Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Shortleaf Pine - (Blackjack Oak, Post Oak) / Prairie Rosinweed - Prairie Goldenrod Woodland

Colloquial Name: Coosa River Valley Shortleaf Pine - Oak Prairie Woodland

Hierarchy Level:  Association

Type Concept: This mixed evergreen - deciduous sparse forest association consists of prairie-like woodlands occurring over stiff calcareous clay soils derived from weathered shale and limestone of the Conasauga Group. It ranges along the Coosa River Valley in northwestern Georgia and into northeastern Alabama. Pristine examples are difficult to locate, as much of the habitat for this association has been converted to agriculture or silviculture, and many remaining examples include a significant component of Pinus taeda. Most surviving stands occur as woodland vegetation surrounding small prairie-like openings containing disjunct Midwestern grassland species and narrow endemics such as Marshallia mohrii and Helianthus x verticillatus [see ~Schizachyrium scoparium - Andropogon gerardii - Silphium terebinthinaceum Coosa Valley Barren Grassland (CEGL004757)$$ and ~Andropogon gerardii - Bouteloua curtipendula - Echinacea simulata Coosa Valley Barren Grassland (CEGL004045)$$ in reference to closely related herbaceous-dominated prairie openings]. The canopy is open and includes nearly an even mixture of Pinus echinata and Pinus taeda with Quercus marilandica and Quercus stellata comprising the sparse subcanopy and understory. Examples in the southern portion of the range in Alabama may include Pinus palustris as a minor component of the canopy. Some examples include Quercus phellos and Quercus alba. The shrub layer tends to also be minimally developed with Crataegus spathulata, Crataegus marshallii, Vaccinium arboreum, Diospyros virginiana, and Vaccinium stamineum as typical components. The herbaceous layer is well-developed with prairie-affiliated grasses such as Andropogon gerardii, Schizachyrium scoparium, and Sorghastrum nutans as dominants. Panicum virgatum, Gymnopogon ambiguus, and Sporobolus clandestinus are also important grass species found within these woodlands. A wide variety of forbs, many of these either disjunct or prairie species near their southeastern limit, are codominant in the herbaceous layer. Examples of such species include Oligoneuron album, Oligoneuron rigidum, Silphium terebinthinaceum, Helianthus mollis, Symphyotrichum pratense, and Silphium radula.

Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available

Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available

Classification Comments: This prairie woodland is very rare throughout a rather limited range. Examples in Alabama (Tom Cat Prairie, Etowah County) have nearly been completely destroyed by conversion to loblolly plantations and/or sold for real estate development. Remaining examples in Floyd County, Georgia, have been largely impacted by conversion to loblolly pine (Pinus taeda). Joint efforts between The Nature Conservancy, Temple - Inland, Inc., a forest products company, and the Georgia Natural Heritage Program have sought to identify and protect remaining examples. The importance of shortleaf pine would imply that these woodlands require some degree of fire to maintain the presence of this species in the canopy.

Similar NVC Types: No Data Available

note: No Data Available