as different associations, thus the association is now considered to be restricted to the Blue Ridge in the far eastern panhandle of the state.

Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available

Floristics: Quercus montana (= Quercus prinus) and Quercus rubra generally codominate the overstory, but either species may dominate discrete areas within stands. Acer rubrum cover may equal or exceed that of the diagnostic oak species in stands with recent harvesting. Minor canopy associates include Quercus velutina, Betula lenta, Carya spp., Robinia pseudoacacia, Quercus alba, and Pinus strobus. Acer rubrum is the most constant and abundant species of the subcanopy, which also contains Sassafras albidum, Prunus serotina, Nyssa sylvatica, and Acer pensylvanicum (mostly at higher elevations). Patchy dominance by Vaccinium pallidum, Vaccinium stamineum, Rhododendron periclymenoides, and Kalmia latifolia characterizes the shrub layer. Acer pensylvanicum and Smilax rotundifolia may be present in minor amounts. A number of low-cover, xerophytic herbs are characteristic where soil development and rock cover permit, including Houstonia longifolia, Campanula divaricata, Potentilla canadensis, Lysimachia quadrifolia, Carex pensylvanica, Aureolaria laevigata, and Hieracium paniculatum. Medeola virginiana and Monotropa uniflora may also be present. Aralia nudicaulis is occasionally a patch-dominant on dry, bouldery sites. On other sites with better soil development, Dennstaedtia punctilobula nearly dominates the herb stratum. Mean species richness of 28 plots is 40 taxa per 400 m2, much higher than that of other oak/heath types in the Central Appalachians region.

Dynamics:  Castanea dentata abounds in the shrub layer of some stands, which undoubtedly reflects the former importance of this species in the canopy. Both Acer rubrum and Robinia pseudoacacia may have increased following logging; the presence of the latter suggests disturbance in recent decades, and the persistence of the former may indicate contemporary fire exclusion.
Environmental Description:  This community type occurs on chiefly convex, moderately steep middle to upper slopes, ridge crests, and boulderfields with southeastern to northwestern exposures. Soils are subxeric or xeric and strongly infertile. Many sites have high cover of boulders, cobbles, gravel, or mineral soil. Underlying bedrock includes massive quartzite of the Chilhowee group, various members of the northern Blue Ridge gneissic granitic complex, and less frequently metabasalt of the Catoctin Formation. This type spans a very broad range of elevations, from <300 m to nearly 1100 m (<1000-3600 feet). Although Quercus montana generally occurs at elevations below 915 m (3000 feet) in the northern Blue Ridge of Virginia (Harrison et al. 1989, Stephenson and Adams 1989), it often extends upslope on more xeric sites (e.g., Whittaker 1956). Virtually all stands have experienced a history of logging and the loss of Castanea dentata as an overstory dominant.
Geographic Range: This community is documented only from the northern Blue Ridge and its eastern foothills, from Amherst County in west-central Virginia to Jefferson County in far-eastern West Virginia and in the the Catoctin Mountains of northern Maryland. Within this range, it is widely distributed and frequently a large-patch type. It is likely to be more widespread, but certain topographic and/or soil conditions on the northern Blue Ridge may favor its development there. The absence of either broad Southern Appalachian endemics or species with more northern affinities distinguishes this type from more southern and northern vegetation types.

Nations: US

States/Provinces:  MD, VA, WV


Confidence Level: Moderate

Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available
Grank: G3G4

Greasons: No Data Available
Type Name Database Code Classification Code
Class 1 Forest & Woodland Class C01 1
Subclass 1.B Temperate & Boreal Forest & Woodland Subclass S15 1.B
Formation 1.B.2 Cool Temperate Forest & Woodland Formation F008 1.B.2
Division 1.B.2.Na Eastern North American Forest & Woodland Division D008 1.B.2.Na
Macrogroup 1.B.2.Na.2 Appalachian-Northeastern Oak - Hardwood - Pine Forest & Woodland Macrogroup M502 1.B.2.Na.2
Group 1.B.2.Na.2.c White Oak - Chestnut Oak - Pignut Hickory Forest & Woodland Group G650 1.B.2.Na.2.c
Alliance A4435 Chestnut Oak / Mountain Laurel - Blue Ridge Blueberry Forest Alliance A4435 1.B.2.Na.2.c
Association CEGL008523 Chestnut Oak - Northern Red Oak / Blue Ridge Blueberry - (Pink Azalea) Forest CEGL008523 1.B.2.Na.2.c
Concept Lineage: No Data Available

Predecessors: No Data Available

Obsolete Names: No Data Available

Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: = Quercus prinus - Quercus rubra / Vaccinium pallidum - (Rhododendron periclymenoides) Forest (Fleming and Taverna 2006)
= Quercus prinus - Quercus rubra / Vaccinium pallidum Forest [Subxeric Chestnut Oak - Red Oak / Blueberry Forest] (Vanderhorst 2017d)
> Quercus rubra - (Quercus prinus, Quercus velutina) / Rhododendron periclymenoides / Lysimachia quadrifolia - Hieracium paniculatum Forest (Fleming and Coulling 2001)
> Quercus velutina - Quercus montana - Quercus rubra / Rhododendron periclymenoides / Vaccinium pallidum Forest (Coulling and Rawinski 1999)
< Chestnut Oak: 44 (Eyre 1980) [chestnut oak - northern red oak variant.]
Concept Author(s): G.P. Fleming and P.P. Coulling (2001)

Author of Description: G.P. Fleming, P.P. Coulling, S.C. Gawler

Acknowledgements: No Data Available

Version Date: 12-20-18
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