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Classification of Vegetation Communities of Maryland: First Iteration
A Subset of the International Classification of Ecological
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III. SHRUBLAND
Concept: This alliance includes vine-covered maritime sand dunes. Generally confined to barrier beach systems, this vegetation is comprised of dense vines that cover the crests of dunes exposed to salt spray and winds. Very little soil development occurs, and the water table is located greater than 1 m below the soil surface. The dominant species of any single dune may be one of any number of vine species such as Smilax glauca, Smilax rotundifolia, Vitis rotundifolia, Parthenocissus quinquefolia, or Toxicodendron radicans. In some cases, the vines are low-growing and occur directly on the sand surface, but in others, the vegetation has a height of 1 m or more, with vines growing over older stems of the same species, or over other shrubs such as Morella pensylvanica (= Myrica pensylvanica) or Morella cerifera (= Myrica cerifera). The vegetation is generally low to the ground (less than 0.5 m tall) and generally covers 70-80% of the surface of the ground, the remainder being exposed sand. Range: This alliance is found in North Carolina, Delaware, Maryland, New York, and possibly Virginia (?). States/Provinces: DE MA MD NC NJ NY VA? TNC Ecoregions: 57:C, 58:C, 61:P, 62:C USFS Ecoregions: 221A:CC, 232Aa:CCC, 232Ab:CCC, 232Ac:CCC, 232Bt:CCP, 232Bz:CCC, 234An:PPP Federal Lands: NPS (Assateague Island, Fire Island) Synonymy: Vine dune (Martin 1959b); Greenbrier thicket (Martin 1959b); Maritime Dune Community (Swain and Kearsley 2001); Maritime Shrubland Community (Swain and Kearsley 2001) References: Martin 1959b, Swain and Kearsley 2001 Authors: ECS, JT, East Identifier: A.909 SMILAX GLAUCA - TOXICODENDRON RADICANS VINE-SHRUBLAND Whiteleaf Greenbrier - Poison-ivy Vine-Shrubland North Atlantic Coastal Plain Vine Dune G? (97-12-01) Ecological Group (SCS;MCS): Atlantic and Gulf Coast Maritime Shrublands (240-30; n/a) Concept: This community is best described as vine-covered maritime sand dunes. Generally confined to barrier beach systems of the North Atlantic, this vegetation is comprised of dense vines that cover the crests of dunes exposed to wind, salt spray and periodic overwash by storm tides. Very little soil development occurs, and the water table is well below 1 m in depth. The dominant species of any single dune may be one of several vine species such as Smilax glauca, Smilax rotundifolia, Vitis rotundifolia, Parthenocissus quinquefolia, or Toxicodendron radicans. In some cases, the vines are shallowly rooted in sand or growing over older vine stems or other living or dead shrubs such as Morella pensylvanica (= Myrica pensylvanica). Scattered dune grassland species may be present like Ammophila breviligulata, Lechea maritima, Solidago sempervirens, and Hudsonia tomentosa. Diagnostic species are Smilax glauca, Smilax rotundifolia, Toxicodendron radicans, and Parthenocissus quinquefolia. The vegetation is generally low to the ground (less than half a meter tall) and generally covers 70-80% of the surface of the ground, the remainder being exposed sand. This vegetation is not widely described in the literature, but is likely to occur in New England south to Maryland and perhaps Virginia. Range: This type is likely to occur in New England south to Maryland and perhaps Virginia. States/Provinces: DE:S?, MA:S2,S2,S3, MD:S?, NJ:S?, NY:S3, VA? TNC Ecoregions: 58:C, 62:C USFS Ecoregions: 221A:CC, 232Aa:CCC, 232Ab:CCC, 232Ac:CCC, 232Bt:CCP, 232Bz:CCC Federal Lands: NPS (Assateague Island, Fire Island) Synonymy: Greenbrier thicket (Martin 1959b). New Jersey., Coastal dune community (Rawinski 1984), SNE coastal rocky headland community (Rawinski 1984) References: Berdine 1998, Bowman 2000, Edinger et al. 2002, Martin 1959b, Rawinski 1984, Reschke 1990, Sneddon and Lundgren 2001, Swain and Kearsley 2001 Authors: S.L. Neid, ECS Confidence: 2 Identifier: CEGL003886 - Maryland Vegetation Classification Subset Report III. Shrubland
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This Page Up-dated on February 09, 2010