Classification of Vegetation Communities of Maryland: First Iteration

V. HERBACEOUS VEGETATION
V.A.5.N.c. Medium-tall sod temperate or subpolar grassland
V.A.5.N.c.2. AMMOPHILA BREVILIGULATA HERBACEOUS ALLIANCE
American Beachgrass Herbaceous Alliance
 

Concept: Dune grasslands dominated by Ammophila breviligulata. This alliance includes maritime dune grasslands dominated by Ammophila breviligulata, Panicum amarum var. amarum, and Panicum amarum var. amarulum. Plant cover is variable, ranging from 10-75%, but is usually low. Other associated species include Solidago sempervirens, Strophostyles helvula, Triplasis purpurea, Cenchrus tribuloides, Chamaesyce polygonifolia, Oenothera humifusa, Schoenoplectus pungens (= Scirpus pungens) (where overwashed by sand), Diodia teres, Cakile edentula ssp. edentula, Nuttallanthus canadensis, Salsola kali ssp. kali (= Salsola caroliniana), Lechea maritima, and Spartina patens. Sparse individuals of stunted Morella pensylvanica (= Myrica pensylvanica) shrubs and seedlings may occur, but make up less than 2% of the total vegetation cover. Diagnostic species are Ammophila breviligulata, Solidago sempervirens, Panicum amarum var. amarulum, and Oenothera humifusa. This dune grassland community occurs almost exclusively on sandy, unstable, droughty substrates with no soil profile development. Eolian processes cause active sand deposition and erosion. The sand substrate is usually visible, and litter accumulation from plant debris is nearly absent. This community generally occurs on foredunes that receive the force of wind and salt spray, but is beyond the influence of most storm tides.

Comments: This grassland often occurs in a complex with Morella pensylvanica / Diodia teres Shrubland (CEGL003881). It is restricted to the mid-Atlantic Coast and is vulnerable to development pressure.

Range: This alliance occurs on dunes and sandy shores from Maine south to northern North Carolina, on Lake Champlain shorelines in Vermont, and on the Great Lakes shoreline in Michigan, Wisconsin, and Ontario, Canada.

States/Provinces: CT DE IL IN MA MD ME MI NC NH NJ NY ON RI VA VT WI

TNC Ecoregions: 48:C, 57:C, 58:C, 62:C, 63:C, 64:C

USFS Ecoregions: 212Cb:CCC, 212Db:CCC, 212Dc:CCC, 212Ec:CPP, 212Hd:CCC, 212He:CCC, 212Hi:CCP, 212Hj:CCC, 212Hl:CCC, 212Hm:CCP, 212Hn:CCC, 212Ho:CCC, 212Hr:CCP, 212Hw:CCC, 212Hx:CCC, 212Ia:CCC, 212Ja:CCC, 212Oa:CCC, 212Ob:CCC, 212Pa:CCC, 221Aa:CCP, 221Ab:CCC, 221Ac:CCC, 221Ad:CCC, 221Aj:CCP, 221Ak:CCC, 221E:CC, 222Ia:CPP, 222Ie:CPP, 222Ja:CCC, 222Jj:CCC, 222Kg:CCC, 232Aa:CCC, 232Ab:CCC, 232Ac:CCC, 232Bc:CCP, 232Bd:CCP, 232Bt:CCP, 232Bz:CCC, 232Ch:CCC

Federal Lands: NPS (Acadia, Assateague Island, Fire Island)

Synonymy: Dune Grass, in part (Schafale and Weakley 1990); Dunegrass community (Hill 1986); dunegrass community (Higgins et al. 1971); Mid-Atlantic Ammophila breviligulata - Panicum amarulum dune grassland variant (Clancy 1993b); Ammophila - Panicum amarum dunes (Harvill 1965); Panicum - Ammophila community (Egler 1962); foredune (Klotz 1986); foredune (Boule 1979); sand dune (Fender 1937); dune community (Baumann 1978b); Coastal dune grass community (Breden 1989); primary dune (Stalter 1990); dunegrass community (Clampitt 1991); Maritime Dune Community (Swain and Kearsley 2001)

References: Baumann 1978b, Boule 1979, Breden 1989, Chapman et al. 1989, Clampitt 1991, Clancy 1993b, Egler 1962, Faber-Langendoen et al. 1996, Fender 1937, Harvill 1965, Higgins et al. 1971, Hill 1986, Klotz 1986, Martin 1959b, Schafale and Weakley 1990, Sneddon 1996, Stalter 1990, Swain and Kearsley 2001

Authors: ECS, JT, East Identifier: A.1207

Comments: This grassland often occurs in a complex with Morella pensylvanica / Diodia teres Shrubland (CEGL003881). It contains several species characteristic to Cakile edentula ssp. edentula - Mertensia maritima Sparse Vegetation (CEGL006106), but this grassland is differentiated by (1) its location beyond storm tide influence, (2) dominance by perennial rather than annual species, (3) greater plant cover on average, and (4) greater prevalence of Solidago sempervirens. Ammophila breviligulata - Lathyrus japonicus Herbaceous Vegetation (CEGL006274) is the northern analog of this association; it is the beach grass-dominated primary dune association of the North Atlantic Coast. This association differs in being codominated by Panicum amarum, whereas CEGL006274 lacks Panicum amarum as a significant component and has or is codominated by Lathyrus japonicus. These two associations overlap geographically in southern New Jersey.

Range: This community occurs on maritime dunes from Long Island, New York, south to North Carolina.

States/Provinces: DE:S2?, MD:S?, NC:S3, NJ:S1S2, VA:S?

TNC Ecoregions: 57:C, 58:C, 62:C

USFS Ecoregions: 232Ab:CCP, 232Ac:CCC, 232Bt:CCP, 232Bz:CCC, 232Ch:CCC

Federal Lands: NPS (Assateague Island)

Synonymy: Dune Grass (Northern Subtype) (Schafale 2000), Dunegrass community (Hill 1986) =. Assateague Island., Dunegrass community (Higgins et al. 1971) =. Assateague Island., Mid-Atlantic Ammophila breviligulata, Panicum amarulum dune grassland variant (Clancy 1993a) =. Delaware., Ammophila, Panicum amarum dunes (Harvill 1965) =. Virginia., Panicum, Ammophila community (Egler 1962) =. Virginia., Foredune (Klotz 1986) =. Virginia., Foredune (Boule 1979) =. Virginia., Dune community (Baumann 1978b) =. Virginia., Primary dune (Stalter and Lamont 1990) B. Assateague Island, Virginia., Dunegrass community (Clampitt 1991) B. Virginia., Coastal dune grass community (Breden 1989) B. New Jersey., Sand dune (Fender 1937) =. southern New Jersey.

References: Baumann 1978b, Berdine 1998, Boule 1979, Bowman 2000, Breden 1989, Breden et al. 2001, Clampitt 1991, Clancy 1993a, Egler 1962, Fender 1937, Fleming 2001, Fleming et al. 2001, Harvill 1965, Higgins et al. 1971, Hill 1986, Klotz 1986, Schafale 2000, Schafale and Weakley 1990, Stalter and Lamont 1990

Authors: L.A. Sneddon, ECS Confidence: 2 Identifier: CEGL004043

- Maryland Vegetation Classification Subset Report V.A. Perennial graminoid vegetation

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