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CEGL006055 Fagus grandifolia - Liriodendron tulipifera - Carya cordiformis / Lindera benzoin / Podophyllum peltatum Forest
Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: American Beech - Tuliptree - Bitternut Hickory / Northern Spicebush / Mayapple Forest
Colloquial Name: Northern Coastal Plain-Piedmont Basic Mesic Hardwood Forest
Hierarchy Level: Association
Type Concept: This association comprises luxuriant mesophytic forests of sheltered ravines and slopes with base-rich soils in the northern portions of the Coastal Plain and adjacent Piedmont. In the Piedmont, these soils are typically derived from amphibolite and other mafic rocks, or metasedimentary rocks with basic intrusions. Coastal Plain habitats are in ravines that have downcut into Tertiary shell deposits or limesands. Fagus grandifolia and Liriodendron tulipifera are the principal canopy dominants, with Carya cordiformis and Quercus rubra as constant associates. Additional trees that may be locally important are Juglans nigra, Ulmus rubra, Quercus alba, Quercus muehlenbergii, and Fraxinus americana. Stands typically have dense understories dominated by Asimina triloba and Lindera benzoin. Herb layers are lush, but tend to be characterized by patch-dominance of clonal forbs and ferns. Podophyllum peltatum, Arisaema triphyllum, Circaea lutetiana ssp. canadensis, Maianthemum racemosum ssp. racemosum, and Polystichum acrostichoides are widespread and abundant herbs. More locally abundant herbs include Cystopteris protrusa, Deparia acrostichoides, Diplazium pycnocarpon, Actaea racemosa, Phegopteris hexagonoptera, Nemophila aphylla, and Actaea pachypoda. Many additional low-cover herbaceous species are present in plot-sampled stands.
Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available
Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available
Classification Comments: Classification of this association is supported by the analysis of plot data from 40 stands in the Piedmont and Inner Coastal Plain regions of Virginia and Maryland, plus additional quantitative and qualitative data from Maryland, Delaware, and New Jersey. Several variants, including a calcareous ravine variant in which Quercus muehlenbergii is important, are evident, but the type is too variable to segregate into formal subtypes. This community type occurs in small to large patches, and is somewhat locally but widely distributed in the eastern half of the Piedmont in Virginia and Maryland. Coastal Plain occurrences are probably more local. The scarcity of oaks and the abundance of Fagus and Liriodendron in documented stands may be artifacts of past logging. An outstanding occurrence of this association, containing scattered residual trees 1.0-1.5 m dbh, has been documented at Crow''s Nest, Stafford County, VA. Similar vegetation is reported from calcareous ravines in southern Maryland by Rod Simmons. Comparable stands also occur in Rock Creek Park, Washington, DC (G. Fleming pers. obs.).
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available
Floristics: In the 40 Virginia and Maryland stands analyzed for the National Capital Parks project, Fagus grandifolia and Liriodendron tulipifera are the most important canopy dominants, with Carya cordiformis and Quercus rubra as constant associates. Additional trees that may be locally important are Juglans nigra, Ulmus rubra, Quercus alba, Quercus muehlenbergii (especially important in Coastal Plain shell-marl ravines), Fraxinus americana, and Tilia americana var. americana. Stands typically have a dense understory dominated by Asimina triloba and Lindera benzoin. The herb layer is lush but tends to be characterized by patch-dominance of clonal forbs and ferns. Podophyllum peltatum, Arisaema triphyllum, Circaea lutetiana ssp. canadensis, Maianthemum racemosum ssp. racemosum, and Polystichum acrostichoides are widespread and abundant herbs. More locally abundant herbs include Cystopteris protrusa, Deparia acrostichoides, Diplazium pycnocarpon, Actaea racemosa (= Cimicifuga racemosa), Phegopteris hexagonoptera, Nemophila aphylla, and Actaea pachypoda. Many additional low-cover herbaceous species are present in plot-sampled stands. Mean species richness is 54 taxa per 400 m2. In eastern Maryland, Liriodendron tulipifera is dominant with Fagus grandifolia, Quercus alba, and Quercus rubra usually present. Hickories are variable, with Carya cordiformis, Carya glabra, and sometimes Carya tomentosa usually present at low cover. Diagnostic shrubs include Viburnum prunifolium and Lindera benzoin. The herb layers in this community are quite lush compared to most surrounding drier mixed oak-heath forests. Dominant and most frequent herbs include Podophyllum peltatum, Botrychium oneidense, Polystichum acrostichoides, Sanguinaria canadensis, Arisaema triphyllum, Circaea lutetiana ssp. canadensis, Actaea racemosa, Galium circaezans, Cardamine concatenata, and Uvularia perfoliata. Herbs mentioned in the description that have not been reported on the eastern shore of Maryland include Diplazium pycnocarpon, Nemophila aphylla, and Cystopteris protrusa. However, there is documentation that these species occur in such habitats on the Inner Coastal Plain and Piedmont.
