Name:
Juglans nigra - Aesculus glabra var. glabra - Gymnocladus dioicus / Arundinaria gigantea ssp. gigantea - (Asimina triloba) Forest
Reference:
Southeastern Ecology Working Gro...
Description:
This community represents deep-soil vegetation of calcium-rich areas in the Bluegrass Basin of Kentucky, the Nashville Basin of Tennessee, and possibly other states in the Interior Low Plateau. Due to the early and extensive use of these areas for agriculture, intact later-seral examples are extremely rare, if not extirpated. The canopy of higher quality examples is dominated by Juglans nigra, Aesculus glabra var. glabra, Gymnocladus dioicus, and Quercus macrocarpa. Less frequent canopy components would include Celtis occidentalis, Prunus serotina, Carya cordiformis, Carya laciniosa, Acer nigrum, Acer saccharum, Quercus shumardii, and Juglans cinerea. Understory species include Morus rubra, Ulmus rubra, and canopy species. Arundinaria gigantea ssp. gigantea was locally extensive, and canebreaks adjoined this community. This community had variable structure, presumably maintained by fire (perhaps once a decade). Second-growth examples are found on deep soils of woodlots and fencerows. The canopies of Bluegrass Basin examples are dominated by Juglans nigra and Celtis spp. with Fraxinus americana, Prunus serotina var. serotina, Robinia pseudoacacia, and scattered Ulmus americana. In the Nashville Basin of Tennessee, the canopy is dominated by Celtis spp. (Celtis laevigata, Celtis occidentalis) with substantial Juglans nigra in some examples. Aesculus glabra may also be present. The understory may include Prunus serotina var. serotina and Quercus imbricaria. More information is needed on higher quality examples. These forests would have naturally graded into more mesic forest vegetation containing more Acer saccharum, such as the Acer (nigrum, saccharum) - Carya cordiformis Forest (CEGL004411) of Kentucky.
Accession Code:
VB.CC.22512.JUGLANSNIGRAAES
Plot-observations of this Community Concept:
0
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