Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Loblolly Pine / Silver Plumegrass - Bluestem species Ruderal Forest

Colloquial Name: Ruderal Loblolly Pine Forest

Hierarchy Level:  Association

Type Concept: This association consists of older Pinus taeda stands of the Atlantic and East Gulf coastal plains, adjacent areas of the Talladega Uplands, and the southern Interior Low Plateau. Stands are usually naturally regenerated or successional, and possibly silviculturally managed with frequent fire. They have an open to closed canopy of Pinus taeda, with some growth of saplings such as Liquidambar styraciflua. Other Pinus species may occur in the canopy in some parts of the range (e.g., Pinus echinata, Pinus virginiana). The ground layer approaches 100% coverage and is typically grassy, with Saccharum alopecuroides, Andropogon virginicus, Andropogon ternarius, Schizachyrium scoparium, Chasmanthium laxum, and other grasses dominant in various mixtures, varying with geography. The ground layer, which may vary in density and diversity, may also contain low shrubs and saplings, as well as forb species characteristic of open habitats such as Ageratina aromatica, Symphyotrichum patens, Symphyotrichum dumosum, Elephantopus tomentosus, Chamaecrista fasciculata, Chrysopsis mariana, Eupatorium album, Eupatorium hyssopifolium, Euphorbia corollata, Fleischmannia incarnata, Lespedeza spp., Liatris microcephala, Pityopsis graminifolia, Silphium trifoliatum, Tephrosia virginiana, Rubus spp., Desmodium spp., Solidago juncea, and Solidago odora. Some stands may contain shrubs such as Vaccinium pallidum and Vaccinium stamineum, while woody vines such as Toxicodendron radicans and Vitis rotundifolia may be prominent in the low-shrub layer of more mesic stands. The exotics Lespedeza cuneata and Lonicera japonica may also be present to abundant. The canopy closure may be below 60% due to edaphic factors (e.g., sandy soils) or management, but this is classed as a forest type.

Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available

Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available

Classification Comments: Examples occur at Nemours Plantation (Beaufort County, South Carolina). At Arnold Air Force Base, Coffee and Franklin counties, Tennessee (where Pinus taeda is not native), plants associated with mature Pinus taeda stands vary with moisture and length since establishment. The understory of these stands usually contains a mixture of native and exotic species. The subcanopy may include Carya tomentosa, Cornus florida, Sassafras albidum, and various native Quercus species (Quercus falcata, Quercus coccinea, Quercus stellata, Quercus marilandica, Quercus velutina). The shrub and herbaceous species present in a given stand vary with moisture and stand age. Stands which did not have oaks removed at establishment will exhibit a greater density of them. Continued natural succession in these stands may lead to a condition in which oaks or other hardwoods codominate in the canopy with Pinus taeda. Mixed oak-pine forests appear to be rare at AAFB, with this vegetation occurring only as transitional areas between oak- and pine-dominated stands.

Similar NVC Types: No Data Available

note: No Data Available