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CEGL007217 Liquidambar styraciflua - Quercus (alba, falcata) Ruderal Forest
Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Sweetgum - (White Oak, Southern Red Oak) Ruderal Forest
Colloquial Name: Ruderal Interior Sweetgum - Oak Forest
Hierarchy Level: Association
Type Concept: Stands of this successional forest association are dominated by Liquidambar styraciflua but also support additional species in the overstory such as Quercus alba, Liriodendron tulipifera, and/or Quercus falcata. This forest is somewhat later successional and/or more diverse than pure Liquidambar styraciflua forests [see ~Liquidambar styraciflua Ruderal Forest (CEGL007216)$$]. This type may arise following disturbance of mixed Quercus - Carya forests. This vegetation type would be more prevalent or more likely to be encountered to the north of the range of Quercus nigra, i.e., in the interior and Piedmont rather than in the Coastal Plain.
Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available
Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available
Classification Comments: This community is composed of at least 40% Liquidambar styraciflua in the canopy, but it differs from earlier successional Liquidambar styraciflua in that it has a minor or major component of oaks and hickories and other later-successional trees in the subcanopy and canopy. However, unlike less-disturbed, more natural Liquidambar styraciflua types, it is not located in a floodplain and it has a very low-diversity herbaceous layer.
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available
Floristics: The overstory of stands of this association are usually dominated by Liquidambar styraciflua, but may also support other species such as Quercus alba, Liriodendron tulipifera, and Quercus falcata. Other woody species encountered in plots attributed to this type include Fraxinus americana, Cornus florida, Diospyros virginiana, Quercus velutina, Quercus rubra, and Carya spp. (NatureServe Ecology unpubl. data).
At Shiloh National Military Park, this vegetation is documented from a plot (SHIL.4) which was disturbed by a tornado in 1971 or 1972 (D. Turnbo pers. comm. 2003). There are stumps and tip-up mounds from the tornado and the salvage logging which followed. The dominant tree is Liquidambar styraciflua with Acer rubrum canopy subdominant. Carya tomentosa (= Carya alba) and Quercus alba are also important, with Quercus falcata, Prunus serotina, Nyssa sylvatica, and Carya glabra. Cornus florida, Carya pallida, and Quercus rubra are important primarily in the subcanopy and tall-shrub strata. Vaccinium stamineum and Ilex decidua are tall shrubs; most of the Quercus spp. and Carya spp. also occur as tall shrubs. Short shrubs include Quercus phellos, Ulmus alata, Rosa carolina, Vitis rotundifolia, Lonicera japonica, Mimosa microphylla, Hypericum hypericoides, Juniperus virginiana, Ligustrum sinense, Vaccinium stamineum, Diospyros virginiana, Nyssa sylvatica, Smilax glauca, Carya glabra, Vaccinium arboreum, and Rubus argutus. The herbaceous stratum has 30% cover, but there are no dominant species. The most abundant herbaceous species are Dichanthelium boscii and Botrychium biternatum. Other herbaceous species are Scutellaria elliptica, Houstonia purpurea, Elephantopus tomentosus, Asplenium platyneuron, Polystichum acrostichoides, Dichanthelium laxiflorum, Viola x palmata, Galium circaezans, Sanicula canadensis, Athyrium filix-femina ssp. asplenioides, Conoclinium coelestinum, Lobelia puberula, Cirsium horridulum, Lycopodium digitatum (= Diphasiastrum digitatum), Chasmanthium laxum, Lespedeza repens, Ruellia strepens, and Pycnanthemum verticillatum var. pilosum (= Pycnanthemum pilosum).
