Print Report
CEGL006144 Quercus alba - Fagus grandifolia Western Allegheny Forest
Type Concept Sentence: This white oak - beech forest of the Western Allegheny Plateau in southeastern Ohio and parts of West Virginia occurs on deep, fine-textured soils of coves, where Quercus alba is dominant, with associates including Fagus grandifolia, Acer rubrum, Quercus rubra, Nyssa sylvatica, and Carya spp.
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: White Oak - American Beech Western Allegheny Forest
Colloquial Name: Western Allegheny White Oak - Beech Forest
Hierarchy Level: Association
Type Concept: This white oak - beech forest of the Western Allegheny Plateau occurs on deep, fine-textured soils of coves. Quercus alba is dominant, with associates including Fagus grandifolia, Acer rubrum, Quercus rubra, Nyssa sylvatica, and Carya spp. The subcanopy is characterized by Fagus grandifolia, Acer rubrum, Acer saccharum, and Carya glabra. The shrub layer contains Cornus florida, Ostrya virginiana, and Castanea dentata. The herbaceous layer is composed of Goodyera repens, Dioscorea quaternata, Polystichum acrostichoides, Ageratina altissima, Arisaema triphyllum, Actaea racemosa, Carex blanda, Botrychium virginianum, Carex albursina, Polygonatum pubescens, Viola x palmata, and Prosartes lanuginosa.
Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available
Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available
Classification Comments: See ~Fagus grandifolia - Quercus alba / Cornus florida Forest (CEGL007881)$$, which may be synonymous with this type. Braun (1950, p. 63) describes a beech-white oak type but noted that it overlaps considerably with the Unglaciated Beech - Maple Forest type, ~Fagus grandifolia - Acer saccharum - Liriodendron tulipifera Unglaciated Forest (CEGL002411)$$, in the Western Allegheny and Cumberland Plateau regions. CEGL002411 is largely restricted to Braun''s Western Mesophytic Region (southern Illinois, southern Indiana, western Kentucky, western Tennessee), but is also reported for southeastern Ohio because Ohio ecologists (e.g., Gordon 1969, Anderson 1996) have generally recognized an unglaciated beech-maple-tuliptree type in the Western Allegheny region of southeastern Ohio, rather than a white oak-beech type. Fike (1999) also recognizes a "tuliptree-beech-maple" type for this region (perhaps tracked as CEGL006296 or CEGL005522) but makes no mention of a white oak-beech type. The white oak-beech type may be more important southward. Braun''s beech-white oak type from southwestern Ohio and southeastern Indiana, an Illinoisan tillplain flatwoods type, ~Fagus grandifolia - Quercus alba - (Quercus michauxii) - Acer rubrum Flatwoods Forest (CEGL005015)$$, should not be confused with this type [see Braun (1936, 1950, p. 133)].
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available
Floristics: Quercus alba is dominant, with associates including Fagus grandifolia, Acer rubrum, Quercus rubra, Nyssa sylvatica, and Carya spp. The subcanopy is characterized by Fagus grandifolia, Acer rubrum, Acer saccharum, and Carya glabra. The shrub layer contains Cornus florida, Ostrya virginiana, and Castanea dentata. The herbaceous layer is composed of Goodyera repens, Dioscorea quaternata, Polystichum acrostichoides, Ageratina altissima, Arisaema triphyllum, Actaea racemosa (= Cimicifuga racemosa), Carex blanda, Botrychium virginianum, Carex albursina, Polygonatum pubescens, Viola x palmata, and Prosartes lanuginosa (= Disporum lanuginosum).
Dynamics: No Data Available
Environmental Description: Stands occur on deep, fine-textured soils of coves.
Geographic Range: This forest community is found primarily on lower slopes of the Western Allegheny Plateau and Cumberland Mountains in Ohio and West Virginia.
Nations: US
States/Provinces: OH, WV
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.686866
Confidence Level: Low - Poorly Documented
Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available
Grank: GNR
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 | A4391 White Oak - Quercus montana Western Allegheny Forest | A4391 | 1.B.2.Na.2.c |
| Association | CEGL006144 White Oak - American Beech Western Allegheny Forest | CEGL006144 | 1.B.2.Na.2.c |
Concept Lineage: This placeholder has become a redundant vestige. All other states have gradually been removed, WV is covered by CEGL006144.
Predecessors: No Data Available
Obsolete Names: No Data Available
Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: No Data Available
- Anderson, D. M. 1996. The vegetation of Ohio: Two centuries of change. Draft. Ohio Biological Survey.
- Braun, E. L. 1936. Forests of the Illinoian till plain of southwestern Ohio. Ecological Monographs 6:90-149.
- Braun, E. L. 1950. Deciduous forests of eastern North America. Hafner Press, New York. 596 pp.
- Eastern Ecology Working Group of NatureServe. No date. International Ecological Classification Standard: International Vegetation Classification. Terrestrial Vegetation. NatureServe, Boston, MA.
- Gordon, R. B. 1969. The natural vegetation of Ohio in pioneer days. Bulletin of the Ohio Biological Survey Volume III, No. 2. Ohio State University Press, Columbus. 113 pp.
- Harrison, J. W., compiler. 2004. Classification of vegetation communities of Maryland: First iteration. A subset of the International Classification of Ecological Communities: Terrestrial Vegetation of the United States, NatureServe. Maryland Natural Heritage Program, Maryland Department of Natural Resources, Annapolis. 243 pp.
- WVNHP [West Virginia Natural Heritage Program]. No date. Unpublished data. West Virginia Natural Heritage Program, Elkins.