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CEGL008585 Quercus (pagoda, shumardii) - Liquidambar styraciflua / Verbesina virginica - Solidago auriculata Forest
Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: (Cherrybark Oak, Shumard Oak) - Sweetgum / White Crownbeard - Eared Goldenrod Forest
Colloquial Name: Chattahoochee Cherrybark Oak - Sweetgum Terrace Forest
Hierarchy Level: Association
Type Concept: This is a relatively broad concept intended to cover basic mesic (and dry-mesic) forests of terraces, slopes, and bluffs dominated or codominated by Quercus pagoda in the upper coastal plains (Gulf and Atlantic) of Alabama and Georgia, near the fall-line. This or very similar vegetation is also reported from the Piedmont of Georgia. The various sites where vegetation assigned here has been found appear to have a circumneutral character, as indicated by the vegetation, but the origin of the parent material may vary. This mesic forest community is restricted to circumneutral (calcareous?) soils associated with high terraces of the Chattahoochee River and adjacent slopes in the Upper East Gulf Coastal Plain of Alabama and Georgia, as well as the fall-line in Georgia (Ocmulgee National Monument). Stands are typically dominated by some combination of Quercus pagoda, Quercus shumardii, and Liquidambar styraciflua. Other canopy trees include Tilia americana var. caroliniana, Fraxinus americana, Quercus muehlenbergii, Acer floridanum, Quercus rubra, Ulmus rubra, Fagus grandifolia, Quercus alba, Quercus phellos, Liriodendron tulipifera, Carya glabra, Carya ovalis, Carya carolinae-septentrionalis, and Juglans nigra. The subcanopy may contain Halesia tetraptera, Ulmus alata, Acer leucoderme, Cercis canadensis, Cornus florida, and Ostrya virginiana. Shrubs include Staphylea trifolia, Acer leucoderme, Hydrangea quercifolia, Ulmus alata, and Aesculus pavia. Polystichum acrostichoides, Chasmanthium laxum, and Solidago auriculata are common herbs. These forests are found on distinctly upland areas, although in close proximity to the river floodplains. In a stand assigned here from Broken Arrow Creek (Russell County, Alabama), the canopy is dominated by Quercus muehlenbergii and Quercus shumardii, and also contains Quercus pagoda, Fagus grandifolia, Quercus rubra, Carya tomentosa, and Fraxinus americana.
Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available
Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available
Classification Comments: Plots assigned here from Fort Benning (Georgia; ECO43), Broken Arrow Creek (Alabama; ECO43), and Ocmulgee National Monument (Georgia; ECO56) are slightly different from each other, and all are assigned here, but with varying degrees of confidence. More data are needed on this and related vegetation. The stand assigned here from Ocmulgee National Monument (Walnut Creek, OCMU.06) is a somewhat steep, south-facing toeslope that is generally rockier, drier and more open than surrounding areas. This may be somewhat different than other stands that have been assigned here, making this a somewhat heterogeneous concept. More information is needed. Related vegetation well into the Piedmont is reported by T. Govus, it is "associated with mafic material that I believe is similar (but I have not reviewed to see what other possibilities there might be). Steve Bowling took me to look at Line Creek in south Fulton County (Georgia) that had Quercus pagoda and Quercus shumardii and probably Quercus rubra" (T. Govus pers. comm.).
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available
Floristics: Stands are typically dominated by some combination of Quercus pagoda, Quercus shumardii, and Liquidambar styraciflua. Other canopy trees include Tilia americana var. caroliniana, Fraxinus americana, Quercus muehlenbergii, Acer floridanum (= Acer barbatum), Quercus rubra, Ulmus rubra, Fagus grandifolia, Quercus alba, Quercus phellos, Liriodendron tulipifera, Carya glabra, Carya ovalis, Carya carolinae-septentrionalis, and Juglans nigra. Quercus shumardii may be more important in the subcanopy than in the canopy. Other additional subcanopy and tall-shrub species include Ulmus alata, Ilex decidua, Halesia diptera, Cercis canadensis, and Ostrya virginiana. Important herbs are Solidago auriculata, Verbesina virginica, Spigelia marilandica, Melica mutica, Trillium decipiens, Trepocarpus aethusae, Yeatesia viridiflora, Scutellaria ovata, Dichanthelium boscii, Chasmanthium sessiliflorum, and Sanicula canadensis. In a stand assigned here from Broken Arrow Creek (Russell County, Alabama, directly across the Chattahoochee River from Fort Benning, Georgia), the canopy is dominated by Quercus muehlenbergii and Quercus shumardii, and also contains Quercus pagoda, Fagus grandifolia, Quercus rubra, Carya tomentosa (= Carya alba), and Fraxinus americana. The subcanopy contains Halesia tetraptera, Ulmus alata, Acer leucoderme, Cercis canadensis, Cornus florida, and Ostrya virginiana. Shrubs include Staphylea trifolia, Acer leucoderme, Hydrangea