Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available

Floristics: No Data Available

Dynamics:  Mixed pine-shrub oak barrens are maintained by mean fire-return intervals of perhaps 20-30 years, which is frequent enough to maintain an open canopy and pine-shrub oak dominance, but is too frequent for tree-oaks to reproduce well and dominate. The incongruity of high shortleaf pine cover in a pine-shrub oak barrens appears associated with slightly fire-protected landscape positions having milder fire intensity regimes, with more scorching fires than crowning fires. Common associates post oak, dwarf chestnut oak, pine barrens sandwort and Pickering''s morning glory are also species that are more sensitive to intense fire regimes, indicating a somewhat milder fire regime than in pitch pine-shrub oak barrens. Mixed pine-shrub oak barrens often mix with and grade into pine-oak-shrub oak woodland types where tree oaks exceed 5% cover, further indicating a locally milder fire regime. Fire frequencies may also be somewhat reduced. Slightly fire-protected landscape positions where Pb1 is found include fire shadows next to rivers and swamps, smaller firesheds of the western pine-oak subregion where mosaics of pine-shrub oak barrens and OP/PO/POw types with tree-oaks co-occur, and open sandy sites with sparser fuel loads such as xeric river terraces, eolian sand deposits or historical disturbances.