Print Report

A3113 Quercus falcata - Carya pallida - Pinus spp. Mid-Atlantic Paleodune Woodland Alliance

Type Concept Sentence: This alliance consists of dry, nutrient-poor oak or oak-pine woodlands on sandy soils of ancient river sand-dune terraces on the Atlantic Coastal Plain and Piedmont from New Jersey south to Virginia. It occurs on well-drained to xeric substrates, and occasionally on dry upland flats with hardpan soils. Characteristic species include Quercus alba, Quercus falcata, Quercus velutina, Quercus stellata, Carya pallida, Carya tomentosa, and others.

Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Southern Red Oak - Sand Hickory - Pine species Mid-Atlantic Paleodune Woodland Alliance

Colloquial Name: Mid-Atlantic Paleodune Dry Oak - Sand Hickory Forest

Hierarchy Level:  Alliance

Type Concept: This alliance consists of dry, nutrient-poor oak forests of sandy soils and ancient river terraces and paleodunes on the Atlantic Coastal Plain and Piedmont from New Jersey south to Virginia. It occurs on well-drained to xeric substrates, and occasionally on dry upland flats with hardpan soils. Characteristic species include Quercus alba, Quercus falcata, Quercus velutina, Quercus stellata, Carya pallida, Carya tomentosa, and others. Pines, usually Pinus virginiana but may include Pinus rigida or Pinus echinata, are of various cover, and in some examples are dominant. Ericaceous shrubs and/or shrub oaks Quercus ilicifolia and Quercus prinoides dominate the understory, and the field layer is characterized by dry-site graminoids such as Carex pensylvanica, Schizachyrium scoparium, and forbs and ferns such as Gaultheria procumbens and Pteridium aquilinum.

Diagnostic Characteristics: Quercus alba or Quercus velutina with some combination of Quercus stellata, Quercus falcata, and Carya pallida on droughty soils of ancient river terraces on the Mid-Atlantic Coastal Plain.

Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available

Classification Comments: This alliance is currently placed within ~Northeastern Oak - Hickory Forest & Woodland Group (G650)$$ but its relationship is somewhat tenuous. This alliance is droughty, and generally nutrient-poor, unlike the other alliances of this group. It is placed here as it does not fit with other alliances either.

Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: This vegetation is characterized by an open deciduous canopy, sometimes with conifers admixed. The understory is generally very open, with an interrupted to absent shrub layer, sparsely distributed herbs; lichens are often abundant.

Floristics: Characteristic species include Quercus alba, Quercus falcata, Quercus velutina, Quercus stellata, Carya pallida, Carya tomentosa (= Carya alba), and others. One association is dominated by Quercus montana (= Quercus prinus). Pines, usually Pinus virginiana but may include Pinus rigida, Pinus taeda, or Pinus echinata, are of various cover, and in some examples are dominant. Ilex opaca may be present as a subcanopy tree. Ericaceous shrubs form an interrupted understory, usually mixtures of Vaccinium pallidum, Gaylussacia baccata, Gaylussacia frondosa, and Vaccinium stamineum, and the field layer is characterized by dry-site graminoids such as Carex pensylvanica, Carex tonsa var. tonsa, Carex nigromarginata, Carex albicans, or Schizachyrium scoparium, and forbs and ferns such as Baptisia tinctoria, Cypripedium acaule, Chimaphila maculata, Chimaphila umbellata, Clitoria mariana, Dichanthelium commutatum, Euphorbia ipecacuanhae, Gaultheria procumbens, and Pteridium aquilinum.

Dynamics:  No Data Available
Environmental Description:  This alliance occurs on sandy soils and ancient river sand-dune terraces on well-drained to xeric substrates, and occasionally on dry upland flats with hardpan soils.
Geographic Range: This alliance occurs on the Mid-Atlantic Coastal Plain and Piedmont from New Jersey south to Virginia.

Nations: US

States/Provinces:  DC, DE, MD, NJ, VA


Confidence Level: Low

Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available
Grank: GNR

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.9 Pitch Pine - oak spp. - American Holly North Atlantic Forest Macrogroup M525 1.B.2.Na.9
Group 1.B.2.Na.9.b Black Oak - American Beech - Pitch Pine Coastal Plain Forest Group G894 1.B.2.Na.9.b
Alliance A3113 Southern Red Oak - Sand Hickory - Pine species Mid-Atlantic Paleodune Woodland Alliance A3113 1.B.2.Na.9.b
Association CEGL006354 Virginia Pine - Southern Red Oak - Sand Hickory Forest CEGL006354 1.B.2.Na.9.b
Association CEGL006767 (Pitch Pine, Shortleaf Pine) / Pine Barren Golden-heather / Cup Lichen species Paleodune Woodland CEGL006767 1.B.2.Na.9.b
Association CEGL006851 Shortleaf Pine / (Southern Red Oak, Water Oak) / Blue Ridge Blueberry Forest CEGL006851 1.B.2.Na.9.b
Association CEGL006954 Southern Red Oak / Sand Hickory - Dwarf Chinkapin Oak / Pennsylvania Sedge Woodland CEGL006954 1.B.2.Na.9.b
Concept Lineage: from three different alliances (A.131, A.241, A.613)

Predecessors: No Data Available

Obsolete Names: No Data Available

Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: < Inland Dune Ridge (Coxe 2009)
> Oak - Shrub Oak Woodland (Ow) (Windisch 2014a)
< Paleodune alliance (Windisch 2014a)
> Paleodunes (Undifferentiated) (PD) (Windisch 2014a)
Concept Author(s): J. Harrison and A. Windisch, in Faber-Langendoen et al. (2013)

Author of Description: L. Sneddon

Acknowledgements: No Data Available

Version Date: 12-30-15
  • Coxe, R. 2009. Guide to Delaware vegetation communities. Spring 2009 edition. State of Delaware, Division of Fish and Wildlife, Delaware Natural Heritage Program, Smyrna.
  • 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.
  • Windisch, A .G. 2014a. Pinelands ecological communities and higher level groups with crosswalk / proposed 2008 revisions to NVC. November 16, 2014 draft. New Jersey Natural Heritage Program, Trenton.