Name:
A.238
Reference:
EcoArt 2002
Description:
This alliance includes hardwood forests of the Coastal Plain dominated by ~Quercus alba$. Stands assigned to this alliance are intermediate in moisture status, falling between the most mesic ~Quercus alba$ forests (accommodated by alliance A.228) in which ~Fagus grandifolia$ is usually codominant, and drier ~Quercus alba $ forests (accommodated by A.241) in which ~Quercus falcata$ or ~Quercus stellata$ is codominant. These forests are found in the Mid-Atlantic Coastal Plain of Virginia and North Carolina, westward to the Upper West and West Gulf Coastal Plain of Arkansas and Texas. In most of this range, these forests occur outside the natural distribution of both ~Quercus rubra$ and ~Carya ovata$, although ~Quercus rubra$ may be present in limited parts of the East Gulf Coastal Plain, and ~Carya ovata$ may be present in the West Gulf Coastal Plain. While limited amounts of ~Fagus grandifolia$ may be present in the most mesic occurrences, examples in which ~Fagus grandifolia$ is a dominant species would be accommodated in another alliance as noted above. ~Quercus nigra$ is given as a nominal for its value as an indicator species, as the associations in this alliance occur within the range of this species and are likely to contain it, although not necessarily as a canopy codominant. . Associated species include ~Carya alba, Carya glabra, Carya ovalis, Carya pallida, Liquidambar styraciflua, Pinus taeda, Pinus echinata, Quercus velutina, Nyssa sylvatica, Quercus stellata$, and ~Quercus falcata$. More mesic occurrences likely will have ~Fagus grandifolia, Morus rubra, Quercus laurifolia, Quercus pagoda, Magnolia grandiflora, Magnolia macrophylla, Hamamelis virginiana, Asimina triloba, Callicarpa americana, Galium$ spp., ~Gelsemium sempervirens, Euonymus americana$, and ~Sanicula$ spp.; while drier examples will be more likely to have ~Quercus stellata, Prunus serotina var. serotina, Chimaphila maculata, Vaccinium stamineum$, and ~Vaccinium pallidum$. ~Cornus florida, Acer rubrum$, and ~Oxydendrum arboreum$ are very common in the understory. The herbaceous stratum usually is sparse, and species that may occur include ~Hexastylis arifolia, Elephantopus$ spp., ~Chimaphila maculata, Tephrosia virginiana, Coreopsis major$, and ~Hieracium venosum$. Forests in this alliance can occur on a variety of sites including sandy swamp islands, Coastal Plain slopes, ridgetops, and other dry to dry-mesic fire-sheltered areas on acidic to circumneutral soils. This alliance occurs throughout the southeastern Coastal Plain and likely is distributed sparingly in the Piedmont. In this latter ecoregion (generally within the range of ~Quercus rubra$) there could be some difficulty in assignment of associations to alliances (e.g. A.238 vs. A.239).
Accession Code:
VB.CC.1750.A238
Plot-observations of this Community Concept:
0
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