Dynamics: Mature examples of this association appear to be naturally mixed forests, with variable overstory composition maintained by natural disturbances and gap dynamics. Over long periods of time, Fagus grandifolia is most likely to exert dominance in a stand because of its superior shade-tolerance and longevity compared to other canopy associates. On Piedmont sites where Acer saccharum is important in adjacent communities, recruitment of this shade-tolerant species occurs in some stands of this association. Examples of this community that have been heavily disturbed by cutting usually have overstories dominated by Liriodendron tulipifera, Liquidambar styraciflua, and other fast-growing, shade-intolerant species, and may have significant component of invasive exotics in the herb layer. Shade-tolerant exotics such as Alliaria petiolata and Microstegium vimineum are serious threats to even undisturbed stands of this vegetation type.
Environmental Description: This type occurs on soils derived from amphibolite, other mafic rocks, and metasedimentary rocks with basic intrusions in the Piedmont, and in Coastal Plain ravines that have downcut into Tertiary shell deposits or limesands. Although very high compared to those of most Piedmont and Coastal Plain soils, soil pH and base cation levels at 39 plot sampling sites indicate only moderate fertility (VDNH unpubl. data). Typical soil chemistry values for this type are pH about 5.0, Ca about 1200 to 1500 ppm, Mg about 100 to 200 ppm, and total base saturation about 60%. In Maryland, this type occurs on steep calcareous bluffs along the Potomac River below Washington, DC. Other Maryland examples of this community are called "rich woods pockets" on the eastern shore. They are seemingly limited to ravine slopes (<1 acre) and in some cases sublevel uplands (largest stand about 15 acres) between ravines of the Choptank Formation (interbedded brown to yellow very fine-grained to fine-grained sand and gray to dark bluish-green argillaceous silt; locally indurated to calcareous sandstone; prominent shell beds; thickness 0-15 m [0-50 feet]). They are most prevalent in Talbot, Queen Annes, Kent, and Dorchester (2 locations) counties on the Outer Coastal Plain.
Geographic Range: This association occurs in the eastern Piedmont and Inner Coastal Plain from Virginia to New Jersey.
Nations: US
States/Provinces: DC, DE, MD, NJ, VA
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.688077
Confidence Level: Moderate
Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available
Grank: G4?
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.b Black Oak - American Beech - Pitch Pine Coastal Plain Forest Group | G894 | 1.B.2.Na.9.b |
| Alliance | A4394 Chinquapin Oak - Mixed Hardwoods Calcareous Forest | A4394 | 1.B.2.Na.9.b |
| Association | CEGL006055 American Beech - Tuliptree - Bitternut Hickory / Northern Spicebush / Mayapple Forest | CEGL006055 | 1.B.2.Na.9.b |
Concept Lineage: No Data Available
Predecessors: No Data Available
Obsolete Names: No Data Available
Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: = Fagus grandifolia - Liriodendron tulipifera - Carya cordiformis / Asimina triloba / Podophyllum peltatum Forest (Young et al. 2007a)
= Fagus grandifolia - Liriodendron tulipifera - Carya cordiformis / Lindera benzoin / Podophyllum peltatum Forest (Fleming et al. 2007b)
= Juglans nigra - Liriodendron tulipifera - Fagus grandifolia / Asimina triloba - Lindera benzoin / Actaea pachypoda Forest (Walton et al. 2001)
= Liriodendron tulipifera - Fagus grandifolia - Carya cordiformis / Asimina triloba / Circaea lutetiana ssp. canadensis Forest (Fleming and Patterson 2003)
>< Tuliptree Rich Wood (coastal plain variant) (Coxe 2006)
= Fagus grandifolia - Liriodendron tulipifera - Carya cordiformis / Lindera benzoin / Podophyllum peltatum Forest (Fleming et al. 2007b)
= Juglans nigra - Liriodendron tulipifera - Fagus grandifolia / Asimina triloba - Lindera benzoin / Actaea pachypoda Forest (Walton et al. 2001)
= Liriodendron tulipifera - Fagus grandifolia - Carya cordiformis / Asimina triloba / Circaea lutetiana ssp. canadensis Forest (Fleming and Patterson 2003)
>< Tuliptree Rich Wood (coastal plain variant) (Coxe 2006)
- Coxe, R. 2006. Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge. Vegetation inventory. Unpublished report. Delaware Natural Heritage Program, Division of Fish and Wildlife, Smyrna.
