Print Report
CEGL007738 Pinus palustris - (Pinus taeda) / Schizachyrium scoparium - Rhynchosia reniformis Woodland
Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Longleaf Pine - (Loblolly Pine) / Little Bluestem - Dollarleaf Woodland
Colloquial Name: Atlantic Coastal Plain Mesic Longleaf Pine / Little Bluestem Woodland
Hierarchy Level: Association
Type Concept: This longleaf pine woodland occurs on upland flats on sandy loam soils of the inner Atlantic Coastal Plain. This community has an open to scattered to mostly closed canopy of Pinus palustris and/or Pinus taeda (the latter because of fire suppression and landscape alteration), a moderate to dense shrub layer dominated by dry-mesic tree species listed above, as well as more typical shrub species, such as Vaccinium stamineum, Gaylussacia frondosa, Morella cerifera, Viburnum dentatum, Rhus copallinum, and likely others. The herbaceous dominant is Schizachyrium scoparium, but other species typical of savanna vegetation are present, including Eupatorium rotundifolium, Chrysopsis mariana, Rhynchosia reniformis, Solidago rugosa, Solidago odora, Seymeria cassioides, and Pityopsis graminifolia. This association is documented in the Mid-Atlantic Coastal Plain, in the "wiregrass gap" of central South Carolina. This description is based on degraded stands documented at Congaree National Park, and may need alteration based on additional information. This type is intended to cover the concept of mesic to dry-mesic longleaf pine woodlands of the "wiregrass gap," i.e., the area in South Carolina between the range of Aristida stricta and Aristida beyrichiana.
Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available
Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available
Classification Comments: This association was described based on 1998 data from the Congaree National Park. This woodland is maintained by fire. Attempts should be made to reconstruct a more natural fire frequency and periodicity. Canopy closure directly reflects fire frequency and periodicity, and some occurrences may have mostly closed canopies. Sites are being managed with ecological burning (2000-10-24). The more "natural" condition would presumably consist of greater dominance by Pinus palustris, with the current presence of Pinus taeda being a result of its encroachment from adjacent stands with subsequent fire suppression. The relative dominance of oaks and other hardwoods in the understory will be reduced through management. Highly managed or recently burned stands will have reduced canopy closure. With lack of fire management, stands could revert to vegetation dominated by Pinus taeda and Quercus falcata, with more dense and shrub-dominated understories. This type is intended to cover the concept of mesic to dry-mesic longleaf pine woodlands of the "wiregrass gap," i.e., the area in South Carolina between the range of Aristida stricta and Aristida beyrichiana.
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available
Floristics: This community has an open to scattered to mostly closed canopy of Pinus taeda and/or Pinus palustris, a moderate to dense shrub layer dominated by dry-mesic tree species listed above, as well as more typical shrub species, such as Vaccinium stamineum, Gaylussacia frondosa, Morella cerifera (= Myrica cerifera), Viburnum dentatum, Rhus copallinum, and likely others. The herbaceous dominant is Schizachyrium scoparium, but other species typical of savanna vegetation are present, including Eupatorium rotundifolium, Chrysopsis mariana, Rhynchosia reniformis, Solidago rugosa, Solidago odora, Seymeria cassioides, and Pityopsis graminifolia. Some additional herbs which have been observed at the site include Panicum anceps (= var. rhizomatum), Elephantopus sp., Helianthus angustifolius, Gymnopogon brevifolius, Pycnanthemum sp., and Platanthera ciliaris? (M. Pyne pers. obs.).
Dynamics: This woodland is maintained by fire. Attempts should be made to reconstruct a more natural fire frequency and periodicity. Canopy closure directly reflects fire frequency and periodicity, and some occurrences may have mostly closed canopies.
Environmental Description: This woodland occurs on upland flats on sandy loam soils of the inner Atlantic Coastal Plain. At least part of the known stand is on the Persanti soil series (C. Frost pers. comm.), which consists of very deep, moderately well-drained, slowly permeable soils that formed in thick clayey sediments on old stream terraces on the Coastal Plain. They are saturated to within 60 cm (2 feet) of the surface in late winter and early spring. Slopes range from 0-6%. The series is a fine, kaolinitic, thermic Aquic Paleudult. The terrain in which this vegetation is found consists of an extensive upper terrace which grades down to a narrower lower terrace which is immediately above the bottomlands of the Congaree Swamp. Only small parts of the lower terrace are owned by the National Park Service as part of the Congaree National Park (COSW), the vegetation of which is what this type is based on. Restoration plans are underway for this stand, and possibly for some adjacent private land on the upper terrace as well.
Geographic Range: This association is documented in the Mid-Atlantic Coastal Plain of central South Carolina. Floristically related vegetation would be expected in portions of the Georgia Inner Coastal Plain which lack wiregrass, but this is not included here. More information is needed.
Nations: US
States/Provinces: SC
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.688011
Confidence Level: Low
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.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.1 Longleaf Pine / Pineland Three-awn Woodland Macrogroup | M007 | 1.B.1.Na.1 |
| Group | 1.B.1.Na.1.d Longleaf Pine / Sand Post Oak / Three-awn species Woodland Group | G009 | 1.B.1.Na.1.d |
| Alliance | A3127 Longleaf Pine / Three-awn species - Little Bluestem Southeastern Coastal Plain Woodland Alliance | A3127 | 1.B.1.Na.1.d |
| Association | CEGL007738 Longleaf Pine - (Loblolly Pine) / Little Bluestem - Dollarleaf Woodland | CEGL007738 | 1.B.1.Na.1.d |
Concept Lineage: No Data Available
Predecessors: No Data Available
Obsolete Names: No Data Available
Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: = Pinus palustris - Pinus taeda / Schizachyrium scoparium Woodland (Landaal et al. 1998) [Plots 2-22; 2-62]
- Frost, Cecil, Dr. Personal communication. Plant ecologist, North Carolina Plant Conservation Program, North Carolina Department of Agriculture & Consumer Service, Raleigh.
- Landaal, S., A. Weakley, and J. Drake. 1998. Classification of the vegetation of Congaree National Park. Report to BRD-NPS Vegetation Mapping Program, National Park Service, The Nature Conservancy, Chapel Hill, NC. 67 pp.
- 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.
- Peet, R. K., T. R. Wentworth, M. P. Schafale, and A.S. Weakley. No date. Unpublished data of the North Carolina Vegetation Survey. University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.
- Pyne, Milo. Personal communication. Southeast Regional Ecologist. NatureServe, Southeast Regional Office, Durham, NC.
- Southeastern Ecology Working Group of NatureServe. No date. International Ecological Classification Standard: International Vegetation Classification. Terrestrial Vegetation. NatureServe, Durham, NC.