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CEGL008508 Aronia melanocarpa - Gaylussacia baccata / Carex pensylvanica Shrubland
Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Black Chokeberry - Black Huckleberry / Pennsylvania Sedge Shrubland
Colloquial Name: High-Elevation Outcrop Barrens (Black Chokeberry Igneous / Metamorphic Type)
Hierarchy Level: Association
Type Concept: This community type is known from scattered localities along nearly the full length of the Blue Ridge in Virginia and could potentially occur in North Carolina, West Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. This vegetation type is associated with medium- to high-elevation exposed outcrops of igneous and metamorphic rocks, including metabasalt (greenstone), porphyritic leucocharnockite, amphibolite, and rhyolite. Elevation ranges from about 880 to 1400 m (2900-4600 feet). Habitats are typically on strongly convex, upper slopes and rocky summits with west to northwest or flat aspects. The community is a patchwork of shrub thickets, small herbaceous mats, and exposed, lichen-covered rock surfaces. Aronia melanocarpa is the dominant shrub, or is codominant with Gaylussacia baccata, Hamamelis virginiana, Smilax tamnoides, and/or Kalmia latifolia. Minor woody components include Sorbus americana, Rhododendron catawbiense, and Menziesia pilosa, as well as severely stunted Betula alleghaniensis and Quercus rubra.
Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available
Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available
Classification Comments: Additional data collection from known stands that have not been plot-sampled would increase the robustness of this type''s classification. Examples of this community should be sought outside the Virginia Blue Ridge.
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available
Floristics: The community is a patchwork of shrub thickets, small herbaceous mats, and exposed, lichen-covered rock surfaces. Aronia melanocarpa is the dominant shrub, or is codominant with Gaylussacia baccata, Hamamelis virginiana, Smilax tamnoides, and/or Kalmia latifolia. Minor woody components include Sorbus americana, Rhododendron catawbiense, and Menziesia pilosa, as well as severely stunted Betula alleghaniensis and Quercus rubra. The most frequent herbaceous species are Carex pensylvanica, Saxifraga michauxii, Dennstaedtia punctilobula, Polypodium appalachianum, Agrostis perennans, Paronychia argyrocoma, Solidago simplex var. randii, Hylotelephium telephioides (= Sedum telephioides), Heuchera villosa, Campanula divaricata, and Danthonia spicata. Species richness of plot-sampled stands ranges from 12 to 37 taxa per 100 m2 (mean = 22).
Dynamics: No Data Available
Environmental Description: This vegetation type is associated with medium- to high-elevation exposed outcrops of igneous and metamorphic rocks, including metabasalt (greenstone), porphyritic leucocharnockite, amphibolite, and rhyolite. The elevation range of plot-sampled stands is from about 880 to 1400 m (2900-4600 feet). Habitats are typically on strongly convex, upper slopes and rocky summits with west to northwest or flat aspects. Surface cover of bedrock and loose boulders in plot-sampled stands averages 80%, with mean lichen cover of 44% on these rocks. Soil development and moisture potential at these sites are minimal, and habitats may also be subject to severe winter temperatures, high winds, and ice.
Geographic Range: This community type is known from scattered localities along nearly the full length of the Blue Ridge in Virginia. It is of potential occurrence in North Carolina, West Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania.
Nations: US
States/Provinces: MD?, NC?, PA?, VA
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.689065
Confidence Level: Moderate
Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available
Grank: G1?
Greasons: No Data Available
| Type | Name | Database Code | Classification Code |
|---|---|---|---|
| Class | 2 Shrub & Herb Vegetation Class | C02 | 2 |
| Subclass | 2.B Temperate & Boreal Grassland & Shrubland Subclass | S18 | 2.B |
| Formation | 2.B.2 Temperate Grassland & Shrubland Formation | F012 | 2.B.2 |
| Division | 2.B.2.Nc Eastern North American Grassland & Shrubland Division | D024 | 2.B.2.Nc |
| Macrogroup | 2.B.2.Nc.1 Catawba Rosebay / Michaux''s Saxifrage - Flattened Oatgrass Felsic & Mafic Scrub & Grassland Macrogroup | M506 | 2.B.2.Nc.1 |
| Group | 2.B.2.Nc.1.c Little Bluestem - Balsam Groundsel - Prairie Groundsel Appalachian Mafic Glade Group | G180 | 2.B.2.Nc.1.c |
| Alliance | A3470 Southern Appalachian Mafic Shrubland Alliance | A3470 | 2.B.2.Nc.1.c |
| Association | CEGL008508 Black Chokeberry - Black Huckleberry / Pennsylvania Sedge Shrubland | CEGL008508 | 2.B.2.Nc.1.c |
Concept Lineage: No Data Available
Predecessors: No Data Available
Obsolete Names: No Data Available
Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: ? Hamamelis virginiana - Rhododendron catawbiense - Physocarpus opulifolius Association (Rawinski and Wieboldt 1993)
= Photinia melanocarpa - Gaylussacia baccata / Carex pensylvanica Shrubland (Fleming and Coulling 2001)
? Saxifraga michauxii - Solidago randii - Sibbaldiopsis tridentata Herbaceous Vegetation (Coulling and Rawinski 1999)
= Photinia melanocarpa - Gaylussacia baccata / Carex pensylvanica Shrubland (Fleming and Coulling 2001)
? Saxifraga michauxii - Solidago randii - Sibbaldiopsis tridentata Herbaceous Vegetation (Coulling and Rawinski 1999)
- Coulling, P. P., and T. J. Rawinski. 1999. Classification of vegetation and ecological land units of the Piney River and Mt. Pleasant area, Pedlar Ranger District, George Washington and Jefferson National Forests, Virginia. Natural Heritage Technical Report 99-03, Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, Division of Natural Heritage, Richmond.
- Eastern Ecology Working Group of NatureServe. No date. International Ecological Classification Standard: International Vegetation Classification. Terrestrial Vegetation. NatureServe, Boston, MA.
- Fleming, G. P., A. Belden, Jr., K. E. Heffernan, A. C. Chazal, N. E. Van Alstine, and E. M. Butler. 2007a. A natural heritage inventory of the rock outcrops of Shenandoah National Park. Unpublished report submitted to the National Park Service. Natural Heritage Technical Report 07-01. Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, Division of Natural Heritage, Richmond. 433 pp. plus appendixes.
- 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., and P. P. Coulling. 2001. Ecological communities of the George Washington and Jefferson national forests, Virginia. Preliminary classification and description of vegetation types. Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, Division of Natural Heritage, Richmond, VA. 317 pp.
- Rawinski, T. J., and T. F. Wieboldt. 1993. Classification and ecological interpretation of mafic glade vegetation on Buffalo Mountain, Floyd County, Virginia. Banisteria 2:3-10.
- Young, J., G. Fleming, P. Townsend, and J. Foster. 2006. Vegetation of Shenandoah National Park in relation to environmental gradients. Final Report (v.1.1). Research technical report prepared for USDI, National Park Service. USGS/NPS Vegetation Mapping Program. 92 pp. plus appendices.
- Young, J., G. Fleming, W. Cass, and C. Lea. 2009. Vegetation of Shenandoah National Park in relation to environmental gradients, Version 2.0. Technical Report NPS/NER/NRTR--2009/142. National Park Service, Philadelphia, PA. 389 pp.