Print Report

A3291 Quercus stellata - Quercus falcata - Quercus alba Interior Low Plateau Woodland Alliance

Type Concept Sentence: These are woodlands and open forests of the Interior Low Plateau and adjacent ecoregions, dominated by some combination of Quercus alba, Quercus falcata, Quercus marilandica, and/or Quercus stellata, with Carya tomentosa, Carya pallida, and/or Juniperus virginiana.

Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Post Oak - Southern Red Oak - White Oak Interior Low Plateau Woodland Alliance

Colloquial Name: Interior Low Plateau Mixed Oak Woodland

Hierarchy Level:  Alliance

Type Concept: These are woodlands and open forests of the Interior Low Plateau and adjacent ecoregions, including the Ridge and Valley, Piedmont, Gulf Coastal Plains, and the lower elevations of the Southern Blue Ridge. Examples are dominated by some combination of Quercus alba, Quercus falcata, Quercus marilandica, and/or Quercus stellata, with Carya tomentosa, Carya pallida, and/or Juniperus virginiana. Stands are typically found on dry-mesic terraces and midslopes, as well as lower slope hillsides and terraces. Soils are predominantly thin, well-drained, and gravelly. Canopy closure is incomplete and variable depending on fire history and management. The shrub layer may contain Aralia spinosa, Cornus florida, Rhus copallinum, and Sassafras albidum. The herbaceous layer may be dense and dominated by Schizachyrium scoparium and a diverse assemblage of grasses and forbs. These characteristic grasses and herbs include Agrimonia pubescens, Coreopsis tripteris, Dichanthelium spp., Elephantopus carolinianus, and Symphyotrichum shortii. Vines include Smilax glauca, which is characteristic of this drier environment, along with Parthenocissus quinquefolia and Toxicodendron radicans.

Diagnostic Characteristics: This alliance is at least partly defined on biogeographic criteria. It is by definition primarily found in the Interior Low Plateau (rather than the Ozarks or the Piedmont). Stands are dominated by a combination of wide-ranging hardwood species (Quercus alba, Quercus falcata, Quercus stellata), so these alone are not diagnostic.

Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available

Classification Comments: Should the Piedmont elements of this alliance be transferred elsewhere?

Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: These are woodlands and open forests. Canopy closure is incomplete and variable depending on fire history and management.

Floristics: These woodlands and open forests are dominated by some combination of Quercus alba, Quercus coccinea, Quercus falcata, Quercus marilandica, and/or Quercus stellata, with Carya tomentosa (= Carya alba), Carya carolinae-septentrionalis, Carya ovata, Carya pallida, Fraxinus americana, and/or Juniperus virginiana. Canopy closure is incomplete and variable depending on fire history and management. Common subcanopy and shrub species may include Aralia spinosa, Cornus florida, Rhus copallinum, Sassafras albidum, Symphoricarpos orbiculatus, Ulmus alata, Vaccinium stamineum, Viburnum prunifolium, and Viburnum rufidulum. The herbaceous layer may be dense and dominated by Schizachyrium scoparium and a diverse assemblage of grasses and forbs. These characteristic grasses and herbs include Agrimonia pubescens, Chimaphila maculata, Coreopsis major, Coreopsis tripteris, Desmodium spp., Dichanthelium spp., Elephantopus carolinianus, Solidago ulmifolia, Symphyotrichum shortii (= Aster shortii), and Tephrosia virginiana. Vines include Smilax glauca, which is characteristic of this drier environment, along with Parthenocissus quinquefolia and Toxicodendron radicans.

Dynamics:  Canopy closure is incomplete and variable depending on fire history and management. Fire, climate, native grazing and edaphic factors all likely played a role historically in maintaining an open structure in this vegetation. Loss of these natural processes often results in a shift toward a more closed canopy, an increase in successional woody species such as Juniperus spp., and a decrease in native grass cover.
Environmental Description:  Stands are typically found on dry-mesic terraces and midslopes, as well as lower slope hillsides and terraces. Soils are predominantly thin, well-drained, and gravelly. Forests of this alliance may occupy narrow bands of dry-mesic habitat transitional between lower and midslope mesic communities and xeric ridgetops. In parts of the Interior Low Plateaus and adjacent regions, these forests form a common matrix vegetation over acidic sandstone and shales.
Geographic Range: This wide-ranging alliance is found primarily in the Interior Low Plateau of Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky and Tennessee, as well as in the Ridge and Valley from Alabama to Kentucky. Some associations may range into the adjacent Piedmont, Gulf Coastal Plains, or marginally into the lower elevations of the Southern Blue Ridge.

