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CEGL004817 Quercus rubra - Quercus montana - Magnolia (acuminata, fraseri) / Acer pensylvanicum Forest
Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Northern Red Oak - Chestnut Oak - (Cucumber-tree, Mountain Magnolia) / Striped Maple Forest
Colloquial Name: Southern Appalachian Montane Northern Red Oak - Chestnut Oak Forest
Hierarchy Level: Association
Type Concept: This mixed northern red oak - chestnut oak forest is known from the northern part of the Southern Appalachians and extreme southern part of the Central Appalachians in southwestern Virginia and adjacent parts of West Virginia and Tennessee. It occurs on submesic slopes at various topographic positions and aspects from 600 to 1200 m (2000-4000 feet) elevation. Geologic substrate includes various sedimentary rocks, quartzite, granitic rocks, biotite gneiss, and feldspathic metagraywacke. Soils are deep, extremely acidic, and infertile. Vegetation is a mixed oak forest with a well-developed canopy 30 m or more tall in mature stands. Quercus rubra and Quercus montana are the most characteristic canopy dominants, usually occurring in mixed stands with minor associates of Magnolia acuminata, Magnolia fraseri, Quercus alba, Betula lenta, Acer rubrum, Carya spp., Fagus grandifolia, Tsuga canadensis, and Liriodendron tulipifera. Acer pensylvanicum is the leading small tree/shrub dominant, with frequent associates of Oxydendrum arboreum, Pinus strobus, Amelanchier arborea, Amelanchier laevis, Castanea dentata (sprouts), Hamamelis virginiana, Rhododendron maximum, Ilex montana, Viburnum acerifolium, and Vaccinium pallidum. The herb layer is typically patchy to sparse, with Medeola virginiana, Galax urceolata, Convallaria majuscula, Thelypteris noveboracensis, and Dennstaedtia punctilobula occasionally attaining 5% cover in a plot; at higher elevations, the ferns may dominate strongly and cover more substantial areas. Other relatively constant but low-cover herbs include Dioscorea quaternata, Eurybia divaricata, Solidago curtisii, Polygonatum biflorum, Polystichum acrostichoides, Conopholis americana, Clintonia umbellulata, Viola hastata, Uvularia puberula, Chamaelirium luteum, Zizia trifoliata, and Carex appalachica.
Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available
Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available
Classification Comments: Classification of this type is supported by analysis of an 1100-plot Southern Appalachian dataset compiled for the Appalachian Trail vegetation mapping project (Fleming and Patterson 2009a). This community is represented by 27 plots and was intensively compared with similar types using cluster analysis, statistical analysis, and NMS ordinations, and found to be distinctive, both compositionally and environmentally. Additional data were collected in southwest Virginia after the Appalachian Trail analysis. The 33 Virginia plots of this type were also included in a statewide analysis of montane oak and oak-hickory vegetation in Virginia, and again formed a distinctive group (Fleming and Patterson 2009b).
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available
Floristics: Mature stands have a well-developed canopy of trees 30 m or more tall. Quercus rubra is the leading overstory dominant, with only slightly higher density and basal area than Quercus montana (= Quercus prinus). Most stands are mixed, although either species can dominate small areas. One or both of the magnolias, Magnolia acuminata or Magnolia fraseri, are usually important in the overstory or understory. Minor canopy associates vary and can include Quercus alba, Betula lenta, Acer rubrum, Carya spp., Fagus grandifolia, Tsuga canadensis, and Liriodendron tulipifera. Most of the preceding species may be present in the understory, along with Acer pensylvanicum, Oxydendrum arboreum, Pinus strobus, Amelanchier arborea and Amelanchier laevis, and sprouts of Castanea dentata. The most consistently important small tree / shrub is Acer pensylvanicum, attaining densities >500 stems/ha in some stands. Other shrubs that are less constant but sometimes important include Hamamelis virginiana, Rhododendron maximum, Ilex montana, Viburnum acerifolium, and Vaccinium pallidum. The herb layer is often patchy to sparse, with Medeola virginiana, Galax urceolata, Convallaria majuscula, Thelypteris noveboracensis, and Dennstaedtia punctilobula occasionally attaining 5% cover in a plot. In the higher part of the elevational range, however, the latter two ferns may greatly dominate the herb layer and cover more substantial areas. Other relatively constant but low-cover herbs include Dioscorea quaternata, Eurybia divaricata, Solidago curtisii, Polygonatum biflorum, Polystichum acrostichoides, Conopholis americana, Clintonia umbellulata, Viola hastata, Uvularia puberula, Chamaelirium luteum, Zizia trifoliata, and Carex appalachica.