- Coxe, R. 2009. Guide to Delaware vegetation communities. Spring 2009 edition. State of Delaware, Division of Fish and Wildlife, Delaware Natural Heritage Program, Smyrna.
- Eastern Ecology Working Group of NatureServe. No date. International Ecological Classification Standard: International Vegetation Classification. Terrestrial Vegetation. NatureServe, Boston, MA.
- Fleming, G. P. 2002b. Preliminary classification of Piedmont & Inner Coastal Plain vegetation types in Virginia. Natural Heritage Technical Report 02-14. Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, Division of Natural Heritage, Richmond. 29 pp.
- Fleming, G. P. 2007. Ecological communities of the Potomac Gorge in Virginia: Composition, floristics, and environmental dynamics. Natural Heritage Technical Report 07-12. Unpublished report submitted to the National Park Service. Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, Division of Natural Heritage, Richmond. 341 pp. plus appendices.
- Fleming, G. P. No date. Unpublished data. Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, Division of Natural Heritage, Richmond, VA.
- Fleming, G. P., K. D. Patterson, and K. Taverna. 2017. The natural communities of Virginia: A classification of ecological community groups and community types. Third approximation. Version 3.0. Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, Division of Natural Heritage, Richmond, VA. [http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/natural-heritage/natural-communities/]
- Fleming, G. P., K. Taverna, and P. P. Coulling. 2007b. Vegetation classification for the National Capitol Region parks, eastern region. Regional (VA-MD-DC) analysis prepared for NatureServe and USGS-NPS Vegetation Mapping Program, March 2007. Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, Division of Natural Heritage, Richmond.
- Fleming, G. P., and K. D. Patterson. 2003. Preliminary vegetation classification for the National Capitol Region parks. Regional (VA-WVA-MD-DC) analysis prepared for NatureServe and USGS-NPS Vegetation Mapping Program, March 2003. Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, Division of Natural Heritage, Richmond.
- Fleming, G. P., and K. Taverna. 2006. Vegetation classification for the National Capitol Region parks, western region. Regional (VA-WVA-MD-DC) analysis prepared for NatureServe and USGS-NPS Vegetation Mapping Program, March 2006. Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, Division of Natural Heritage, Richmond.
- Harrison, J. W. 2011. The natural communities of Maryland: 2011 working list of ecological community groups and community types. Unpublished report. Maryland Department of Natural Resources, Wildlife and Heritage Service, Natural Heritage Program, Annapolis. 33 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.
- Lea, C., L. A. Sneddon, and E. Eastman. 2012. Vegetation classification and mapping at Thomas Stone National Historic Site, Maryland. Natural Resource Technical Report NPS/NER/NRTR--2012/550. National Park Service, Fort Collins, CO.
- Walton, D. P., P. P. Coulling, J. Weber, A. Belden, Jr., and A. C. Chazal. 2001. A plant community classification and natural heritage inventory of the Pamunkey River floodplain. Unpublished report submitted to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Natural Heritage Technical Report 01-19. Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, Division of Natural Heritage, Richmond. 200 pp. plus appendices.
- Young, J., G. Fleming, P. Townsend, and J. Foster. 2007a. Vegetation of Shenandoah National Park in relation to environmental gradients. Final Report, volume 1.1. Unpublished report submitted to the U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service. 103 pp. plus appendices and GIS products.