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CEGL004085 Pinus palustris - Pinus (serotina, taeda) / Sporobolus curtissii - Muhlenbergia expansa Woodland

Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available


Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Longleaf Pine - (Pond Pine, Loblolly Pine) / Curtiss'' Dropseed - Cutover Muhly Woodland

Colloquial Name: Atlantic Coastal Plain Wet Ultisol Longleaf Pine Savanna (Curtis'' Dropseed Type)

Hierarchy Level:  Association

Type Concept: This seasonally saturated longleaf pine - pond pine - loblolly pine woodland association is restricted to wet and moist Ultisols of South Carolina. The open canopy of this association is dominated by a combination of Pinus palustris, Pinus serotina, and Pinus taeda. The patchy shrub layer is dominated by Arundinaria tecta, Morella cerifera, Morella caroliniensis, Vaccinium fuscatum, Magnolia virginiana, and Ilex glabra. The ground layer is dominated by Sporobolus curtissii, with Muhlenbergia expansa codominant or of secondary importance.

Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available

Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available

Classification Comments: Throughout most of its range in Florida and Georgia, Sporobolus curtissii occurs as a subdominant to Aristida beyrichiana on drier flatwoods sites, mainly Spodosols. In the Francis Marion National Forest, however, it occurs independently of Aristida beyrichiana on moist Ultisols with different associated species. It is likely that a genetic investigation would find this peculiar central South Carolina population to be distinct from Sporobolus curtissii populations elsewhere in its range.

This community occurs on similar sites as Pinus palustris - Pinus taeda - Pinus serotina / Ilex glabra / Sporobolus pinetorum Woodland (Glitzenstein and Streng 2004) and incorporates many of the same species. The two communities are distinguished by the dominant grasses, one being dominated by the globally rare Sporobolus pinetorum and the other by the regionally common but locally very rare Sporobolus curtissii.

Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available

Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available

Floristics: The open canopy of this association is dominated by a combination of Pinus palustris, Pinus serotina, and Pinus taeda. The patchy shrub layer is dominated by Arundinaria tecta, Morella cerifera (= Myrica cerifera), Morella caroliniensis (= Myrica heterophylla), Vaccinium fuscatum, Magnolia virginiana, Ilex glabra, and sprouts of Diospyros virginiana, Acer rubrum, and Liquidambar styraciflua. The ground layer is dominated by Sporobolus curtissii, with Muhlenbergia expansa codominant or of secondary importance. Other common grasses and sedges include Aristida purpurascens var. virgata (= Aristida virgata), Agrostis perennans (= Agrostis altissima), Schizachyrium scoparium, Andropogon glomeratus, Dichanthelium consanguineum, Carex striata, Carex glaucescens, Ctenium aromaticum, Juncus biflorus, Andropogon virginicus var. decipiens, Scleria muehlenbergii, Rhynchospora torreyana, Rhynchospora chapmanii, Panicum anceps (= var. rhizomatum), Saccharum brevibarbe var. contortum, Gymnopogon brevifolius, Dichanthelium scabriusculum, Andropogon capillipes, and Paspalum praecox. Common forbs may include Solidago stricta, Chaptalia tomentosa, Pityopsis graminifolia, Lycopodiella alopecuroides, Helianthus angustifolius, Eupatorium leucolepis, Eupatorium rotundifolium, Lobelia nuttallii, Symphyotrichum dumosum (= Aster dumosus), Eupatorium pilosum, Erigeron vernus, Viola septemloba, Linum medium, Ludwigia hirtella, Pycnanthemum flexuosum, Bigelowia nudata, Eryngium integrifolium, Xyris caroliniana, Rhexia alifanus, Desmodium tenuifolium, Sarracenia minor, Triantha racemosa (= Tofieldia racemosa), Agalinis aphylla, Lechea pulchella, Cirsium virginianum, Rhexia lutea, Centella erecta, and many others.

Dynamics:  The maintenance of this vegetation type depends on frequent low-intensity fires that limit competition from hardwood trees and shrubs and help to maintain the high diversity of herbaceous vegetation (Glitzenstein et al. 2003).

Environmental Description:  Stands of this association occur on level, poorly drained soils with a sandy or sandy loam surface soil and a clay subsoil (e.g., Lenoir Fine Sandy Loam).

Geographic Range: This type is known from the wiregrass-gap region in the Atlantic Coastal Plain of South Carolina, where it is found on wet Ultisols.

Nations: US

States/Provinces:  SC




Confidence Level: Low

Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available

Grank: G1

Greasons: No Data Available


Concept Lineage: No Data Available

Predecessors: No Data Available

Obsolete Names: No Data Available

Obsolete Parents: No Data Available

Synonomy: = Pinus palustris - Pinus taeda - Pinus serotina / Sporobolus curtissii - Muhlenbergia expansa Woodland (Glitzenstein and Streng 2004)
? Pinus palustris / Sporobolus curtissii - Chaptalia uniflora Woodland (Peet 1996) [III.Series 7-J1]
< Pine Savanna, Wet Ultisol Variant (Schafale 1994)

Concept Author(s): J.S. Glitzenstein and D.R. Streng (2004)

Author of Description: M. Pyne

Acknowledgements: No Data Available

Version Date: 04-19-04

  • Glitzenstein, J. S., D. R. Streng, and D. D. Wade. 2003. Fire frequency effects on longleaf pine (Pinus palustris P. Miller) vegetation in South Carolina and northeast Florida. Natural Areas Journal 23:22-37. [http://www.srs.fs.usda.gov/pubs/5266]
  • Glitzenstein, J. S., and D. R. Streng. 2004. Evaluating the NatureServe preliminary plant community classification for Francis Marion National Forest. Tall Timbers Research Station, Tallahassee, FL. Plus appendices and data.
  • NatureServe Ecology - Southeastern United States. No date. Unpublished data. NatureServe, Durham, NC.
  • Nelson, J. B. 1986. The natural communities of South Carolina: Initial classification and description. South Carolina Wildlife and Marine Resources Department, Division of Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries, Columbia, SC. 55 pp.
  • Peet, R. K. 1996. Longleaf pine communities of the Carolinas and Georgia. Unpublished document. Botany Department, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.
  • Schafale, M. P. 1994. Inventory of longleaf pine natural communities. North Carolina Department of Environment, Health, and Natural Resources, Division of Parks and Recreation, Natural Heritage Program, Raleigh. 230 pp.
  • Southeastern Ecology Working Group of NatureServe. No date. International Ecological Classification Standard: International Vegetation Classification. Terrestrial Vegetation. NatureServe, Durham, NC.