Name:
Quercus muehlenbergii - (Acer saccharum) Forest Alliance
Reference:
Southeastern Ecology Working Gro...
Description:
This alliance includes a variety of dry, dry-mesic, and mesic forests, dominated by Quercus muehlenbergii and possibly Acer saccharum, the canopy often also including other hardwood species associated with high base substrates (e.g., limestone or dolomite) under a variety of moisture conditions. These include Quercus alba, Quercus shumardii, Fraxinus americana, Fraxinus quadrangulata, Acer barbatum, Tilia americana, Carya spp., Juglans nigra, and Liriodendron tulipifera (in the more interior portions of the alliance's distribution), and Quercus sinuata var. sinuata and Carya myristiciformis (in the southwestern, Coastal Plain portion of the alliance's distribution). The habitat of this alliance includes mesic and dry-mesic forests over limestones in the Nashville Basin of Tennessee, dry-mesic slopes associated with prairie openings in Louisiana, moist limestone slopes in the Edwards Plateau of Texas, blackland soils in the upper West Gulf Coastal Plain of Arkansas, lowlands and mesic slopes of Oklahoma and adjacent Arkansas, as well as related habitats in states farther east (e.g., Alleghenies and lower Cumberland Plateau escarpment). Forests in Kentucky and Tennessee have Quercus shumardii and Frangula caroliniana and occur over limestone on south-facing slopes. There are scattered occurrences on benches and clifftops on the Daniel Boone National Forest. In the Coastal Plain of Virginia, this alliance is represented by somewhat open canopy 'shell barren' forests dominated by Quercus muehlenbergii with Acer barbatum. On rare occurrences of limestone in the Southern Blue Ridge of North Carolina, Quercus muehlenbergii occurs with Juglans nigra, Fraxinus americana, and Acer saccharum. Understory species may include Cornus florida, Cercis canadensis, Calycanthus floridus, Cornus alternifolia, Ostrya virginiana, and Hydrangea arborescens. In the Northeast, the shrub layer is sparse and may contain Hamamelis virginiana, Zanthoxylum americanum, and Cornus alternifolia. In some more southerly examples, shrubs may include Forestiera ligustrina, Frangula caroliniana, and Symphoricarpos orbiculatus. The herbaceous layer may contain Asclepias quadrifolia, Clematis occidentalis (= Clematis verticillaris) (in northeastern examples), Packera obovata (= Senecio obovatus), Phryma leptostachya, Saxifraga virginiensis, Arabis laevigata, and Triosteum aurantiacum. Two unusual communities of this alliance are lowland forests from the Upper West Gulf Coastal Plain of Arkansas. In the Northeast, the habitat is characterized as upper slopes or summits of limestone or marble ridges with dry soil-moisture regimes. Limestone outcrops or boulders may be present, as well as Karst collapse features. In the Southeast, mesic to dry limestone-derived soils may occur as well on flatter landforms, as in the Nashville Basin of Tennessee. In the Southeast, this vegetation is known from the Ridge and Valley, lower Cumberland Plateau escarpment, Highland Rim escarpment, and Nashville Basin in Tennessee; the Highland Rim, Bluegrass and Dripping Springs escarpment in Kentucky; the Cumberland Plateau in Alabama; as well as rarely in the Southern Blue Ridge and Coastal Plain. Isolated occurrences are reported in northern Arkansas on moderately shallow soils, often on glade margins. It also occurs in the Arbuckle Mountains of Oklahoma and the Edwards Plateau of Texas. If this alliance occurs in the Upper East Gulf Coastal Plain, stands would contain Acer barbatum instead of Acer saccharum.
Accession Code:
VB.CC.19721.QUERCUSMUEHLENB
Plot-observations of this Community Concept:
0
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