quercifolia, Ulmus alata, and Aesculus pavia. Herbs include Polystichum acrostichoides, Chasmanthium laxum, and Solidago auriculata. The diverse herbaceous layer may also include Phlox divaricata, Amsonia tabernaemontana, Trillium decipiens, Cynoglossum virginianum, Zephyranthes atamasca, Lithospermum tuberosum, Nothoscordum bivalve (= Allium bivalve), Geranium maculatum, and Hepatica nobilis var. obtusa (T. Govus pers. comm. 2001). A stand placed here from Ocmulgee National Monument exhibits a canopy codominated by Liquidambar styraciflua and Quercus pagoda; additional species include Carya ovata and Quercus nigra. The very sparse subcanopy is made up of Acer leucoderme, Carya ovata, and Ostrya virginiana. The tall-shrub and short-shrub layers contain sapling canopy species as well as Aesculus pavia, Carpinus caroliniana, Prunus caroliniana, Ulmus alata, and Vaccinium arboreum. In addition, Arundinaria gigantea dominates the short-shrub layer. The herbaceous layer includes Asplenium platyneuron, Carex blanda, Carex nigromarginata, Chasmanthium latifolium, Dichanthelium boscii, Erythronium umbilicatum, Melica mutica, Piptochaetium avenaceum, Triodanis perfoliata, and others. It is dominated by the exotic vine Lonicera japonica. Other vines include Gelsemium sempervirens, Lonicera sempervirens, Parthenocissus quinquefolia, Smilax rotundifolia, and Vitis rotundifolia. At Ocmulgee National Monument near Macon, Georgia, a disturbed representative of this association was documented with Carya ovata and Acer leucoderme dominant in the subcanopy, and Aesculus pavia, Vaccinium arboreum, and Arundinaria gigantea dominant in the shrub layer.
Dynamics: No Data Available
Environmental Description: This basic mesic forest is restricted to circumneutral soils associated with high terraces, slopes, and bluffs of the Chattahoochee River in the Upper East Gulf Coastal Plain of Alabama and Georgia, as well as the fall-line in Georgia (Ocmulgee National Monument). According to Chris Oberholster (pers.comm.), the substrate at the Broken Arrow Creek site is the Blufftown Formation which includes calcareous clays and sands. It is definitely a sticky, heavy clay which is assumed to have been deposited by the Chattahoochee and perhaps cut into by Broken Arrow Creek to create this linear, steep, short, generally north-facing bluff, which is more than a mile long (T. Govus pers. comm. 2001). An example with less species richness assigned here from Ocmulgee National Monument (Walnut Creek) is a somewhat steep, south-facing toeslope that is generally rockier, drier and more open than surrounding areas. This may be somewhat different than other stands that have been assigned here, making this a somewhat heterogeneous concept. More information is needed.
Geographic Range: This association is described from the Upper East Gulf Coastal Plain of Alabama and Georgia, as well as the fall-line in Georgia (Ocmulgee National Monument). This or very similar vegetation is also reported from the Piedmont of Georgia. More information is needed on the complete range of the type and its relationship to similar vegetation.
Nations: US
States/Provinces: AL, GA
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.687063
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.1 Warm Temperate Forest & Woodland Formation | F018 | 1.B.1 |
| Division | 1.B.1.Na Southeastern North American Forest & Woodland Division | D006 | 1.B.1.Na |
| Macrogroup | 1.B.1.Na.3 American Beech - Southern Magnolia - White Oak Forest Macrogroup | M008 | 1.B.1.Na.3 |
| Group | 1.B.1.Na.3.b American Beech - Southern Sugar Maple - White Oak Forest Group | G166 | 1.B.1.Na.3.b |
| Alliance | A3235 Shumard Oak - Cherrybark Oak - White Ash Coastal Plain Forest Alliance | A3235 | 1.B.1.Na.3.b |
| Association | CEGL008585 (Cherrybark Oak, Shumard Oak) - Sweetgum / White Crownbeard - Eared Goldenrod Forest | CEGL008585 | 1.B.1.Na.3.b |
Concept Lineage: No Data Available
Predecessors: No Data Available
Obsolete Names: No Data Available
Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: >< Cherrybark Oak - Bitternut Hickory - Pignut Hickory (Wharton et al. 1982)
- Govus, Tom. Personal communication. Ecologist. Ellijay, GA.
- NatureServe Ecology - Southeastern United States. No date. Unpublished data. NatureServe, Durham, NC.
- Oberholster, Chris. Personal communication. Ecologist. Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Natural Heritage Section, Montgomery, AL.
- Schotz, Al. Personal communication. Community Ecologist. Alabama Natural Heritage Program. Montgomery, AL.
- Southeastern Ecology Working Group of NatureServe. No date. International Ecological Classification Standard: International Vegetation Classification. Terrestrial Vegetation. NatureServe, Durham, NC.
- Wharton, C. H., W. M. Kitchens, E. C. Pendleton, and T. W. Sipe. 1982. The ecology of bottomland hardwood swamps of the Southeast: A community profile. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Office of Biological Services. FWS/OBS-81/37. Washington, DC.