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CEGL007267 Quercus montana - (Quercus rubra) - Carya spp. / Oxydendrum arboreum - Cornus florida Forest

Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available

Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Chestnut Oak - (Northern Red Oak) - Hickory species / Sourwood - Flowering Dogwood Forest

Colloquial Name: Appalachian Montane Oak - Hickory Forest (Chestnut Oak Type)

Hierarchy Level:  Association

Type Concept: This community is known from low to intermediate elevations of the Southern Blue Ridge escarpment, the Great Smoky Mountains, Piedmont transition areas, into the Southern Ridge and Valley, and in the Cumberlands in southern West Virginia. It occurs on relatively exposed landforms below 1000 m (3280 feet) elevation (220-1000 m [700-3280 feet]), on nearly level to steep, convex, middle to upper slopes, ridges, and plateaus, with mostly northwestern to southeastern aspects. These are forests characterized by canopies dominated by Quercus and Carya species that do not have a well-developed heath shrub layer. Acer rubrum and Liriodendron tulipifera may have significant coverage, apparently related to logging history. The predominant oaks and hickories in the canopy are Quercus montana, Carya glabra, Carya tomentosa, Carya ovata, Quercus coccinea, Quercus velutina, Quercus alba, and Quercus rubra. Additional canopy and subcanopy species can include Nyssa sylvatica, Magnolia fraseri, Halesia tetraptera var. monticola, Fagus grandifolia, Ilex opaca, and Oxydendrum arboreum. In addition, Cornus florida is characteristic and may be dominant in the subcanopy and tall-shrub layers; other tall-shrub species include Magnolia fraseri, Hamamelis virginiana, and Sassafras albidum. Kalmia latifolia or Rhododendron maximum may be present but only at very low cover. The short-shrub stratum is sparse (up to 20% cover), with no clear dominant. Some typical shrub species include Vaccinium pallidum, Viburnum acerifolium, and (in the central and southern portions of the type''s range) Gaylussacia ursina, Hydrangea arborescens, and Hydrangea radiata. Common vines are Smilax rotundifolia, Smilax glauca, Parthenocissus quinquefolia, Toxicodendron radicans, Vitis aestivalis, Vitis rotundifolia, and Vitis vulpina. Herb cover is sparse to moderate; diversity and species composition vary among occurrences. Some of the more typical herb species include Eurybia divaricata, Dioscorea quaternata, Maianthemum racemosum, Polystichum acrostichoides, Solidago caesia, Uvularia perfoliata, and Uvularia puberula.

Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available

Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available

Classification Comments: This forest lacks the dense ericaceous shrub layer typical of other Quercus montana-dominated forests in the Blue Ridge escarpment region and commonly has diverse herbaceous composition. It is distinguished from similar forests in the Ridge and Valley by lacking Acer saccharum and from Piedmont forests by the lack of Quercus falcata and Quercus stellata, and by the presence of species more typical of the Southern Appalachians (Magnolia fraseri, Halesia tetraptera, and Castanea dentata). This association was originally defined from the Chattooga Basin Project (S. Simon pers. comm.) and later refined with information from the Great Smoky Mountains. The North Carolina Piedmont examples of this association are only montane transition areas, such as the Sauratown Mountains and Hanging Rock. In West Virginia, this association is floristically intermediate between ~Quercus montana - Carya ovata - Quercus rubra / Acer saccharum Forest (CEGL007268)$$ and the more xeric ~Quercus (montana, coccinea) / Kalmia latifolia / (Galax urceolata, Gaultheria procumbens) Forest (CEGL006271)$$, and some stands are difficult to distinguish. It lacks the abundance of Acer saccharum of the former and the abundance of ericaceous shrubs of the latter and has higher abundance of Liriodendron tulipifera than either.

Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available

Floristics: These are forests dominated by species of Quercus and Carya and without a well-developed heath shrub layer. Acer rubrum and Liriodendron tulipifera may have significant coverage, apparently related to logging history. The predominant oaks and hickories in the canopy are Quercus montana (= Quercus prinus), Carya glabra, Carya tomentosa (= Carya alba), Carya ovata, Quercus coccinea, Quercus velutina, Quercus alba, and Quercus rubra. Additional canopy and subcanopy species can include Nyssa sylvatica, Magnolia fraseri, Halesia tetraptera var. monticola, Fagus grandifolia, Ilex opaca, and Oxydendrum arboreum. In addition, Cornus florida is characteristic and may be dominant in the subcanopy and tall-shrub layers; other tall-shrub species include Magnolia fraseri, Hamamelis virginiana, and Sassafras albidum. Kalmia latifolia or Rhododendron maximum may be present but only at very low cover. The short-shrub stratum is sparse (up to 20% cover), with no clear dominant. Some typical shrub species include Vaccinium pallidum, Viburnum acerifolium, and (in the central and southern portions of the type''s range) Gaylussacia ursina, Hydrangea arborescens, and Hydrangea radiata. Common vines are Smilax rotundifolia, Smilax glauca, Parthenocissus quinquefolia, Toxicodendron radicans, Vitis aestivalis, Vitis rotundifolia, and Vitis vulpina. Herb cover is sparse to moderate; diversity and species composition vary among occurrences. Some of the more typical species include Ageratina altissima, Eurybia divaricata (= Aster divaricatus), Carex communis var. communis, Carex digitalis var. digitalis, Chimaphila maculata, Desmodium nudiflorum, Dichanthelium spp. (e.g., Dichanthelium boscii, Dichanthelium commutatum, Dichanthelium dichotomum), Dioscorea quaternata, Galium circaezans, Galium latifolium, Goodyera pubescens, Maianthemum racemosum ssp. racemosum, Medeola virginiana, Houstonia purpurea, Lysimachia quadrifolia, Maianthemum racemosum ssp. racemosum, Polystichum acrostichoides, Prenanthes spp., Solidago caesia, Thalictrum thalictroides, Thelypteris noveboracensis, Uvularia perfoliata, Uvularia puberula, Uvularia sessilifolia, and Viola spp. (e.g., Viola blanda, Viola hastata, Viola x palmata, Viola tripartita). Common mosses from West Virginia plots include Thuidium delicatulum, Leucobryum glaucum, Hypnum imponens, Polytrichum ohioense, Leucobryum albidum, and Dicranum fulvum.