Dynamics: The frequency of Castanea dentata sprouts in this community type suggests that it was formerly an important tree in the overstory mix. Extensive logging during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, along with removal of Castanea by chestnut blight, no doubt favored the oaks in regenerated stands. Many mature, contemporary stands of this vegetation type are now exhibiting classic symptoms of oak decline, with very poor recruitment of the dominant oaks, along with abundant invasion of stand understories by shade-tolerant mesophytic trees. The latter vary from site to site but include Acer rubrum, Fagus grandifolia, Tsuga canadensis, Pinus strobus, and rarely, Acer saccharum var. saccharum. Exclusion of low-intensity fires and logging disturbances have contributed to these changes, which will likely continue barring the re-introduction of fire. A recently burned stand on Clinch Mountain in southwest Virginia exhibited atypically high cover by herbaceous species, suggesting that fires also benefit herbs by burning off litter/humus and increasing illumination though the elimination of shrubs.
Environmental Description: This community type occurs on submesic slopes at elevations from 600 to 1200 m (2000-4000 feet) in the northern part of the Southern Appalachians. It occurs on various topographic positions from lower to upper slopes and crests, in deep, infertile soils. Parent material at known sites includes Ordovician siltstones and shale, Devonian shale and sandstone, quartzite, conglomerate sandstone and shale, interbedded quartzite and dolomite, charnockite, layered pyroxene granulite, biotite gneiss, and feldspathic metagraywacke. Among 26 plot-sampling sites, slope profiles are usually convex in at least one direction while surface substrate averaged 8% boulders and small stones, 4% decaying wood, 1% mineral soil, and 87% leaf litter and duff. Aspect was variable among the plots, but eastern aspects are rare. Soil samples collected from plots are extremely acidic (mean pH = 4.2), with low calcium and magnesium, and high iron and aluminum levels.
Geographic Range: This association is known from the northern part of the Southern Appalachians and extreme southern part of the Central Appalachians in southwestern Virginia and adjacent parts of West Virginia and Tennessee. The full range south and west of Virginia is not known and needs additional investigation. The type should be sought in northern North Carolina, as it is a major type in Virginia within a few miles of the border. Within the known range, it is a large-patch type that covers extensive areas on the Southern Blue Ridge. It is more localized in the Ridge and Valley and Cumberland Mountains, where it favors the higher ridges.
Nations: US
States/Provinces: NC, TN, VA, WV
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.836330
Confidence Level: Moderate
Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available
Grank: G4?
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 | CEGL004817 Northern Red Oak - Chestnut Oak - (Cucumber-tree, Mountain Magnolia) / Striped Maple Forest | CEGL004817 | 1.B.2.Na.2.a |
Concept Lineage: No Data Available
Predecessors: No Data Available
Obsolete Names: No Data Available
Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: = Quercus rubra - Quercus montana - Magnolia (acuminata, fraseri) / Acer pensylvanicum Forest (Fleming and Patterson 2009a)
- Fleming, G. P., K. D. Patterson, and K. Taverna. 2017. The natural communities of Virginia: A classification of ecological community groups and community types. Third approximation. Version 3.0. Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, Division of Natural Heritage, Richmond, VA. [http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/natural-heritage/natural-communities/]
- Fleming, G. P., K. Taverna, and P. P. Coulling. 2007b. Vegetation classification for the National Capitol Region parks, eastern region. Regional (VA-MD-DC) analysis prepared for NatureServe and USGS-NPS Vegetation Mapping Program, March 2007. Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, Division of Natural Heritage, Richmond.
- Fleming, G. P., and K. D. Patterson. 2009a. A vegetation classification for the Appalachian Trail: Virginia south to Georgia. Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, Division of Natural Heritage. In-house analysis, March 2009.
- Fleming, G. P., and K. D. Patterson. 2009b. Classification of selected Virginia montane wetland groups. In-house analysis, December 2009. Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, Division of Natural Heritage, Richmond.
- Fleming, G. P., and K. Taverna. 2006. Vegetation classification for the National Capitol Region parks, western region. Regional (VA-WVA-MD-DC) analysis prepared for NatureServe and USGS-NPS Vegetation Mapping Program, March 2006. Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, Division of Natural Heritage, Richmond.
- Fleming, G. P., and P. P. Coulling. 2001. Ecological communities of the George Washington and Jefferson national forests, Virginia. Preliminary classification and description of vegetation types. Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, Division of Natural Heritage, Richmond, VA. 317 pp.
- Southeastern Ecology Working Group of NatureServe. No date. International Ecological Classification Standard: International Vegetation Classification. Terrestrial Vegetation. NatureServe, Durham, NC.
- WVNHP [West Virginia Natural Heritage Program]. No date. Unpublished data. West Virginia Natural Heritage Program, Elkins.