Nations: US

States/Provinces:  AL, AR?, GA, IL, IN, KY, LA?, MO, MS, NC, SC, TN


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.1 White Oak - Southern Red Oak - Shortleaf Pine Forest & Woodland Macrogroup M016 1.B.2.Na.1
Group 1.B.2.Na.1.c White Oak - Southern Red Oak - Northern Red Oak Forest & Woodland Group G159 1.B.2.Na.1.c
Alliance A3291 Post Oak - Southern Red Oak - White Oak Interior Low Plateau Woodland Alliance A3291 1.B.2.Na.1.c
Association CEGL002417 Post Oak - Blackjack Oak - Southern Red Oak / Little Bluestem Sand Woodland CEGL002417 1.B.2.Na.1.c
Association CEGL003712 Post Oak / Rusty Blackhaw - Upland Swamp-privet / Big Bluestem Woodland CEGL003712 1.B.2.Na.1.c
Association CEGL003952 Post Oak - Blackjack Oak - (Mockernut Hickory, Sand Hickory) Upper East Gulf Coastal Plain Woodland CEGL003952 1.B.2.Na.1.c
Association CEGL004214 Southern Red Oak - (Scarlet Oak, Post Oak) / Little Bluestem Woodland CEGL004214 1.B.2.Na.1.c
Association CEGL004217 Post Oak - White Oak - (Southern Red Oak) / Little Bluestem Woodland CEGL004217 1.B.2.Na.1.c
Association CEGL004583 Post Oak - Eastern Red-cedar / Winged Elm - (American Smoketree) Woodland CEGL004583 1.B.2.Na.1.c
Association CEGL004670 Post Oak - Chinquapin Oak / Little Bluestem - Indiangrass Black Belt Woodland CEGL004670 1.B.2.Na.1.c
Association CEGL004686 Post Oak / Rusty Blackhaw / Little Bluestem - (Indiangrass, Eggert''s Sunflower) Woodland CEGL004686 1.B.2.Na.1.c
Association CEGL004709 Post Oak - (Scarlet Oak) / Blackjack Oak / Blue Ridge Blueberry - (Deerberry) Woodland CEGL004709 1.B.2.Na.1.c
Association CEGL004922 (Southern Red Oak, Post Oak) / Blackjack Oak / (Black Huckleberry, Dwarf Huckleberry) Woodland CEGL004922 1.B.2.Na.1.c
Association CEGL004987 Black Oak - (Mockernut Hickory, Pignut Hickory) / Farkleberry Forest CEGL004987 1.B.2.Na.1.c
Association CEGL005018 Southern Red Oak - White Oak - Post Oak - Black Oak Forest CEGL005018 1.B.2.Na.1.c
Association CEGL005022 Chestnut Oak / Greenbrier species Forest CEGL005022 1.B.2.Na.1.c
Association CEGL007247 Southern Red Oak - (Scarlet Oak, Post Oak) / (Blue Ridge Blueberry, Deerberry) Forest CEGL007247 1.B.2.Na.1.c
Association CEGL007700 Chestnut Oak - Oak species / Farkleberry - (Mountain Laurel, Bigleaf Snowbell) Forest CEGL007700 1.B.2.Na.1.c
Association CEGL007709 White Oak - Shagbark Hickory - Tuliptree - (Willow Oak) / Flowering Dogwood Forest CEGL007709 1.B.2.Na.1.c
Association CEGL007746 White Oak - (Southern Red Oak, Post Oak) / Slender Woodoats Forest CEGL007746 1.B.2.Na.1.c
Association CEGL007795 White Oak - Mockernut Hickory - (Black Oak) / Naked-flower Tick-trefoil - (Painted Sedge) Forest CEGL007795 1.B.2.Na.1.c
Association CEGL008406 Post Oak - Virginia Pine / (Little Bluestem, Blackseed Speargrass) Woodland CEGL008406 1.B.2.Na.1.c
Association CEGL008443 White Oak - Post Oak / Hophornbeam - Southern Sugar Maple / Longleaf Woodoats Forest CEGL008443 1.B.2.Na.1.c
Concept Lineage: This new alliance brings together associations from three old alliances. The majority of the associations are from A.625 (11/35), but others are from A.239 (1/29), A.241 (5/12) and A. 243 (1/7).

Predecessors: No Data Available

Obsolete Names: No Data Available

Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: >< IA6c. Dry Post Oak - Blackjack Oak Forest (Allard 1990)
>< IA6i. Interior Upland Dry-Mesic Oak - Hickory Forest (Allard 1990)
>< White Oak - Black Oak - Northern Red Oak: 52 (Eyre 1980)
Concept Author(s): M. Pyne, in Faber-Langendoen et al. (2013)

Author of Description: M. Pyne

Acknowledgements: We have incorporated significant descriptive information previously compiled by Alan Weakley, Judy Teague, and Sally Landaal.

Version Date: 01-08-14
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