Classification of Vegetation Communities of Maryland: First Iteration

I. FOREST
I.B.2.N.a.37. QUERCUS PRINUS - QUERCUS (ALBA, FALCATA, RUBRA, VELUTINA) FOREST ALLIANCE
Rock Chestnut Oak - (White Oak, Southern Red Oak, Northern Red Oak, Black Oak) Forest Alliance

Concept: Dry-mesic to mesic forests dominated by Quercus prinus occurring in admixture with other Quercus species, in the Blue Ridge, Piedmont, Ridge and Valley, Cumberland Plateau, and the Interior Low Plateau. Quercus prinus is the leading dominant in these forests, but other common canopy species can include Quercus alba, Quercus coccinea, Quercus falcata, Quercus rubra, Quercus velutina, Acer rubrum, Carya alba, Carya glabra, Carya ovalis, Carya ovata, Carya pallida, Fagus grandifolia, Liriodendron tulipifera, Nyssa sylvatica, and Pinus strobus. The subcanopy often contains Cornus florida and Oxydendrum arboreum. Drier examples can contain Juniperus virginiana var. virginiana. Other common species in the subcanopy/shrub stratum include Acer rubrum, Carya glabra, Cercis canadensis, Hamamelis virginiana, Kalmia latifolia, Nyssa sylvatica, Rhododendron calendulaceum, Rhododendron maximum, Robinia pseudoacacia, Stewartia ovata, Symplocos tinctoria, Vaccinium stamineum, and Viburnum acerifolium. The ground flora varies depending on available light, moisture, and soil nutrients but can be quite diverse, especially in associations with sparse shrub cover. Herbaceous species characteristic of these dry-mesic to mesic oak - hickory forests include Symphyotrichum cordifolium (= Aster cordifolius), Symphyotrichum retroflexum (= Aster curtisii), Eurybia macrophylla (= Aster macrophyllus), Symphyotrichum undulatum (= Aster undulatus), Botrychium virginianum, Carex nigromarginata, Chimaphila maculata, Actaea racemosa (= Cimicifuga racemosa), Collinsonia canadensis, Coreopsis major, Cypripedium parviflorum var. pubescens (= Cypripedium pubescens), Danthonia compressa, Danthonia spicata, Dioscorea villosa, Epigaea repens, Eupatorium album, Eupatorium purpureum, Galax urceolata, Galium triflorum, Houstonia purpurea (= Hedyotis purpurea), Hieracium venosum, Iris cristata, Maianthemum racemosum, Medeola virginiana, Melanthium parviflorum, Polystichum acrostichoides, Prenanthes altissima, Pycnanthemum incanum, Scutellaria ovata, Tephrosia virginiana, Uvularia perfoliata, and Uvularia puberula. Vines are common and species that may be present include Parthenocissus quinquefolia, Smilax spp., and Toxicodendron radicans. In the Cumberland Plateau, forests in this alliance have replaced forests once dominated by Castanea dentata and often have chestnut sprouts in the understory. Forests in this alliance are known from moderately sheltered low ridges, flats, and valleys at lower elevations (762-1036 m; 2500-3400 feet) in the Blue Ridge and from upper slopes, draws, and gorge slopes in the Cumberland Plateau, and from upper to middle, dry-mesic slopes in the Piedmont. This alliance provisionally includes forests over limestone in the lower portions of the Ridge and Valley.

Range: This alliance is found in Alabama, Georgia (?), Kentucky, Mississippi (?), North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, New Jersey, New York, Virginia, West Virginia, and Ohio. Forests in this alliance occur in the Blue Ridge, Piedmont, Ridge and Valley, Cumberland Plateau, and the Interior Low Plateau.

States/Provinces: AL CT GA? KY MD? MS? NC NJ NY SC TN VA WV?

TNC Ecoregions: 43:C, 44:C, 50:C, 51:C, 52:C, 59:C, 61:C, 62:C

USFS Ecoregions: 221Ha:CCC, 221Hb:CCC, 221Hc:CCC, 221Hd:CCP, 221He:CCP, 221Jb:CCC, 222Cc:CCP, 222Ce:CCP, 222Cf:CCP, 222Cg:CCP, 222Eb:CCC, 222Ec:CCC, 222Eg:CCC, 222Eo:CCC, 222Fd:CCC, 231Aa:CCP, 231Ac:CCP, 231Af:CCC, 231Ah:CCP, 231Ai:CCC, 231Bc:CCC, 231Bd:CCC, 231Be:CCC, 231Bk:CCC, 231Db:CCC, 232Aa:CCC, 232Ab:CCC, 232Ac:CCC, M221Aa:CCC, M221Ab:CCC, M221Ca:CCP, M221Cb:CCP, M221Cc:CCC, M221Cd:CCC, M221Ce:CCC, M221Da:CCC, M221Db:CCP, M221Dc:CCC, M221Dd:CCC

Federal Lands: DOE (Oak Ridge); NPS (Chickamauga-Chattanooga, Kennesaw Mountain, Kings Mountain); TVA (Tellico); USFS (Cherokee, Daniel Boone, George Washington, , Holly Springs?, Jefferson, Land Between the Lakes?, Nantahala, Oconee?, Pisgah, Sumter, Talladega, Uwharrie)

