Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available

Floristics: Dominant canopy trees include Acer rubrum, Pinus virginiana, Pinus rigida, and Juniperus virginiana. The subcanopy is dominated by Acer rubrum. The shrub layer is characterized by Lindera benzoin and Acer rubrum. The herbaceous layer is dominated by Microstegium vimineum, Smilax rotundifolia, Smilax glauca, and Lonicera japonica.

Dynamics:  This plant community is adapted to the weathering of serpentine bedrock. It was once thought that the lack of canopy cover was maintained by the unique edaphic features of the chrome series soils, but in the last 20 years, many sites have been invaded by dense Pinus virginiana (Tyndall 1992a). In this serpentine barren community red maple, Virginia pine and pitch pine are the canopy dominants of this type. This phenomenon dramatically alters the light regime and promotes substantial soil development (up to 10 cm in 20 years). Under these conditions, an entirely different community develops as the influence of the bedrock is buffered by the soil/litter accumulation. This closed-canopy serpentine forest typically exhibits a dense understory of Smilax rotundifolia. Some of the characteristic herbaceous serpentine species apparently persist in the ground layer as scattered non-flowering individuals; other populations appear to die out but may persist in the seed bank. Selective cutting has been effective in restoring degraded sites to their previous composition and structure, but most researchers believe that without regular burning to prevent soil development the serpentine plant communities will not persist. There is substantial evidence that most of the existing areas were regularly burned by Native Americans (Marye 1920, 1955a, 1955b, 1955c) and perhaps maintained by grazing after European settlement.