Name:
Pinus taeda - Quercus nigra Forest Alliance
Reference:
Southeastern Ecology Working Gro...
Description:
This alliance contains natural and semi-natural, dry to dry-mesic forests of the southeastern Coastal Plain, occurring in fire-protected situations, such as swamp islands and barrier islands. The best-documented, natural examples of this alliance are maritime forests of the Outer Coastal Plain and barrier islands from southern Virginia to North Carolina, which are characterized by Pinus taeda and Quercus falcata or Quercus nigra. These maritime examples occur on the lee side of maritime dunes and are protected from salt spray and overwash. The substrate is wind-deposited sand which is rapidly drained and nutrient poor. Other canopy associates include Carya glabra, Fagus grandifolia, Oxydendrum arboreum, Liquidambar styraciflua, Carpinus caroliniana ssp. caroliniana, Persea borbonia, and occasional Quercus virginiana and Ilex opaca. The patchy shrub layer may contain Morella cerifera (= Myrica cerifera), Morella pensylvanica (= Myrica pensylvanica), Rhus copallinum, and Vaccinium corymbosum. Vines are abundant and include Toxicodendron radicans, Vitis rotundifolia, Smilax spp., and Gelsemium sempervirens. The poorly developed herbaceous layer usually is composed of Chasmanthium laxum, Mitchella repens, Pteridium aquilinum, Panicum amarum, and Hypericum gentianoides. Infrequently flooded loblolly pine - mixed hardwood forests of the Coastal Plain and, possibly, outer Piedmont are included here as well, but additional work is needed for characterization. Other less-well-documented examples of this alliance include mesic sandy to sandy-loam slopes in the outer and middle Coastal Plain, in fire-sheltered sites, such as 'islands' of higher ground surrounded by swamps or marshes. These sometimes have some Quercus michauxii in the canopy. In some parts of the alliance's putative range (e.g., East Gulf Coastal Plain, Upper East Gulf Coastal Plain, Mississippi River Alluvial Plain, Upper West Coastal Plain), information about vegetation of this alliance is either lacking, poorly known, or poorly understood.
Accession Code:
VB.CC.17829.PINUSTAEDAQUERC
Plot-observations of this Community Concept:
0
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