At Shiloh National Military Park, this vegetation is documented from a plot (SHIL.4) which was disturbed by a tornado in 1971 or 1972 (D. Turnbo pers. comm. 2003). There are stumps and tip-up mounds from the tornado and the salvage logging which followed. The dominant tree is Liquidambar styraciflua with Acer rubrum canopy subdominant. Carya tomentosa (= Carya alba) and Quercus alba are also important, with Quercus falcata, Prunus serotina, Nyssa sylvatica, and Carya glabra. Cornus florida, Carya pallida, and Quercus rubra are important primarily in the subcanopy and tall-shrub strata. Vaccinium stamineum and Ilex decidua are tall shrubs; most of the Quercus spp. and Carya spp. also occur as tall shrubs. Short shrubs include Quercus phellos, Ulmus alata, Rosa carolina, Vitis rotundifolia, Lonicera japonica, Mimosa microphylla, Hypericum hypericoides, Juniperus virginiana, Ligustrum sinense, Vaccinium stamineum, Diospyros virginiana, Nyssa sylvatica, Smilax glauca, Carya glabra, Vaccinium arboreum, and Rubus argutus. The herbaceous stratum has 30% cover, but there are no dominant species. The most abundant herbaceous species are Dichanthelium boscii and Botrychium biternatum. Other herbaceous species are Scutellaria elliptica, Houstonia purpurea, Elephantopus tomentosus, Asplenium platyneuron, Polystichum acrostichoides, Dichanthelium laxiflorum, Viola x palmata, Galium circaezans, Sanicula canadensis, Athyrium filix-femina ssp. asplenioides, Conoclinium coelestinum, Lobelia puberula, Cirsium horridulum, Lycopodium digitatum (= Diphasiastrum digitatum), Chasmanthium laxum, Lespedeza repens, Ruellia strepens, and Pycnanthemum verticillatum var. pilosum (= Pycnanthemum pilosum).
Dynamics: This forest is successional to mixed Quercus - Carya forests, and develops following disturbance such as clearcut logging and agriculture.
Environmental Description: This type may arise following disturbance of mixed Quercus - Carya forests. This vegetation type would be more prevalent or more likely to be encountered to the north of the range of Quercus nigra, i.e., in the interior and Piedmont rather than in the Coastal Plain.
Geographic Range: This early-successional sweetgum forest has been defined from the Interior Highlands of the central United States and from the Piedmont of the southeastern United States, and is also reported for the Southern Ridge and Valley, but is likely much more widespread.
Nations: US
States/Provinces: AL, AR, GA, MS, SC, TN
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.689974
Confidence Level: Low
Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available
Grank: GNA
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.1 Warm Temperate Forest & Woodland Formation | F018 | 1.B.1 |
| Division | 1.B.1.Na Southeastern North American Forest & Woodland Division | D006 | 1.B.1.Na |
| Macrogroup | 1.B.1.Na.90 Sweetgum - Loblolly Pine - Chinese Tallow Ruderal Forest Macrogroup | M305 | 1.B.1.Na.90 |
| Group | 1.B.1.Na.90.a Loblolly Pine - Sweetgum - Chinese Tallow Ruderal Forest Group | G031 | 1.B.1.Na.90.a |
| Alliance | A3232 Sweetgum - Sugarberry - Water Oak Ruderal Forest Alliance | A3232 | 1.B.1.Na.90.a |
| Association | CEGL007217 Sweetgum - (White Oak, Southern Red Oak) Ruderal Forest | CEGL007217 | 1.B.1.Na.90.a |
Concept Lineage: No Data Available
Predecessors: No Data Available
Obsolete Names: No Data Available
Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: No Data Available
- Gallyoun, M., G. Meyer, A. Andreu, and W. Slocumb. 1996. Mapping vegetation communities with The Nature Conservancy''s vegetation classification system on five small national parks in the southeastern USA. Unpublished report. The Nature Conservancy, Southeast Regional Office, Conservation Science Department, Chapel Hill, NC.
- Hop, K., M. Pyne, T. Foti, S. Lubinski, R. White, and J. Dieck. 2012a. National Park Service vegetation inventory program: Buffalo National River, Arkansas. Natural Resource Report NPS/HTLN/NRR--2012/526. National Park Service, Fort Collins, CO. 340 pp.
- NatureServe Ecology - Southeastern United States. No date. Unpublished data. NatureServe, Durham, NC.
- 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.
- Turnbo, Dennis. Personal communication. Retired. National Park Service, Shiloh National Military Park, Shiloh, TN.
- White, Jr., R. D. 2005. Vascular plant inventory and plant community classification for Fort Donelson National Battlefield. NatureServe, Durham, NC. 135 pp.