Print Report
CEGL004092 Quercus pagoda - Carya cordiformis / Chasmanthium sessiliflorum - Verbesina virginica Forest
Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Cherrybark Oak - Bitternut Hickory / Longleaf Woodoats - White Crownbeard Forest
Colloquial Name: Atlantic Coastal Plain Mesic Cherrybark Oak - Hickory Forest
Hierarchy Level: Association
Type Concept: This mesic forest or woodland is described from the South Carolina Coastal Plain. It is associated with soils derived from calcareous materials. The canopy and subcanopy of the stand contains two distinct layers, with large emergent Pinus taeda, Quercus pagoda, Carya cordiformis, and Liriodendron tulipifera overtopping a denser subcanopy of Carya spp., Cornus florida, and Liquidambar styraciflua. A dominant shrub is Callicarpa americana. In addition to grasses, primarily Chasmanthium sessiliflorum and Tridens flavus, the herb layer codominance of tall Verbesina species (Verbesina occidentalis, Verbesina virginica) is striking. Other characteristic herbs (of higher nutrient conditions) include Anemone virginiana, Agrimonia pubescens, and Pycnanthemum pycnanthemoides (with high cover).
Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available
Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available
Classification Comments: Stand seems to fit somewhere between the upper limits of bottomland and the lower limits of currently described slope forest associations, i.e., rich, mesic forest influenced by proximity of calcareous bedrock and perhaps nutrient input from very occasional flooding. The sampled plot is located in an area that is prescribed burned by the U.S. Forest Service every 2-3 years, perhaps too frequently to maintain this type of rich vegetation or perhaps approximating the historical burn regime of fires coming off the longleaf pine uplands. The frequent burn regime probably accounts for the grass-dominated understory and patchy overstory, such that the stand almost could be classified as woodland rather than forest.
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available
Floristics: The canopy and subcanopy of the stand contains two distinct layers, with large emergent Pinus taeda, Quercus pagoda, Carya cordiformis, and Liriodendron tulipifera overtopping a denser subcanopy of Carya spp., Cornus florida, and Liquidambar styraciflua. A dominant shrub is Callicarpa americana. In addition to grasses, primarily Chasmanthium sessiliflorum and Tridens flavus, the herb layer codominance of tall Verbesina species (Verbesina occidentalis, Verbesina virginica) is striking. Other characteristic herbs (of higher nutrient conditions) include Anemone virginiana, Agrimonia pubescens, and Pycnanthemum pycnanthemoides (with high cover). Other woody plants include Acer rubrum, Cercis canadensis, Fraxinus americana, Morus rubra, Morella cerifera (= Myrica cerifera), Nyssa sylvatica, Pinus echinata, Prunus serotina, Quercus nigra, Vaccinium arboreum, Vaccinium elliottii, and Vaccinium fuscatum. Vines include Nekemias arborea (= Ampelopsis arborea), Campsis radicans, Menispermum canadense?, and Smilax glauca. Additional herbaceous species include Acalypha gracilens, Agalinis sp., Ambrosia artemisiifolia, Amphicarpaea bracteata, Andropogon glomeratus, Andropogon virginicus var. decipiens, Anemone virginiana, Aristolochia serpentaria, Carex flaccosperma, Carex tenax?, Centrosema virginianum, Chamaecrista nictitans, Chasmanthium laxum, Cirsium sp., Conoclinium coelestinum (= Eupatorium coelestinum), Croton sp., Desmodium ciliare, Dichanthelium consanguineum, Desmodium glabellum, Desmodium nudiflorum, Desmodium paniculatum, Dichanthelium acuminatum var. acuminatum, Dichanthelium aciculare (= Dichanthelium angustifolium), Dichanthelium boscii, Dichanthelium dichotomum, Dichanthelium laxiflorum, Dioscorea villosa, Erechtites hieraciifolius, Eupatorium compositifolium, Eupatorium perfoliatum, Eupatorium rotundifolium, Euphorbia corollata, Galactia volubilis, Galium uniflorum, Gnaphalium sp., Hypericum hypericoides, Hieracium gronovii, Lespedeza virginica, Lobelia puberula, Lygodium japonicum, Mitchella repens, Oenothera fruticosa, Onoclea sensibilis, Oxalis dillenii?, Panicum anceps (= var. rhizomatum), Physalis virginiana?, Pityopsis graminifolia, Polygala sp., Rubus trivialis, Saccharum alopecuroides, Solidago odora, Solidago sp., Strophostyles umbellata, Symphyotrichum sp., Verbesina occidentalis, Verbesina virginica var. virginica, Viola x palmata, and Viola septemloba.
Dynamics: No Data Available
Environmental Description: This forest is found along lower slopes in areas with a calcareous influence. There may be some occasional flooding at this site, but the flooding does not primarily determine the composition of the vegetation. The stand seems to fit somewhere between the upper limits of bottomland and the lower limits of other slope forest associations, i.e., rich, mesic forest influenced by proximity of calcareous bedrock and perhaps nutrient input from very occasional flooding. The sampled plot is located in an area that is prescribed burned by the U.S. Forest Service every 2-3 years, perhaps too frequently to maintain this type of rich vegetation or perhaps approximating the historical burn regime of fires coming off the longleaf pine uplands. The frequent burn regime probably accounts for the grass-dominated understory and patchy overstory, such that the stand almost could be classified as woodland rather than forest.
Geographic Range: This type is known from the Coastal Plain of South Carolina.
Nations: US
States/Provinces: SC
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.732869
Confidence Level: Low - Poorly Documented
Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available
Grank: G2?
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.3 American Beech - Southern Magnolia - White Oak Forest Macrogroup | M008 | 1.B.1.Na.3 |
| Group | 1.B.1.Na.3.b American Beech - Southern Sugar Maple - White Oak Forest Group | G166 | 1.B.1.Na.3.b |
| Alliance | A3235 Shumard Oak - Cherrybark Oak - White Ash Coastal Plain Forest Alliance | A3235 | 1.B.1.Na.3.b |
| Association | CEGL004092 Cherrybark Oak - Bitternut Hickory / Longleaf Woodoats - White Crownbeard Forest | CEGL004092 | 1.B.1.Na.3.b |
Concept Lineage: No Data Available
Predecessors: No Data Available
Obsolete Names: No Data Available
Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: = Quercus pagoda - Carya cordiformis / Chasmanthium sessiliflorum-Verbasina (sic) (virginica, occidentalis) Woodland (Glitzenstein and Streng 2004)
- 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.
- 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.
- Southeastern Ecology Working Group of NatureServe. No date. International Ecological Classification Standard: International Vegetation Classification. Terrestrial Vegetation. NatureServe, Durham, NC.