Dynamics:  Evidence of past fires is abundant in this type, but its natural fire regime is not known. Most stands have been logged, and in West Virginia, many areas likely formerly covered by this forest type have been strip-mined. Evidence of disturbance recorded in Virginia plots includes fire scars on older trees, charcoal in duff, much rotting Castanea dentata wood, damage to Cornus florida from dogwood anthracnose (Discula destructiva), and minor wind/ice damage to tree crowns. Large areas of this community type were impacted by logging and/or the loss of codominant Castanea dentata. Based on the abundance of Castanea wood debris and live sprouts, as well as the presence of numerous intact logs in older stands, Castanea dentata may have reached near optimal importance on sites of this community type prior to the arrival of the blight. At Peters Mountain in Allegheny County, Virginia, the current canopy dominants in these areas typically range from about 35-69 cm (14-27 inches) dbh, with maximum ages of 90 to 140 years. Some patches of old-growth forest remain at Peters Mountain, especially on the steeper dip slopes and landslide benches (Fleming and Moorhead 2000).
Environmental Description:  This community is known from plateaus, ridges, and gorge slopes at low to intermediate elevations, on relatively exposed landforms from 220 to 1000 m (700-3250 feet) elevation. Slopes are moderately steep to steep where it occurs on convex, middle to upper slopes, grading to gentle on ridges and plateaus; aspects are mostly northern to southwestern. Unvegetated ground cover is dominated by litter and rock. In Virginia, the type occurs on sites underlain by colluvial and alluvial fan material, sandstone, quartzite, and rocks of the Northern Blue Ridge granitic complex. Farther south, soils are weathered from sandstones and, less commonly, shales and are strongly acidic, relatively nutrient-poor and sandy to loamy in texture. Soils in West Virginia plots are well- to rapidly-drained, dry to somewhat moist sandy loam, sandy clay loam, sandy silt loam, silt loam, and clay loam, and test slightly to extremely acidic (mean pH = 4.59). Soil chemistry data from 25 plot samples from throughout the range indicate that mean conditions are extremely acidic, with low levels of calcium, magnesium, and total base saturation, along with moderately high iron and aluminum (Fleming and Patterson 2009a).
Geographic Range: This community occurs in the Southern Blue Ridge, the Great Smoky Mountains, and Piedmont transition areas of western North Carolina, eastern Tennessee, northwestern South Carolina, and northeastern Georgia, extending north into the Cumberlands in southern West Virginia and the border area between Virginia, Kentucky, and Tennessee. It also extends north in the Virginia Ridge and Valley and Blue Ridge to Allegheny, Botetourt, and Bedford counties.

Nations: US

States/Provinces:  GA, KY, NC, SC, TN, VA, WV


Confidence Level: Moderate

Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available
Grank: G4G5

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.2 Appalachian-Northeastern Oak - Hardwood - Pine Forest & Woodland Macrogroup M502 1.B.2.Na.2
Group 1.B.2.Na.2.a Chestnut Oak - Hickory species / American Chestnut Forest Group G015 1.B.2.Na.2.a
Alliance A0250 Chestnut Oak - Northern Red Oak Forest Alliance A0250 1.B.2.Na.2.a
Association CEGL007267 Chestnut Oak - (Northern Red Oak) - Hickory species / Sourwood - Flowering Dogwood Forest CEGL007267 1.B.2.Na.2.a
Concept Lineage: CEGL008522 has been merged into CEGL007267.

Predecessors: No Data Available

Obsolete Names: No Data Available

Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: = Quercus prinus - Carya (alba / glabra) - Acer rubrum / Cornus florida Forest (Patterson 1994)
< Quercus prinus - Quercus rubra - (Quercus alba) - Liriodendron tulipifera - Acer rubrum / Parthenocissus quinquefolia forest (Vanderhorst 2001b)
= Quercus velutina - Quercus montana / Cornus florida Forest (Fleming and Moorhead 2000)
< Chestnut Oak: 44 (Eyre 1980)
< IA6h. Montane Oak - Hickory Forest (Allard 1990)
Concept Author(s): K.D. Patterson

Author of Description: K.D. Patterson, T. Govus, R. White, S.C. Gawler, G.P. Fleming

Acknowledgements: No Data Available

Version Date: 04-01-10
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