Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Cherrybark Oak - (Pecan) / Possum-haw / Cherokee Sedge - Whitegrass Mesic Blackland Forest

Colloquial Name: Upper West Gulf Coastal Plain Mesic Blackland Forest

Hierarchy Level:  Association

Type Concept: This mesic blackland woodland community forms on rich, mesic sites on the Upper West Gulf Coastal Plain of Arkansas. This community occurs in areas bordering ephemeral streams and flats which are often saturated in the late winter and early spring. The trees are of medium height (to 20 m [70 feet] or more) and the canopy open to closed. The herbaceous layer can be sparse with heavy leaf litter with fire suppression or moderately dense and 60 cm (2 feet) tall. Frequent fire in the surrounding prairie-woodland matrix pushes the community to an open woodland structure, while fire suppression allows rapid densification. A rich herbaceous understory is present in high-quality sites. The dominant tree is Quercus pagoda. Other overstory trees may include Carya cordiformis, Carya illinoinensis, Carya myristiciformis, Carya ovata, Fraxinus americana, Fraxinus pennsylvanica, Morus alba, Quercus muehlenbergii, Quercus phellos, Quercus shumardii, Quercus stellata, Pinus taeda, Ulmus alata, Ulmus americana, and Ulmus crassifolia. The understory includes saplings of overstory tress and scattered Crataegus marshallii, Crataegus spathulata, Frangula caroliniana, Ilex decidua, Juniperus virginiana, and Viburnum rufidulum. Woody vines include Berchemia scandens, Parthenocissus quinquefolia, Smilax bona-nox, and Toxicodendron radicans. The dominant herbs in medium- and low-quality sites are Carex cherokeensis and Scleria oligantha. Occasional herbaceous species include Carex flaccosperma, Chasmanthium latifolium, Chasmanthium sessiliflorum, Elymus glabriflorus, Leersia virginica, Ruellia strepens, Sanicula canadensis, Spigelia marilandica, Symphoricarpos orbiculatus, Trachelospermum difforme, and Trepocarpus aethusae. In high-graded woodlands the Carya sp. become dominant. The soils are nearly level to gently sloping, deep (to 127 cm [50 inches] or more), fertile, and mildly acidic Kipling Series loams and silty clay loams. These soils are slowly permeable and shrink and crack upon drying. The water table is within 45 cm (18 inches) of the surface, and these soils are usually associated with ephemeral and semipermanent creeks and flats intermingled with blackland prairies and woodlands. Abundant Maclura pomifera and Callicarpa americana are evidence of grazing or other disturbance. These communities are typically adjacent to, grade into, or form a mosaic with Quercus shumardii - Carya myristiciformis - (Quercus muehlenbergii) / Cercis canadensis / Carex cherokeensis - Scleria oligantha - Sorghastrum nutans dry-mesic calcareous woodland, Quercus falcata - Quercus stellata - (Pinus echinata, Pinus taeda) / Chasmanthium sessiliflorum - Danthonia spicata dry-mesic woodland, and Sorghastrum nutans - Andropogon glomeratus - Lythrum alatum - Symphyotrichum puniceum - Tripsacum dactyloides mesic blackland prairie. Due to the richness of the sites, this community often has components of the drier calcareous woodland. Fingers of Quercus pagoda are similarly often found in dry-mesic calcareous woodlands. Quercus pagoda woodlands have pockets of standing water which the dry-mesic calcareous blackland woodlands do not. Examples of this community are known only from Grandview Prairie. The type location is in Hempstead County, Arkansas. It is likely also found in Clark, Howard, Little River, and Sevier counties, Arkansas.

Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available

Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available

Classification Comments: This is a very rare community type. Few examples are known due to the clearing of these rich sites for cotton in the early 1900s and later conversion to pasture. There is a wetter (temporarily flooded) variant with cherrybark oak and willow oak not yet described.

Similar NVC Types: No Data Available

note: No Data Available