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Classification of Vegetation Communities of Maryland: First Iteration
A Subset of the International Classification of Ecological
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VII. SPARSE VEGETATION Concept: This alliance includes dry to rather moist limestone and dolomite outcrops, usually shaded by trees rooted in adjacent forested communities. Vascular and nonvascular vegetation are sparse in stands of this alliance. Calciphilic herbs, such as Asplenium ruta-muraria, Pellaea atropurpurea, Pellaea glabella ssp. glabella, Asplenium resiliens, Aquilegia canadensis, and others occupy suitable crevices. Moister microhabitats of the crevice may have mosses such as Anomodon rostratus and Anomodon attenuatus. Range: This alliance is found in Alabama, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia, and possibly Georgia (?). States/Provinces: AL GA? KY MD NC NH NY PA SC TN VA VT WV TNC Ecoregions: 48:P, 50:C, 51:C, 59:C, 60:P, 61:C, 63:C, 64:P USFS Ecoregions: 212Ec:CCC, 221A:CC, 221B:CC, 221Hb:CCC, 221Hc:CCC, 221Ja:CCC, 222Eo:CCC, 231Ak:C??, 231Ca:CPP, 231Cb:CPP, 231Cc:CPP, 231Cd:CPP, 231Ce:CPP, 231Cf:CPP, 231Cg:CPP, 231Da:CPP, 231Db:CPP, 231Dc:CPP, 231Dd:CPP, 231De:CPP, M212B:CP, M212C:CC, M221Aa:CCC, M221Ac:CCC, M221Bb:CCP, M221Be:CCC, M221Dc:CCC Federal Lands: NPS (Great Smoky Mountains); USFS (Pisgah) Synonymy: Montane Calcareous Cliff, in part (Schafale and Weakley 1990) References: Schafale and Weakley 1990 Authors: SCS/ECS, RW, Southeast Identifier: A.1832 ASPLENIUM RUTA-MURARIA - PELLAEA ATROPURPUREA SPARSE VEGETATION Wall-rue - Purple Cliffbrake Sparse Vegetation Montane Cliff (Calcareous Type) G3G4 (97-08-11) Ecological Group (SCS;MCS): Eastern Dry Alkaline Cliffs (430-50; 2.4.3.1) Concept: This community includes calcareous cliffs associated with limestone or dolomite geology in Alabama, Kentucky, Maryland, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia, and may possibly range into South Carolina. It has little vegetative cover, often with 90% of the rock surface unvegetated. Mosses and lichens can have moderate coverage, and vascular plants occur on ledges and rooted in cracks. Calciphilic herbs, such as Asplenium ruta-muraria, Pellaea atropurpurea, Pellaea glabella ssp. glabella, Asplenium resiliens, Aquilegia canadensis, are characteristic. Moister microhabitats of the crevice may have mosses such as Anomodon rostratus and Anomodon attenuatus. This community includes dry to rather moist limestone and dolomite outcrops, usually shaded by trees rooted in adjacent forested communities. Comments: This community is extremely uncommon in the Southern Blue Ridge. Range: This community occurs in areas of limestone or dolomite geology from Pennsylvania south to Alabama. It is found primarily in the Ridge and Valley and Cumberland Plateau, but ranges into scattered areas in the Blue Ridge. States/Provinces: AL:S?, GA?, KY:S?, MD:S?, NC:S1, PA:S?, SC:S?, TN:S?, VA:S?, WV:S? TNC Ecoregions: 50:C, 51:C, 59:C, 60:P USFS Ecoregions: 221Hb:CCC, 221Hc:CCC, 221Ja:CCC, 222Eo:CCC, M221Aa:CCC, M221Ac:CCC, M221Bb:CCP, M221Be:CCC, M221Dc:CCC Federal Lands: NPS (Great Smoky Mountains); USFS (Pisgah) Synonymy: IE1a. Southern Appalachian Calcareous Cliff (Allard 1990), Montane Cliff (Calcareous Subtype) (Schafale 1998b), Spleenwort-cliffbrake calcareous cliff (CAP pers. comm. 1998) References: Allard 1990, CAP pers. comm. 1998, Fike 1999, Fleming et al. 2001, Schafale 1998b, Schafale and Weakley 1990 Authors: SCS Confidence: 2 Identifier: CEGL004476 - Maryland Vegetation Classification Subset Report VII. Sparse Vegetation |
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