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Classification of Vegetation Communities of Maryland: First Iteration
A Subset of the International Classification of Ecological
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I.
FOREST Concept: This alliance contains vegetation that can be described as dry oak and oak-hickory forests. These are usually dominated by a mixture of Quercus alba and Quercus falcata; Quercus stellata may be dominant or codominant. In addition, Quercus coccinea, Quercus velutina, Quercus marilandica, Carya alba, Carya glabra, Carya pallida, Carya carolinae-septentrionalis, Carya ovata, and Fraxinus americana often are present. Common subcanopy and shrub species include Oxydendrum arboreum, Acer rubrum, Ulmus alata, Juniperus virginiana var. virginiana, Vaccinium arboreum, Cornus florida, Sassafras albidum, Gaylussacia frondosa (= var. frondosa), Gaylussacia baccata, Vaccinium pallidum, and Vaccinium stamineum. Herbaceous species that may be present include Chimaphila maculata, Polystichum acrostichoides, Asplenium platyneuron, Hexastylis arifolia, Coreopsis major, Tephrosia virginiana, Sanicula canadensis, Desmodium nudiflorum, Desmodium nuttallii, Symphyotrichum urophyllum? (= Aster sagittifolius?), Symphyotrichum patens (= Aster patens), Solidago ulmifolia, and Hieracium venosum. These often are successional forests following logging and/or agricultural cropping (and possibly also chestnut blight in the southern Appalachians). Some examples occur in upland flats and have been called xerohydric because they occasionally will have standing water in the winter due to a perched water table, but are droughty by the end of the growing season. Other occurrences are found on well-drained sandy loam or clay loam soils that are often, although not always, shallow. Karst topography can be found in areas where this alliance occurs. Soils are most often a well-drained sandy loam, although clay loams are not uncommon. Forests of this alliance may occupy narrow bands of dry-mesic habitat transitional between lower and midslope mesic communities and xeric ridgetops. This alliance is found in the Upper East Gulf Coastal Plain, Piedmont, low mountains (including Cumberlands, Ridge and Valley, and low parts of the Southern Blue Ridge), and Interior Low Plateau. Distribution in the Atlantic Coastal Plain, East Gulf Coastal Plain, and Upper West Gulf Coastal Plain needs assessment. In the Shawnee Hills, Knobs, Coastal Plain, and Appalachian Plateau regions of Kentucky, these forests form a common matrix vegetation over acid sandstone and shales. These Kentucky forests are dominated by Quercus alba with little or no Quercus falcata and occupy middle to upper slope positions. In the southern Illinois portion of the range, examples occur on south- to west-facing slopes where increased temperatures favor Quercus falcata over Quercus rubra. Range: This alliance is found in southern Illinois, Indiana (?), Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Louisiana (?), Oklahoma (?), Texas (?), Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Delaware, Maryland, and New Jersey. This alliance is found in the Upper East Gulf Coastal Plain, Piedmont, low mountains, and Interior Low Plateau. Distribution in the Atlantic Coastal Plain, East Gulf Coastal Plain, and Upper West Gulf Coastal Plain needs assessment. In the Shawnee Hills, Knobs, Coastal Plain, and Appalachian Plateau regions of Kentucky, these forests form a common matrix vegetation over acid sandstone and shales. States/Provinces: AL AR CT DE GA IL IN? KY LA? MA MD MS NC NJ NY OK? SC TN TX? VA 45 TNC Ecoregions: 32:P, 40:C, 41:P, 42:C, 43:C, 44:C, 50:C, 51:C, 52:C, 53:P, 56:C, 57:P, 58:C, 59:P, 61:C, 62:C USFS Ecoregions: 221Ad:CPP, 221Dc:C??, 221Ha:CCP, 221Hc:CCC, 221Hd:CCP, 221He:CCP, 221Jb:CCC, 222Ca:CCP, 222Cb:CCC, 222Cc:CCP, 222Cd:CCP, 222Ce:CCP, 222Cf:CC?, 222Cg:CC?, 222Ch:CC?, 222Da:CCC, 222Dc:CCP, 222Dd:CCP, 222De:CCC, 222Df:CCP, 222Dg:CCC, 222Dh:CCC, 222Di:CCP, 222Dj:CCC, 222Ea:CCC, 222Eb:CCC, 222Ec:CCP, 222Ee:CCC, 