Print Report
CEGL003722 Quercus alba - Quercus stellata / Schizachyrium scoparium - Desmodium spp. Woodland
Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: White Oak - Post Oak / Little Bluestem - ticktrefoil spp. Woodland
Colloquial Name: Piedmont White Oak - Black Oak Woodland
Hierarchy Level: Association
Type Concept: This is a fire-maintained woodland of the Piedmont of Virginia and South Carolina, occurring on soils derived from granitic rock. It may also persist in a slightly altered state due to particularly rigorous mowing regimes. Although the fire or mowing frequency is abnormally high at known sites (on Fort Pickett), this community may be quite similar to some presettlement Piedmont communities. Canopy dominants include Quercus alba, Quercus velutina, Quercus stellata, Quercus falcata, Quercus coccinea, Carya tomentosa, Carya glabra, and Liriodendron tulipifera. The subcanopy may include Cornus florida and Liquidambar styraciflua, but can also be fairly open. Shrubs and woody vines include Rhus copallinum, Rhus michauxii, Rhus glabra, Diospyros virginiana, Ulmus alata, Sassafras albidum, Vaccinium pallidum, Vaccinium stamineum, Hypericum hypericoides ssp. multicaule, Toxicodendron pubescens, Vitis rotundifolia. The herb layer is dominated by Schizachyrium scoparium or sometimes Danthonia sericea, and also includes Desmodium laevigatum, Desmodium marilandicum, Desmodium nuttallii, Desmodium paniculatum, Desmodium perplexum, Desmodium ciliare, Eupatorium hyssopifolium, Eupatorium godfreyanum, Clitoria mariana, Eupatorium rotundifolium var. ovatum, Eupatorium sessilifolium, Eupatorium altissimum, Galactia regularis, Lespedeza procumbens, Dichanthelium dichotomum, Dichanthelium depauperatum, Solidago pinetorum, Solidago rugosa, Solidago nemoralis, Solidago erecta, Helianthus atrorubens, Coreopsis major, Liatris pilosa, Andropogon ternarius, Tephrosia virginiana, Clitoria mariana, and Sorghastrum elliottii. At Cowpens in South Carolina, historical accounts from the Revolutionary War (1781) all describe open fields in the area where this community now sits. Historic descriptions of upstate South Carolina uplands from as late as 1775 suggest woodlands and open areas covered with "grasses and the wild pea-vine, growing as high as a horse''s back" were common. These historical accounts suggest that the remnants in South Carolina and Virginia may indeed approximate the vegetation of the upland areas of the Piedmont of 250 years ago.
Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available
Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available
Classification Comments: No Data Available
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available
Floristics: Canopy dominants include Quercus alba, Quercus velutina, Quercus stellata, Quercus falcata, Quercus coccinea, Carya tomentosa (= Carya alba), Carya glabra, and Liriodendron tulipifera. The subcanopy may include Cornus florida and Liquidambar styraciflua, but can also be fairly open. Shrubs and woody vines include Rhus copallinum, Rhus michauxii, Rhus glabra, Diospyros virginiana, Ulmus alata, Sassafras albidum, Vaccinium pallidum, Vaccinium stamineum, Hypericum hypericoides ssp. multicaule (= Hypericum stragulum), Toxicodendron pubescens, and Vitis rotundifolia. The herb layer is dominated by Schizachyrium scoparium or sometimes Danthonia sericea, and also includes Desmodium laevigatum, Desmodium marilandicum, Desmodium nuttallii, Desmodium paniculatum, Desmodium perplexum, Desmodium ciliare, Eupatorium hyssopifolium, Eupatorium godfreyanum, Clitoria mariana, Eupatorium rotundifolium var. ovatum (= Eupatorium pubescens), Eupatorium sessilifolium, Eupatorium altissimum (= Eupatorium saltuense), Galactia regularis, Lespedeza procumbens, Dichanthelium dichotomum, Dichanthelium depauperatum, Solidago pinetorum, Solidago rugosa, Solidago nemoralis, Solidago erecta, Helianthus atrorubens, Coreopsis major, Liatris pilosa (= Liatris graminifolia), Andropogon ternarius, Tephrosia virginiana, Clitoria mariana, and Sorghastrum elliottii.
