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CEGL004412 Quercus falcata Wet Flatwoods Forest
Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Southern Red Oak Wet Flatwoods Forest
Colloquial Name: Southern Red Oak Wet Flatwoods Forest
Hierarchy Level: Association
Type Concept: This southern red oak flatwoods forest is found in parts of the Interior Low Plateau and adjacent areas of the Upper East Gulf Coastal Plain of the southern United States. Stands occur on somewhat poorly drained sites. The vegetation is dominated by Quercus falcata. It is perhaps marginally a wetland and is better drained than Quercus phellos flatwoods. The canopy may also contain some Quercus alba and Quercus stellata, and possibly Carya tomentosa. The ground cover is predominantly leaf litter and most occurrences are thought to be fire-suppressed. At Shiloh National Military Park (Tennessee) Chasmanthium laxum, Krigia dandelion, and Carex complanata were the most abundant herbaceous plants. It is known historically from the Upper East Gulf Coastal Plain of western Kentucky (eastern Gulf Coastal Plain on tertiary terraces), western Tennessee, and northwestern Mississippi (the "flatwoods belt"), as well as the Shawnee Hills and the Knobs region of Kentucky.
Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available
Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available
Classification Comments: In Kentucky, historic occurrences have been cleared, drained and tiled, and remaining sites are small and degraded. Similar flatwoods vegetation occurs elsewhere in Kentucky but have temporarily flooded hydrology and different canopy dominants. This type is also better drained than Quercus phellos flatwoods. It is known historically from the Upper East Gulf Coastal Plain of western Kentucky (eastern Gulf Coastal Plain on tertiary terraces), western Tennessee, and northwestern Mississippi (the "flatwoods belt"), as well as the Shawnee Hills and the Knobs region of Kentucky. See the dissertation of Wharton (1945) for information on this association in the Knobs region.
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available
Floristics: Stands of this vegetation type are dominated by Quercus falcata. The canopy may also contain some Quercus alba and Quercus stellata, and possibly Carya tomentosa (= Carya alba). The ground cover is predominantly leaf litter, and most occurrences are thought to be fire-suppressed. This association as documented at Shiloh National Military Park is a forest with the canopy completely dominated by Quercus falcata. Many of these trees are quite large. There are no other canopy trees in the plot (SHIL.22). The subcanopy has a variety of trees, the most common being Nyssa sylvatica, Liquidambar styraciflua, and Acer rubrum. Also in the subcanopy (in order of abundance) are Quercus stellata, Carya tomentosa, Ulmus alata, Liriodendron tulipifera, Fraxinus pennsylvanica, and Prunus serotina. The most abundant tall shrubs (including tree species) are Acer rubrum, Liquidambar styraciflua, then Carya tomentosa, Nyssa sylvatica, and Cornus florida. Less common as tall shrubs are Quercus falcata, Vaccinium arboreum, Ulmus alata, Carya glabra, Juniperus virginiana var. virginiana, Amelanchier arborea, and Quercus phellos. The most abundant plant in the short-shrub layer is Vitis rotundifolia. Other plants are rather sparse as short shrubs; in order of abundance they are Quercus falcata, Nyssa sylvatica, Vaccinium arboreum, Rubus argutus, Lonicera japonica, Vaccinium stamineum, Ulmus alata, Hypericum hypericoides, Amelanchier arborea, Rosa carolina, Parthenocissus quinquefolia, Quercus phellos, Toxicodendron radicans, Fraxinus pennsylvanica, Smilax rotundifolia, Rhus copallinum, Liriodendron tulipifera, and Carya glabra. The open areas have the most herbaceous plant cover. The most abundant herbaceous plants are Chasmanthium laxum and (less abundant) Krigia dandelion, then Carex complanata, Scutellaria integrifolia, Oxalis stricta, Potentilla simplex (= var. simplex), Danthonia spicata, Dichanthelium laxiflorum, Elephantopus carolinianus, and Dichanthelium dichotomum. Herbaceous plants present at trace amounts are Lactuca canadensis, Viola x palmata, Vernonia missurica, Eupatorium rotundifolium var. ovatum, Hypoxis hirsuta, Stachys latidens, Galium triflorum, and Schizachyrium scoparium.
