Name:
Pinus taeda - Quercus (alba, falcata, stellata) Forest Alliance
Reference:
Southeastern Ecology Working Gro...
Description:
This alliance encompasses loblolly pine - oak forests of the Coastal Plain and some adjacent provinces of the eastern United States. The canopy is dominated by Pinus taeda with some combination of the nominal oaks. More mesic examples tend to be codominated by Quercus alba, while dry to dry-mesic examples are usually codominated by Quercus falcata. Associated species vary by geography, substrate, and exposure. Described members of this alliance are found sporadically, ranging from the North Atlantic Coast of Delaware, through the Chesapeake Lowlands of Maryland and Virginia to the West Gulf and Upper West Gulf coastal plains of eastern Texas and Arkansas where they are most common. These forests are apparently absent from the Mid-Atlantic Coastal Plain of North and South Carolina, but are documented in the South Atlantic Coastal Plain of Georgia. Successional and/or semi-natural examples are known from the East Gulf and Upper East Gulf coastal plains. Within the longleaf pine belt, these forests can occur naturally on fire-protected areas such as topographically isolated hilltops, mid to lower slopes, protected ravines, broad flats and second bottoms. In some cases, they are successional forests on broad uplands following clearing or alteration of natural forests, especially those historically dominated by Pinus palustris A broad range of associated species may be present in this type, including Carya alba, Carya texana, Nyssa sylvatica, Liquidambar styraciflua, Carya cordiformis, Magnolia grandiflora, Fagus grandifolia, Quercus velutina, Quercus michauxii, Quercus pagoda, and Acer rubrum. The subcanopy can include canopy species, as well as Ilex opaca var. opaca, Ostrya virginiana, Carpinus caroliniana, Cornus florida, and others. Callicarpa americana, Symplocos tinctoria, Morella cerifera (= Myrica cerifera), Vaccinium elliottii, Viburnum dentatum, and Viburnum acerifolium are common shrub species. Herbaceous species that may be present include Polystichum acrostichoides, Athyrium filix-femina ssp. asplenioides, Phegopteris hexagonoptera, Prenanthes altissima, Spigelia marilandica, Mitchella repens, Podophyllum peltatum, Phlox divaricata, Tipularia discolor, Arisaema triphyllum, Erigeron pulchellus, Lilium michauxii, Chasmanthium laxum, Chasmanthium sessiliflorum, and Melica mutica.
Accession Code:
VB.CC.17793.PINUSTAEDAQUERC
Plot-observations of this Community Concept:
0
|