Dynamics: This community''s origin is a bit mysterious, but it is hypothesized that it is a remnant of a community type more common in presettlement times when fire was more common on the Piedmont landscape. The community contains plants that are generally not considered threatened or endangered but that are quite rare on the Piedmont landscape outside of rock outcrop and shallow-soiled communities and roadsides (Liatris pilosa, Helianthus atrorubens, Pityopsis aspera, Tephrosia virginiana, and Schizachyrium scoparium). Therefore, though altered by human-maintained fire and/or mowing, this community type may best approximate the oak woodland/savanna community of the Piedmont from 250 or more years ago.
Environmental Description: This is a fire-maintained woodland of the Piedmont of Virginia and South Carolina, occurring on soils derived from granitic rock. It may also persist in a slightly altered state due to particularly rigorous mowing regimes. Although the fire or mowing frequency is abnormally high at known sites (on Fort Pickett), this community may be quite similar to some presettlement Piedmont communities. At Cowpens in South Carolina, historical accounts from the Revolutionary War (1781) all describe open fields in the area where this community now sits (Babits 1998). Historic descriptions of upstate South Carolina uplands from as late as 1775 suggest woodlands and open areas covered with "grasses and the wild pea-vine, growing as high as a horse''s back" were common (Logan 1859). These historical accounts suggest that the remnants in South Carolina and Virginia may indeed approximate the vegetation of the upland areas of the Piedmont of 250 years ago.
Geographic Range: This community is currently restricted to Fort Pickett, Virginia and Cowpens National Battlefield, South Carolina. It is maintained by frequent fires set by military training (VA) or mowing (SC). It is believed, though, that this community may approximate communities which formerly occurred on felsic rock sites of the Piedmont under conditions of more frequent fire. The former distribution may have extended south from central Virginia through North Carolina and into South Carolina and Georgia.
Nations: US
States/Provinces: NC?, SC, VA
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.686817
Confidence Level: Low - Poorly Documented
Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available
Grank: G1?
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.1 White Oak - Southern Red Oak - Shortleaf Pine Forest & Woodland Macrogroup | M016 | 1.B.2.Na.1 |
| Group | 1.B.2.Na.1.a White Oak - Southern Red Oak - Water Oak Forest Group | G165 | 1.B.2.Na.1.a |
| Alliance | A3294 Post Oak - Hickory species - Shortleaf Pine Piedmont Woodland Alliance | A3294 | 1.B.2.Na.1.a |
| Association | CEGL003722 White Oak - Post Oak / Little Bluestem - ticktrefoil spp. Woodland | CEGL003722 | 1.B.2.Na.1.a |
Concept Lineage: No Data Available
Predecessors: No Data Available
Obsolete Names: No Data Available
Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: No Data Available
- Babits, L. E. 1998. A devil of a whipping: The Battle of Cowpens. The University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, NC.
- Barden, L. S. 1997. Historic prairies in the Piedmont of North and South Carolina, USA. Natural Areas Journal 17 (2):149-152.
- Fleming, G. P. 2002b. Preliminary classification of Piedmont & Inner Coastal Plain vegetation types in Virginia. Natural Heritage Technical Report 02-14. Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, Division of Natural Heritage, Richmond. 29 pp.
- 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. 2003. Preliminary vegetation classification for the National Capitol Region parks. Regional (VA-WVA-MD-DC) analysis prepared for NatureServe and USGS-NPS Vegetation Mapping Program, March 2003. Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, Division of Natural Heritage, Richmond.
- Fleming, Gary P. Personal communication. Ecologist, Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, Division of Natural Heritage, Richmond, VA.
- Logan, J. H. 1859. The history of the upper country of South Carolina from the earliest period to the close of the war of independence. Charleston, S. C. S.G. Cortney and Company, Publishers. 521 pp.
- NatureServe Ecology - Southeastern United States. No date. Unpublished data. NatureServe, Durham, NC.
- Nelson, J. B. 1986. The natural communities of South Carolina: Initial classification and description. South Carolina Wildlife and Marine Resources Department, Division of Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries, Columbia, SC. 55 pp.
- Southeastern Ecology Working Group of NatureServe. No date. International Ecological Classification Standard: International Vegetation Classification. Terrestrial Vegetation. NatureServe, Durham, NC.
- White, Jr., R. D. 2004. Vascular plant inventory and plant community classification for Cowpens National Battlefield. NatureServe, Durham, NC. 126 pp.