222Ef:CCC, 222Eg:CCC, 222Eh:CCC, 222Ei:CCC, 222Ej:CCC, 222El:CCC, 222En:CCC, 231Aa:CCC, 231Ab:CCP, 231Ac:CCP, 231Ad:CCP, 231Ae:CCC, 231Af:CCC, 231Ag:CCC, 231Ah:CCP, 231Ai:CCC, 231Aj:CCP, 231Ak:CCC, 231Al:CCC, 231Am:CCC, 231An:CCC, 231Ao:CCC, 231Ap:CCC, 231Ba:CPP, 231Bc:CPP, 231Bd:CPP, 231Be:CP?, 231Ca:CCP, 231Cb:CCP, 231Cc:CCP, 231Cd:CCC, 231Ce:CCP, 231Cg:CCP, 231Da:CCC, 231Dc:CCC, 231De:CCC, 231Ea:CC?, 231Eb:CCC, 232Aa:CCC, 232Ab:CCC, 232Ac:CCC, 232Ad:CCP, 232Bl:CCP, 232Bm:CCP, 232Bn:CCP, 232Bq:CCC, 232Br:CCC, 232Bt:CCC, 232Bv:CCP, 232Bx:CCP, 232Bz:CCP, 232Ca:CP?, 232Ch:CP?, 232Fa:CP?, 234Aa:CC?, 234Ab:CCC, 234Ac:CCP, 234Ae:CCC, 234Ag:CC?, 234Ah:CCP, M221Aa:CC?, M221Ab:CCC, M221Da:CCC, M221Dd:CCC Federal Lands: DOD (Arnold, Fort Benning, Fort Gordon); DOE (Oak Ridge); NPS (Big South Fork, Chickamauga-Chattanooga, Cowpens, Fire Island, Great Smoky Mountains, Guilford Courthouse, Kennesaw Mountain, Kings Mountain, Ninety Six, Shiloh); TVA (Tellico); USFS (Bankhead, Chattahoochee?, Cherokee, Daniel Boone, Holly Springs?, Kisatchie?, Land Between the Lakes?, Oconee, Sabine NF?, St. Francis, Shawnee, Sumter, Talladega, Tombigbee?, Tuskegee?, Uwharrie); USFWS (Eufaula) Synonymy: IA6i. Interior Upland Dry-Mesic Oak - Hickory Forest, in part (Allard 1990); Acidic sub-xeric forest, in part (Evans 1991); Xerohydric flatwoods, in part (Evans 1991); Dry-Mesic Oak--Hickory Forest, in part (Schafale and Weakley 1990); Southern Red Oak RV (Pyne 1994); Post Oak-Black Hickory Series (Diamond 1993); Submesic Oak - Hickory Forest, in part (Foti 1994b); T1B4aIV. Quercus falcata - Quercus spp. (Foti et al. 1994); White Oak - Black Oak - Northern Red Oak: 52, in part (Eyre 1980); Maritime Oak - Holly Forest / Woodland (Swain and Kearsley 2001); Coastal Forest/Woodland (Swain and Kearsley 2001); Serpentine pitch pine - oak forest (Fike 1999); Eastern Serpentine Barren, in part (Smith 1991) References: Allard 1990, Andreu and Tukman 1995, Braun 1950, Diamond 1993, Evans 1991, Eyre 1980, Faber-Langendoen et al. 1996, Fike 1999, Foti 1994b, Foti et al. 1994, Fralish et al. 1991, Golden 1979, Oosting 1942, Peet and Christensen 1980, Pyne 1994, Robertson and Heikens 1994, Schafale and Weakley 1990, Smith 1991, Sneddon et al. 1996, Swain and Kearsley 2001, Voigt and Mohlenbrock 1964 Authors: M. PYNE/A.S. WEAKLEY 6-94, RW, Southeast Identifier: A.241 QUERCUS (FALCATA, ALBA, VELUTINA) / GAYLUSSACIA BACCATA - VACCINIUM PALLIDUM FOREST (Southern Red Oak, White Oak, Black Oak) / Black Huckleberry - Hillside Blueberry Forest G4G5 (97-12-01) Ecological Group (SCS;MCS): North Atlantic Coastal Plain Mixed Oak - Heath Forests (307-03; n/a) Concept: This oak forest of the unglaciated northeastern Coastal Plain occurs on well-drained acidic soils, generally sandy loam and silt/clay. The canopy is dominated by a mixture of oaks, such as Quercus alba, Quercus falcata, and Quercus velutina. Associates include Sassafras albidum, Quercus coccinea, Quercus prinus, Quercus stellata, Liquidambar styraciflua, Nyssa sylvatica, Carya spp., and Pinus taeda, with Ilex opaca and Cornus florida forming a subcanopy. The shrub layer is well-developed and dominated by ericaceous species such as Gaylussacia baccata, Gaylussacia frondosa, Vaccinium pallidum, and occasionally Lyonia mariana. States/Provinces: DE:S?, MD:S?, NC?, NJ:S3S4, VA:S? TNC Ecoregions: 58:C, 62:C USFS Ecoregions: 232Ab:CCC, 232Ac:CCC, 232Ad:CCP, 232Br:CCC, 232Bt:CCC, 232Bx:CCP, 232Bz:CCP, 232Ch:CP? Synonymy: Dry Oak-Pine Forest, mixed oak-pine forest subtype (Breden 1989), Pine - oak association (Shreve et al. 1910) B. in part, Quercus alba - Quercus coccinea - Quercus velutina / Gaylussacia baccata - Vaccinium stamineum Forest (Fleming pers. comm.) References: Breden 1989, Breden et al. 2001, Fleming et al. 2001, Fleming pers. comm., Shreve et al. 1910, Sneddon et al. 1996 Authors: ECS Confidence: 2 Identifier: CEGL006269 - Maryland Vegetation Classification Subset Report I.B. Deciduous forest
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This Page Up-dated on February 09, 2010