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CEGL006376 Ilex opaca / Morella pensylvanica Forest
Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: American Holly / Northern Bayberry Forest
Colloquial Name: Maritime Holly Forest
Hierarchy Level: Association
Type Concept: This type represents maritime holly forest of the lee sides of backdunes in New Jersey and Long Island, New York. It occurs in low areas behind backdunes where it is protected from overwash and salt spray. Substrate is sandy loam over coarse sand. The dominant tree is Ilex opaca. Other canopy associates can include Amelanchier canadensis, Amelanchier laevis, Acer rubrum, Celtis occidentalis, Sassafras albidum, Quercus stellata, Quercus velutina, and Prunus serotina. Characteristic shrubs include Morella pensylvanica, Gaylussacia baccata, Rhus copallinum, Vaccinium corymbosum. Sambucus canadensis, Viburnum dentatum, and Toxicodendron vernix can occur infrequently. Vines are particularly abundant, and include Toxicodendron radicans, Smilax rotundifolia, Parthenocissus quinquefolia, and Vitis spp. The herbaceous layer is sparsely to moderately developed and includes Aralia nudicaulis, Maianthemum stellatum, Maianthemum canadense, Maianthemum racemosum, Carex pensylvanica, and Cypripedium acaule. In locally wetter, boggy areas within the forest Nyssa sylvatica, Rhododendron viscosum, Vaccinium corymbosum, Photinia melanocarpa, Osmunda cinnamomea, Osmunda regalis, and Thelypteris palustris occur abundantly.
Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available
Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available
Classification Comments: Occurrences in New York and New Jersey are on the order of 50+ acres in size.
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available
Floristics: The dominant tree is Ilex opaca; stems can be 300 years old. Other canopy associates can include Amelanchier canadensis, Amelanchier laevis, Acer rubrum, Celtis occidentalis, Sassafras albidum, Quercus stellata, Quercus velutina and Prunus serotina. Characteristic shrubs include Morella pensylvanica (= Myrica pensylvanica), Gaylussacia baccata, Rhus copallinum, and Vaccinium corymbosum. Sambucus canadensis, Viburnum dentatum, and Toxicodendron vernix can occur infrequently. Vines are particularly abundant and include Toxicodendron radicans, Smilax rotundifolia, Parthenocissus quinquefolia, and Vitis spp. The herbaceous layer is sparsely to moderately developed and includes Aralia nudicaulis, Maianthemum stellatum (= Smilacina stellata), Maianthemum racemosum (= Smilacina racemosa), and Maianthemum canadense. In locally wetter, boggy areas within the forest Nyssa sylvatica, Rhododendron viscosum, Vaccinium corymbosum, Photinia melanocarpa, Osmunda cinnamomea, Osmunda regalis, and Thelypteris palustris occur abundantly.
Dynamics: This is a late-successional expression of wet-mesic forest that develops behind protected maritime dunes. Reproduction is vegetative, not via seeds (Art 1976). Deer browsing affects the shrub and herb layers of sunken forests more than canopy composition decreasing overall species diversity (Art 1992). On Sandy Hook, in New Jersey, the holly forest occurs just inland from a salt marsh.
Environmental Description: This sunken forest occurs in hollows leeward of maritime backdunes where they are protected from tidal overwash and salt spray except during severe storms and hurricanes. Substrate is generally sandy loam over coarse sand with local pockets of peat.
Geographic Range: Currently only known from New Jersey and Long Island, New York.
Nations: US
States/Provinces: NJ, NY
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.687104
Confidence Level: Moderate
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.9 Pitch Pine - oak spp. - American Holly North Atlantic Forest Macrogroup | M525 | 1.B.2.Na.9 |
| Group | 1.B.2.Na.9.c Pitch Pine - American Beech / Northern Bayberry Maritime Forest Group | G893 | 1.B.2.Na.9.c |
| Alliance | A2032 Black Oak - American Beech - American Holly Maritime Forest Alliance | A2032 | 1.B.2.Na.9.c |
| Association | CEGL006376 American Holly / Northern Bayberry Forest | CEGL006376 | 1.B.2.Na.9.c |
Concept Lineage: No Data Available
Predecessors: No Data Available
Obsolete Names: No Data Available
Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: ? Maple-holly forest (Chrysler 1930)
= Sunken Forest (Greller 1977)
= Sunken Forest (Art 1976)
? Sunken Forest (Stalter 1979)
= Sunken Forest (Greller 1977)
= Sunken Forest (Art 1976)
? Sunken Forest (Stalter 1979)
- Art, H. W. 1976. Ecological studies of the Sunken Forest, Fire Island National Seashore, New York. National Park Service Scientific Monograph Series No. 7, Publication No. NPS 123. 237 pp.
- Art, H. W. 1987. Patterns of community dynamics in the Sunken Forest: 1967 to 1985 and 1985 to 1986. National Park Service, North Atlantic Regional Office. 66 pp.
- Art, H. W. 1992. The impacts of Hurricane Gloria on deer and trails, the Sunken Forest, Fire Island National Seashore, Fire Island, NY. National Park Service, North Atlantic region, Boston, MA 168 pp.
- Breden, T. F., Y. R. Alger, K. S. Walz, and A. G. Windisch. 2001. Classification of vegetation communities of New Jersey: Second iteration. Association for Biodiversity Information and New Jersey Natural Heritage Program, Office of Natural Lands Management, Division of Parks and Forestry, New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, Trenton.
- Chrysler, M. A. 1930. The origin and development of the vegetation of Sandy Hook. Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club 57:163-176.
- Dowhan, J. J., and R. Rozsa. 1989. Flora of Fire Island, Suffolk Country, New York. Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club 116:265-282.
- Eastern Ecology Working Group of NatureServe. No date. International Ecological Classification Standard: International Vegetation Classification. Terrestrial Vegetation. NatureServe, Boston, MA.
- Edinger, G. J., A. L. Feldmann, T. G. Howard, J. J. Schmid, E. Eastman, E. Largay, and L. A. Sneddon. 2008a. Vegetation classification and mapping at Gateway National Recreation Area. Technical Report NPS/NER/NRTR--2008/107. National Park Service, Philadelphia, PA. 283 pp.
- 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.
- Greller, A. M. 1977. A classification of mature forests on Long Island, New York. Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club 104:376-382.
- Klopfer, S. D., A. Olivero, L. Sneddon, and J. Lundgren. 2002. Final report of the NPS Vegetation Mapping Project at Fire Island National Seashore. Conservation Management Institute, GIS & Remote Sensing Division, College of Natural Resources, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA. 193 pp.
- NRCS [Natural Resources Conservation Service]. 2001b. Soil survey of Gateway National Recreation Area, New York and New Jersey. USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service and USDI National Park Service, Gateway National Recreation Area in partnership with Cornell University Agricultural Experiment Station and New York City Soil and Water Conservation District.
- Reschke, C. 1990. Ecological communities of New York State. New York Natural Heritage Program, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, Latham, NY. 96 pp.
- Sirkin, L. A. 1972. Origin and history of Maple Bog in the Sunken Forest, Fire Island, New York. Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club 99:131-135.
- Sneddon, L., and J. Lundgren. 2001. Vegetation classification of Fire Island National Seashore and William Floyd Estate. Final Draft. TNC/ABI Vegetation Mapping Program. 87 pp.
- Stalter, R. 1979. The major plant communities of the Fire Island National Seashore. Pages 177-181 in: R. M. Linn, editor. Proceedings of the first conference on Scientific Research in the National Parks. USDI National Park Service, Washington, DC.