Name:
Quercus macrocarpa - (Quercus alba) Wooded Herbaceous Alliance
Reference:
Midwestern Ecology Working Group...
Description:
This alliance, found in the midwestern United States and southern Canada, is characterized by a dry-mesic and mesic prairie understory with a sparse tree canopy. The dominant herbaceous species are the graminoids Andropogon gerardii, Schizachyrium scoparium, Sorghastrum nutans, Sporobolus heterolepis, and Hesperostipa spartea (= Stipa spartea). Other typical species include Amorpha canescens, Antennaria spp., Calamagrostis canadensis (in moist stands), Carex spp., Lespedeza capitata, Ratibida pinnata, Silphium laciniatum, and Zizia aurea. Quercus macrocarpa is a common tree throughout the range of this alliance. Populus tremuloides (in the northern portion of this alliance's range), Quercus alba, Quercus bicolor, and Quercus stellata, can be found in some stands. The total tree canopy may exceed 30%. The shrub layer can be absent to prominent. Where shrubs are present, Corylus spp. tend to be dominant, accompanied by species such as Cornus foemina, Rosa spp., Rubus allegheniensis, and Symphoricarpos occidentalis (in the west). This alliance is found on a variety of sites. It occurs on lakeplains near the Great Lakes, but more commonly on rolling outwash plains, hills, and ridges. Most soils are sandy to loamy. Some, especially near the Great Lakes, can be on clay loam. This alliance is maintained by periodic fire.
Accession Code:
VB.CC.18187.QUERCUSMACROCAR
Plot-observations of this Community Concept:
0
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