Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Shortleaf Pine - Chestnut Oak - (Scarlet Oak, Black Oak) Forest

Colloquial Name: Allegheny Shortleaf Pine - Oak Forest

Hierarchy Level:  Association

Type Concept: This association represents the shortleaf pine - oak forests of West Virginia. These are mixed evergreen - deciduous forests dominated by pines, including Pinus echinata, and oaks, with an understory dominated by heath shrubs. Associated pines include Pinus virginiana and Pinus rigida. Deciduous canopy trees include Quercus montana, Quercus coccinea, and Quercus velutina. Characteristic subcanopy trees include Oxydendrum arboreum and Nyssa sylvatica. Understory shrubs include Gaylussacia baccata and Vaccinium pallidum. Herbs are sparse, but include dry-site species such as Danthonia spicata, Hieracium venosum, and Potentilla canadensis. Stands occur in small patches in sites with high solar exposure, on knobs and along ridges and ridge spurs, in the dissected Western Allegheny Plateau. Soils are dry and acidic, with low fertility. There is often evidence of past fires. Pinus echinata is shade-intolerant and stands are presumed to have established following land clearing, fire, or other canopy disturbance. Pinus echinata is fire-tolerant and short fire intervals tend to favor this species in preference to Pinus virginiana. Stands of Pinus echinata may persist without disturbance for a century or more, and the trees are tall and long-lived.

Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available

Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available

Classification Comments: No Data Available

Similar NVC Types: No Data Available

note: No Data Available