Dynamics: Fire appears to be important in maintaining the open structure of these stands.
Environmental Description: In Kentucky, stands occur on broad flats underlain by fragipans that impede drainage. Although these sites are wet, they are perhaps only considered as marginal wetlands by many definitions. They occur in limited areas of the Jackson Purchase region of western Kentucky where loess deposits thin out near the eastern edge of the region, as well as in related areas of the coastal plains and Interior Low Plateau. At Shiloh National Military Park (Tennessee), this association occurs in an area which is very flat, called flatwoods. It has standing water after heavy rain (>5 inches during the prior 2 days). The site may have a fragipan or other impermeable soil horizon which allows water to stay for short periods at the surface of the soil and stand. Despite this, the site is described as mesic and not called a wetland. The surface soil is silt loam.
Geographic Range: This southern red oak flatwoods forest is found in parts of the Interior Low Plateau and Upper East Gulf Coastal Plain of the United States, ranging from Kentucky and Tennessee into parts of Indiana and Mississippi.
Nations: US
States/Provinces: AL, KY, MS, TN
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.688151
Confidence Level: Low
Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available
Grank: G2?
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.3 Temperate Flooded & Swamp Forest Formation | F026 | 1.B.3 |
| Division | 1.B.3.Nb Southeastern North American Flooded & Swamp Forest Division | D062 | 1.B.3.Nb |
| Macrogroup | 1.B.3.Nb.2 Swamp Tupelo - Swamp Chestnut Oak - Bald-cypress Basin Swamp & Flatwoods Macrogroup | M033 | 1.B.3.Nb.2 |
| Group | 1.B.3.Nb.2.b Laurel Oak - Willow Oak - Loblolly Pine Wet Flatwoods Group | G130 | 1.B.3.Nb.2.b |
| Alliance | A3445 Post Oak - Southern Red Oak Wet Flatwoods Forest Alliance | A3445 | 1.B.3.Nb.2.b |
| Association | CEGL004412 Southern Red Oak Wet Flatwoods Forest | CEGL004412 | 1.B.3.Nb.2.b |
Concept Lineage: No Data Available
Predecessors: No Data Available
Obsolete Names: No Data Available
Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: = Quercus falcata Flatwoods Forest (Faber-Langendoen 2001)
= Flatwoods (Wharton 1945)
= Flatwoods (Wharton 1945)
- Faber-Langendoen, D., editor. 2001. Plant communities of the Midwest: Classification in an ecological context. Association for Biodiversity Information, Arlington, VA. 61 pp. plus appendix (705 pp.).
- Homoya, M. A., J. Aldrich, J. Bacone, L. Casebere, and T. Post. 1988. Indiana natural community classification. Indiana Natural Heritage Program, Indianapolis, IN. Unpublished manuscript.
- Nordman, C., M. Russo, and L. Smart. 2011. Vegetation types of the Natchez Trace Parkway, based on the U.S. National Vegetation Classification. NatureServe Central Databases (International Ecological Classification Standard: Terrestrial Ecological Classifications). Arlington, VA. Data current as of 11 April 2011. 548 pp.
- Pyne, M., E. Lunsford Jones, and R. White. 2010. Vascular plant inventory and plant community classification for Mammoth Cave National Park. NatureServe, Durham, NC. 334 pp.
- Southeastern Ecology Working Group of NatureServe. No date. International Ecological Classification Standard: International Vegetation Classification. Terrestrial Vegetation. NatureServe, Durham, NC.
- Wharton, M. E. 1945. Floristics and vegetation of the Devonian-Mississippian Black-Shale Region of Kentucky. Ph.D. dissertation, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. 45 pp.