Name:
Quercus velutina - Quercus alba - (Quercus coccinea) Forest Alliance
Reference:
Southeastern Ecology Working Gro...
Description:
Forests in this alliance represent the drier end of the white oak - red oak - black oak cover type and are difficult to identify easily. This alliance is distributed in the Ozark Highlands, Ouachita Mountains, Arkansas Valley, the Interior Highlands, Piedmont, Inner Coastal Plain, and Blue Ridge. Stands are codominated by some combination of Quercus alba, Quercus coccinea, Quercus velutina, and/or Quercus rubra. In addition, Quercus stellata, Quercus prinus, Carya alba, Carya glabra, Carya ovata, Pinus virginiana, and Pinus echinata are common associates. Other common associates can include Nyssa sylvatica, Acer rubrum var. rubrum, Sassafras albidum, Quercus falcata, Quercus macrocarpa (within its range), and Prunus serotina var. serotina. Typical shrubs and small trees include Cornus florida, Corylus americana, Ostrya virginiana, Oxydendrum arboreum, Sassafras albidum, Kalmia latifolia, Rhododendron calendulaceum, Gaylussacia ursina, Vaccinium spp., Viburnum acerifolium, and Hamamelis virginiana. The herbaceous composition varies considerably over the wide range of this alliance. Some common herbs include Agrimonia rostellata, Amphicarpaea bracteata, Botrychium virginianum, Carex blanda, Danthonia spicata, Antennaria plantaginifolia, Desmodium nudiflorum, Thelypteris noveboracensis, Prenanthes altissima, Galium spp., Dioscorea villosa, Conopholis americana, Polygonatum biflorum, Medeola virginiana, and Maianthemum racemosum. Stands can be found on mid to upper slopes and terraces where dry-mesic conditions persist and where soils are more sandy and/or rocky. Bedrock is sandstone, siltstone, chert, or shale. Disturbance in the form of wind and logging tends to favor Quercus velutina in these forests. These forests generally occur on slopes and sheltered ridgetops. One example from the Interior Low Plateau of Tennessee occurs on high, ancient, elevated terraces adjacent to river floodplains.
Accession Code:
VB.CC.18127.QUERCUSVELUTINA
Plot-observations of this Community Concept:
0
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