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A0902 Morella pensylvanica Dune Shrubland Alliance
Type Concept Sentence: This alliance includes maritime shrublands and dune thickets of the Mid-Atlantic Coast dominated by Morella pensylvanica, with Baccharis halimifolia and Rhus copallinum, ranging from North Carolina to southern Maine.
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Northern Bayberry Dune Shrubland Alliance
Colloquial Name: Northern Bayberry Dune Shrubland
Hierarchy Level: Alliance
Type Concept: This alliance includes maritime shrublands and dune thickets of the Mid-Atlantic Coast dominated by Morella pensylvanica, with Baccharis halimifolia, Rhus copallinum, as well as vines such as Smilax glauca, Smilax rotundifolia, Vitis rotundifolia, Parthenocissus quinquefolia, or Toxicodendron radicans. Prunus maritima is characteristic of this community from Maryland to the north. The constant movement of sand in this community limits the herbaceous cover. Typical herbaceous species include Ammophila breviligulata, Cenchrus tribuloides, Chamaesyce polygonifolia, Cyperus grayi, Dichanthelium acuminatum, Diodia teres, Hudsonia tomentosa, Lechea maritima, Oenothera humifusa, Panicum amarum var. amarulum, Parthenocissus quinquefolia, Rumex acetosella, Solidago sempervirens, Spartina patens, and Triplasis purpurea. This maritime shrubland usually occupies the intermediate areas between the very unstable oceanward portions of the dunes and the more protected backdunes, where it forms open shrubland with much bare sand to dense shrub thickets. The substrate is sand with no soil profile development, and with variable amounts of accumulated leaf litter. Where this community occupies the lee side of foredunes, greater exposure to winds and storms contributes to a shorter stature and more open aspect of the vegetation. Here there are large patches of open unvegetated or sparsely vegetated sand.
Diagnostic Characteristics: Dominance by Morella pensylvanica occurring on foredunes and backdunes with variable amounts of exposed sand.
Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available
Classification Comments: No Data Available
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: This alliance is generally patchy, with substantial areas of bare sand where it is on more exposed foredunes, but greater shrub cover in more sheltered locations. Deciduous shrubs are dominant, and vines may be prominent, sometimes with little to no other shrub cover. In some cases, the vines are low-growing and occur directly on the sand surface, but in others, the vegetation has a height of 1 m or more, with vines growing over older stems of the same species, or over other shrubs.
Floristics: This vegetation is dominated by Morella pensylvanica (= Myrica pensylvanica), with Baccharis halimifolia, Rhus copallinum, as well as vines such as Smilax glauca, Smilax rotundifolia, Vitis rotundifolia, Parthenocissus quinquefolia, or Toxicodendron radicans. Prunus maritima is characteristic of this community from Maryland to the north. The constant movement of sand in this community limits the herbaceous cover. Typical herbaceous species include Ammophila breviligulata, Cenchrus tribuloides, Chamaesyce polygonifolia, Cyperus grayi, Dichanthelium acuminatum, Diodia teres, Hudsonia tomentosa, Lechea maritima, Oenothera humifusa, Panicum amarum var. amarulum, Parthenocissus quinquefolia, Rumex acetosella, Solidago sempervirens, Spartina patens (= var. monogyna), and Triplasis purpurea.
Dynamics: Where this community occupies the lee side of foredunes, greater exposure to winds and storms contributes to a shorter stature and more open aspect of the vegetation. Here there are large patches of open unvegetated or sparsely vegetated sand. Sand burial can kill shrubs, resulting in expansion of the vine component where partial stems can re-establish over the sand surface.
Environmental Description: This maritime shrubland usually occupies the intermediate areas between the very unstable oceanward portions of the dunes and the more protected backdunes, where it forms partially open to dense shrub thickets. The substrate is sand with no soil profile development, and with variable amounts of accumulated leaf litter.
Geographic Range: This alliance ranges from northern North Carolina along the coast to southern Maine.
Nations: US
States/Provinces: CT, DE, MA, MD, ME, NC, NH, NJ, NY, RI, VA
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.899040
Confidence Level: Moderate
Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available
Grank: GNR
Greasons: No Data Available
Concept Lineage: No Data Available
Predecessors: No Data Available
Obsolete Names: No Data Available
Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: = Prunus maritima-Myrica pensylvanica coastal dune scrub (Clancy 1993b)
? Greenbrier thicket (Martin 1959b)
>< Shrub succession community (Hill 1986)
>< dunegrass-shrub transition zone (Higgins et al. 1971)
>< upland (dune) thicket (Klotz 1986)
? Greenbrier thicket (Martin 1959b)
>< Shrub succession community (Hill 1986)
>< dunegrass-shrub transition zone (Higgins et al. 1971)
>< upland (dune) thicket (Klotz 1986)
- Clancy, K. 1993b. A preliminary classification of the natural communities of Delaware. Unpublished draft. Delaware Natural Heritage Inventory, Division of Parks and Recreation, Dover. 30 pp.
- Faber-Langendoen, D., J. Drake, M. Hall, G. Kittel, S. Menard, C. Nordman, M. Pyne, M. Reid, M. Russo, K. Schulz, L. Sneddon, K. Snow, and J. Teague. 2013-2019b. Screening alliances for induction into the U.S. National Vegetation Classification: Part 1 - Alliance concept review. NatureServe, Arlington, VA.
- Higgins, E. A. T., R. D. Rappleye, and R. G. Brown. 1971. The flora and ecology of Assateague Island. University of Maryland Experiment Station Bulletin A-172. 70 pp.
- Hill, S. R. 1986. An annotated checklist of the vascular flora of Assateague Island (Maryland and Virginia). Castanea 5:265-305.
- Klotz, L. H. 1986. The vascular flora of Wallops Island and Wallops Mainland, Virginia. Castanea 51:306-326.
- Martin, W. E. 1959b. The vegetation of Island Beach State Park, New Jersey. Ecological Monographs 29:1-46.
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- Sneddon, L., M. Anderson, and K. Metzler. 1996. Community alliances and elements of the Eastern Region. Unpublished report. The Nature Conservancy, Eastern Heritage Task Force, Boston, MA. 235 pp.
- Swain, P. C., and J. B. Kearsley. 2011. Classification of the natural communities of Massachusetts. Version 1.4. Natural Heritage & Endangered Species Program, Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife, Westborough, MA. [http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/dfg/dfw/natural-heritage/natural-communities/classification-of-natural-communities.html]