Print Report
CEGL006315 Pinus rigida / Quercus ilicifolia / Morella pensylvanica Woodland
Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Pitch Pine / Bear Oak / Northern Bayberry Woodland
Colloquial Name: Coastal Pitch Pine / Bear Oak Barrens
Hierarchy Level: Association
Type Concept: These woodlands of pine barrens in the North Atlantic Coast ecoregion are characterized by droughty, fire-prone vegetation, sandy soils and maritime influence. Pinus rigida is strongly dominant in the canopy. Quercus ilicifolia forms a dense, 1- to 2-m tall shrub layer with occasional Quercus prinoides. Dwarf-shrubs such as Gaylussacia baccata, Morella pensylvanica, Vaccinium pallidum, and Vaccinium angustifolium intermingle with the tall shrubs. Herbs tend to be sparse, although more open areas may support patches of Schizachyrium scoparium and Deschampsia flexuosa, or Carex pensylvanica and Carex swanii. Additional scattered herbs include Comptonia peregrina, Pteridium aquilinum, Gaultheria procumbens, and Arctostaphylos uva-ursi. Diagnostic characteristics include the presence of Morella pensylvanica to indicate coastal setting.
Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available
Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available
Classification Comments: Where this vegetation occurs closer to the coast, it is influenced more by wind, salt spray, and ocean storms, with less influence by fire. Vegetation similar to this association is described by Martin (1959b) on Island Beach, New Jersey; however, it also supports Chamaecyparis thyoides, Kalmia angustifolia, Ilex grabra, with inclusions of moist depressions supporting Sphagnum spp. and Drosera rotundifolia.
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available
Floristics: Pinus rigida is strongly dominant in the canopy. Quercus ilicifolia forms a dense, 1- to 2-m tall shrub layer with occasional Quercus prinoides. Dwarf-shrubs such as Gaylussacia baccata, Morella pensylvanica, Vaccinium pallidum, and Vaccinium angustifolium intermingle with the tall shrubs. Herbs tend to be sparse, although more open areas may support patches of Schizachyrium scoparium and Deschampsia flexuosa, or Carex pensylvanica and Carex swanii. Additional scattered herbs include Comptonia peregrina, Pteridium aquilinum, Gaultheria procumbens, and Arctostaphylos uva-ursi. Diagnostic characteristics include the presence of Morella pensylvanica to indicate coastal setting.
Dynamics: These are fire-maintained systems.
Environmental Description: These woodlands of pine barrens in the North Atlantic Coast ecoregion are characterized by droughty, fire-prone vegetation, sandy soils and maritime influence. Soils are acidic and well-drained.
Geographic Range: This community occurs in coastal areas of Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New York, and New Jersey.
Nations: US
States/Provinces: CT, MA, NJ, NY, RI
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.688963
Confidence Level: Moderate
Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available
Grank: G3
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.a Pitch Pine Barrens Group | G161 | 1.B.2.Na.9.a |
| Alliance | A4469 Pitch Pine Coastal Barrens Woodland Alliance | A4469 | 1.B.2.Na.9.a |
| Association | CEGL006315 Pitch Pine / Bear Oak / Northern Bayberry Woodland | CEGL006315 | 1.B.2.Na.9.a |
Concept Lineage: CEGL006120 merged in 2003-12-18 LAS.
Predecessors: No Data Available
Obsolete Names: No Data Available
Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: < CNE Mesic hardwood Forest on acidic bedrock / till (Rawinski 1984a)
< Maritime forest (Rawinski 1984a)
? Maritime forest, dune subtype (Rawinski 1984a)
? New England pitch pine/scrub oak barrens (Rawinski 1984a)
>< Pine Woodland (Martin 1959b)
= Pitch Pine / Scrub Oak Woodland Community (Lundgren et al. 2000)
< SNE dry oak/pine forest on sandy/gravelly soils (Rawinski 1984a)
< SNE dry oak/pine forests on acidic bedrock or till (Rawinski 1984a)
< Southern New England oak / pine forest on sandy / gravelly soils (Rawinski 1984a)
< Maritime forest (Rawinski 1984a)
? Maritime forest, dune subtype (Rawinski 1984a)
? New England pitch pine/scrub oak barrens (Rawinski 1984a)
>< Pine Woodland (Martin 1959b)
= Pitch Pine / Scrub Oak Woodland Community (Lundgren et al. 2000)
< SNE dry oak/pine forest on sandy/gravelly soils (Rawinski 1984a)
< SNE dry oak/pine forests on acidic bedrock or till (Rawinski 1984a)
< Southern New England oak / pine forest on sandy / gravelly soils (Rawinski 1984a)
- Eastern Ecology Working Group of NatureServe. No date. International Ecological Classification Standard: International Vegetation Classification. Terrestrial Vegetation. NatureServe, Boston, MA.
- Edinger, G. J., D. J. Evans, S. Gebauer, T. G. Howard, D. M. Hunt, and A. M. Olivero, editors. 2014a. Ecological communities of New York state. Second edition. A revised and expanded edition of Carol Reschke''s ecological communities of New York state. New York Natural Heritage Program, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, Albany, NY.
- Enser, R. W., and J. A. Lundgren. 2006. Natural communities of Rhode Island. A joint project of the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management Natural Heritage Program and The Nature Conservancy of Rhode Island. Rhode Island Natural History Survey, Kingston. 40 pp. [www.rinhs.org]
- Lundgren, J., B. Hammond, J. Stone, and L. Sneddon. 2000. Vegetation classification and mapping of Nantucket Island, Massachusetts. Final Draft. The Nature Conservancy, March 2000. 59 pp.
- Martin, W. E. 1959b. The vegetation of Island Beach State Park, New Jersey. Ecological Monographs 29:1-46.
- Motzkin, G., and D. R. Foster. 2002. Grasslands, heathlands and shrublands in coastal New England: Historical interpretations and approaches to conservation. Journal of Biogeography 29:1569-1590. [http://harvardforest.fas.harvard.edu/sites/harvardforest.fas.harvard.edu/files/publications/pdfs/Motzkin_JBiogeography_2002_Grasslands.pdf]
- Rawinski, T. 1984a. Natural community description abstract - southern New England calcareous seepage swamp. Unpublished report. The Nature Conservancy, Boston, MA. 6 pp.
- Sneddon, L. A., Zaremba, R. E., and M. Adams. 2010. Vegetation classification and mapping at Cape Cod National Seashore, Massachusetts. Natural Resources Technical Report NPS/NER/NRTR--2010/147. National Park Service, Philadelphia, PA. 481 pp. [http://biology.usgs.gov/npsveg/caco/cacorpt.pdf]
- Swain, P. C., and J. B. Kearsley. 2014. Classification of the natural communities of Massachusetts. Version 2.0. Natural Heritage & Endangered Species Program, Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife. Westborough, MA. [http://www.mass.gov/nhesp/http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/dfg/dfw/natural-heritage/natural-communities/classification-of-natural-communities.html]