Synonymy: Chestnut Oak Slope and Ridge Forest (Wieland 1994b); Dry-Mesic Oak--Hickory Forest, in part (Schafale and Weakley 1990); Mixed Oak, Yellow Poplar, Hickory (McLeod 1988); Mesic Oak-Hickory Forest (Patterson 1994); Oak-Hickory Cover Type (Thomas 1966); Mixed Oak Cover Type (Thomas 1966); Chestnut Oak: 44, in part (Eyre 1980); White Oak - Black Oak - Northern Red Oak: 52, in part (Eyre 1980)

References: Andreu and Tukman 1995, Eyre 1980, Fralish and Crooks 1989, Franklin et al. 1993, Golden 1979, Martin 1971, McLeod 1988, Nowacki and Abrams 1992, Patterson 1994, Schafale and Weakley 1990, Schmalzer 1978, Schmalzer and DeSelm 1982, Thomas 1966, Wells 1970c, Wells 1974, Wieland 1994b

Authors: M.P. SCHAFALE/A.S. WEAKLE, RW, Southeast Identifier: A.249

Concept: This community type is associated with substrates weathered from shale and similar metasedimentary rocks in the central Appalachian region. It appears to be widespread at low elevations of the Ridge and Valley province in Virginia, south at least to the New River, and more local on the western flank of the northern Blue Ridge, and may extend into the Ridge and Valley of West Virginia and/or Maryland. Sites in the Ridge and Valley are distributed on low shale knobs and ridges, or at the base of higher sandstone ridges, where local shale strata have been exposed by stream incision. On the Blue Ridge, stands are confined to a belt of metasedimentary rocks that overlie the plutonic basement complex on the western side of the anticlinorium. Habitats encompass dry, most east- to south-facing slopes, hollows, and broad, sub-level ridge crests at low elevations (<600 m or 2000 feet). Slope shape is generally convex in at least one direction. The characteristic vegetation of this unit is an open oak-hickory or oak-hickory-pine forest dominated by Quercus prinus and Quercus alba, with high cover of Carya spp., especially Carya glabra. Quercus velutina and Quercus rubra are less frequent, but locally codominant trees. Total canopy cover is usually in the 60-80% range, and dominant canopy trees typically do not much exceed, and in some situations do not reach, 20 m in height. Minor canopy associates include Carya alba, Carya ovalis, Pinus echinata, Pinus strobus, Pinus virginiana, Quercus coccinea, and Quercus stellata. Young representatives of most canopy species are common in the understory, along with Cornus florida and Amelanchier arborea. Generally, there is a moderate to sparse representation of ericaceous (heath family) shrubs in this community type. However, on gentle ridge crests, where litter and humus tend to accumulate, Vaccinium pallidum may dominate the herb layer in low colonies. On the more extensive steep, convex slopes, where litter accumulations are thin and patchy, ericads are sparse and herbaceous richness tends to be moderately high, although total herb cover is usually quite sparse.

Comments: The global range and status of this community type need further investigation. It may occur on a wider variety of substrates, and cover a much larger geographic area, than current documentation indicates.

Increment cores taken from old trees in the Peters Mountain area of Alleghany County (James River Ranger District) - e.g., a 44 cm (17 in.) dbh Quercus alba ca. 225 years old, a 49 cm (19 in.) dbh Quercus alba ca. 155 years old, and a 46 cm (18 in.) dbh coppice sprout of Quercus prinus ca. 175 years old - indicate slow growth rates in stands of this type (Fleming and Moorhead 2000). Data collected from throughout the Peters Mountain study area also indicate that Castanea dentata was much less important in pre-blight forests on shale compared to those on the area's sandstone ridges (Fleming and Moorhead 2000).

Range: This community type is associated with substrates weathered from shale and similar metasedimentary rocks (e.g., metasiltstone) in the central Appalachian region. It appears to be widespread at low elevations of the Ridge and Valley province in Virginia, south at least to the New River, and more local on the western flank of the northern Blue Ridge. Although not documented in either West Virginia or Maryland, its occurrence in the Ridge and Valley portions of these states seems probable. Within its known distribution, this unit is a matrix community type in localities of optimal habitat.

States/Provinces: MD?, VA:S?, WV?

TNC Ecoregions: 50:C, 59:C

USFS Ecoregions: M221Aa:CCC, M221Ab:CCC, M221Da:CCC

Federal Lands: USFS (George Washington, Jefferson)

Synonymy: Quercus alba - Quercus prinus - Carya glabra / Cornus florida / Vaccinium pallidum / Carex pensylvanica Forest (Fleming and Coulling 2001) =, Quercus alba - Quercus montana - Carya glabra / Carex pensylvanica Forest (Fleming and Moorhead 2000), Quercus prinus - Quercus rubra - Carya ovalis / Cornus florida / Desmodium nudiflorum Association: Helianthus divaricatus - Carex pensylvanica - Dichanthelium boscii - Arabis laevigata Subassociation, pro parte (Rawinski et al. 1996). see CEGL008516., White Oak - Black Oak - Northern Red Oak: 52 (Eyre 1980) B

References: Eyre 1980, Fleming and Coulling 2001, Fleming and Moorhead 2000, Fleming et al. 2001, Rawinski et al. 1996

Authors: G. Fleming and P. Coulling, ECS Confidence: Identifier: CEGL008515

- Maryland Vegetation Classification Subset Report I.B. Deciduous forest

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