Title: Classification of Vegetation Communities of Maryland

Classification of Vegetation Communities of Maryland: First Iteration

A Subset of the International Classification of Ecological
Communities: Terrestrial Vegetation of the United States
March 2004

II. WOODLAND
II.C.3.N.a. Mixed needle-leaved evergreen - cold-deciduous woodland
II.C.3.N.a.9. PINUS (RIGIDA, PUNGENS, VIRGINIANA) - QUERCUS PRINUS WOODLAND ALLIANCE
(Pitch Pine, Table Mountain Pine, Virginia Pine) - Rock Chestnut Oak Woodland Alliance


Concept: This alliance includes woodland vegetation dominated by Pinus virginiana, possibly with a mixture of Pinus rigida, Pinus pungens, and/or Quercus prinus. Associations in this alliance are possible from central Pennsylvania southwest to Virginia and Tennessee, but tend to occur under extreme conditions (such as steep, shaley slopes) that maintain the open structure of the vegetation.

Range: This alliance is found in North Carolina, Tennessee, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia.

States/Provinces: MD NC PA TN VA WV

TNC Ecoregions: 43:?, 44:P, 50:C, 51:C, 52:?, 59:C

USFS Ecoregions: 231Aa:CCC, 231E:CC, M221Aa:CCC, M221Ab:CCC, M221Ba:CCP, M221Bd:CCC, M221Da:CCC, M221Dd:CCC

Federal Lands: USFS (Cherokee, Daniel Boone?, George Washington, Jefferson, Pisgah)

Synonymy: Virginia Pine: 79, in part (Eyre 1980)

References: Eyre 1980

Authors: D.J. ALLARD, RW, East Identifier: A.677

PINUS (VIRGINIANA, RIGIDA) - QUERCUS PRINUS / GAYLUSSACIA BACCATA - VACCINIUM PALLIDUM WOODLAND [PROVISIONAL]*
(Virginia Pine, Pitch Pine) - Rock Chestnut Oak / Black Huckleberry - Hillside Blueberry Woodland
Virginia Pine - Chestnut Oak Low- to Mid-Elevation Sandstone Pavement Barren              G?

* Nonstandard type (needs review)

Concept: Open to very open (sparse) woodland on sandstone pavement. Sparse trees include Pinus virginiana, Pinus rigida, Quercus prinus. Scattered herbs and shrubs: Gaylussacia baccata, Vaccinium pallidum, Melampyrum lineare, Schizachyrium scoparium, Hypericum gentianoides, Kalmia latifolia.

Range: The range of this community type includes the Appalachian Mountains in Maryland and possibly Virginia and West Virginia.

State/Provinces: MD:S?

TNC Ecoregions: 59:C

Authors: unknown Confidence: 1 Identifier: CEGL006563

PINUS VIRGINIANA - QUERCUS PRINUS / DESCHAMPSIA FLEXUOSA - CUNILA ORIGANOIDES WOODLAND
Virginia Pine - Rock Chestnut Oak / Wavy Hairgrass - Rock Oregano Woodland
Central Appalachian Acidic Shale Woodland                                                            G3 (98-12-14)   
Ecological Group (SCS;MCS):         Appalachian Shale Glades and Barrens (440-40; 2.3.4.4)

Concept: This shale barren woodland occurs in the central Appalachian Mountains from south-central Pennsylvania to southwestern Virginia. The community occurs on steep unstable shale slopes with areas of exposed bedrock. Canopy dominants are Pinus virginiana and Quercus prinus. Associates include Juniperus virginiana, Quercus rubra, Quercus velutina, Carya glabra, Carya ovata, and Fraxinus americana. The shrub layer is open and includes Vaccinium stamineum, Rosa carolina, Quercus ilicifolia, and Rhus copallinum. The ground layer is characterized by Carex pensylvanica, Danthonia spicata, Asplenium platyneuron, Cheilanthes lanosa, Helianthus divaricatus, Paronychia montana, Penstemon hirsutus, Viola pedata, Cunila origanoides, Potentilla simplex, Antennaria virginica, Packera antennariifolia (= Senecio antennariifolius), Houstonia longifolia (= var. longifolia, = Houstonia tenuifolia), Solidago arguta var. harrisii (= Solidago harrisii), Silene caroliniana ssp. pensylvanica (= Silene pensylvanica), and Phlox subulata. Southern examples may contain Clematis albicoma, Arabis serotina, and Penstemon pallidus (= Penstemon brevisepalus).

Comments: This community type is representative of shale barren vegetation to the north and south of the region of highest floristic endemism (west-central Virginia and adjacent West Virginia). Further data collection and analysis is needed to better characterize environmental factors influencing this association across its full geographic range.

Range: This community occurs in the Central Appalachian Mountains from the Ridge and Valley of south-central Pennsylvania and Maryland to eastern west Virginia and west-central Virginia. It appears to be the typical vegetation type of more northern shale barrens. In Virginia, this unit is restricted to the Ridge and Valley province. It is most common in northwestern Virginia (Page, Shenandoah, Warren, and Frederick counties), with disjunct stands in Craig and Botetourt counties, near the southern limits of shale barrens in Virginia.

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

TNC Ecoregions: 59:C

USFS Ecoregions: M221Aa:CCC, M221Ab:CC?, M221Bd:CCC

Synonymy: Chestnut oak-Virginia pine/hairgrass acidic shale woodland (northern type) (CAP pers. comm. 1998), Quercus prinus - Pinus virginiana / Deschampsia flexuosa - Selaginella rupestris - Packera antennariifolia Woodland (Fleming and Coulling 2001)

References: CAP pers. comm. 1998, Fleming and Coulling 2001, Fleming et al. 2001

Authors: G. Fleming and P. Coulling, ECS Confidence: 2 Identifier: CEGL006288

- Maryland Vegetation Classification Subset Report II. Woodland

 
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