Name:
Pinus echinata / Schizachyrium scoparium - Solidago ulmifolia - Monarda russeliana - Echinacea pallida Woodland
Reference:
Southeastern Ecology Working Gro...
Description:
This upland subxeric woodland community was a matrix forest type in the Ouachita Mountains and, historically, north into parts of the Ozarks. This community occurs on a variety of sandstone and mixed sandstone/shale-derived substrates in the northern and western Ouachita Mountains and on chert/novaculite-derived substrates in the central Ouachitas. On the sharper ridges of the central Ouachitas (novaculite uplift), these woodlands are reduced in extent and bounded by submesic pine - oak forest on lower slopes and xeric oak woodlands on the ridgelines. This is a fire-maintained community where woody succession and canopy closure can be rapid with fire suppression. Virtually extirpated, these woodlands have been restored in part by thinning and prescribed burning. This woodland community has an open canopy dominated by Pinus echinata and a dense, diverse herbaceous layer. Scattered oaks (Quercus alba, Quercus stellata, Quercus velutina, Quercus marilandica) may appear in the canopy or subcanopy. These are expansive, open woodlands on gentle slopes, saddles and flatter ridgelines in eastern Oklahoma, western Arkansas, and southern Missouri. The dense herbaceous stratum is dominated by both graminoid and forb species. Dominant graminoids include Schizachyrium scoparium, Danthonia spicata, Chasmanthium sessiliflorum, Scleria triglomerata, and Dichanthelium spp. Other graminoid species include Andropogon gyrans, Andropogon gerardii, Andropogon virginicus, Chasmanthium latifolium, Gymnopogon ambiguus, Muhlenbergia schreberi, Panicum virgatum, Paspalum sp., Sorghastrum nutans, Sporobolus compositus (= Sporobolus asper), and Tridens flavus. Dominant forb species include Solidago ulmifolia, Clitoria mariana, Lespedeza repens, Antennaria plantaginifolia, Symphyotrichum anomalum (= Aster anomalus), Symphyotrichum patens (= Aster patens), Erechtites hieraciifolia, Helianthus hirsutus, and Monarda russeliana. Many other forb species are known from these woodlands. Some of the more typical ones include Acalypha virginica, Amphicarpaea bracteata, Baptisia nuttalliana, Chamaecrista fasciculata (= Cassia fasciculata), Coreopsis tinctoria, Conyza canadensis, Cunila origanoides, Dalea candida, Desmodium ciliare, Echinacea pallida, Echinacea purpurea, Euphorbia corollata, Pseudognaphalium obtusifolium (= Gnaphalium obtusifolium), Hieracium gronovii, Lespedeza spp., Liatris squarrosa, Phlox spp., Polygala alba, Pycnanthemum tenuifolium, Rudbeckia hirta, Solidago hispida, Solidago odora, Solidago radula, Stylosanthes biflora, and Tephrosia virginiana. Shrubs are sparse, especially in more frequently burned locations. Shrub density is related to fire frequency, and many shrubs are coppices, sprouting from stumps. Some common shrubs and vines include Baptisia bracteata var. leucophaea, Carya alba, Carya texana, Ceanothus spp., Crataegus crus-galli, Mimosa microphylla, Prunus serotina, Quercus stellata, Rhus copallinum, Rhus glabra, Rubus spp., Toxicodendron radicans, Ulmus alata, Vaccinium arboreum, Vaccinium pallidum, Viburnum rufidulum, and Vitis rotundifolia, but many others can occur. The type location is in Scott County, Arkansas.
Accession Code:
VB.CC.27990.PINUSECHINATASC
Plot-observations of this Community Concept:
0
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