Name:
Quercus laevis Woodland Alliance
Reference:
Southeastern Ecology Working Gro...
Description:
These communities, strongly dominated by Quercus laevis, are mostly (or possibly entirely) the result of the removal and reproductive failure of Pinus palustris. This includes modified and/or fire-suppressed examples of Pinus palustris - Quercus spp.-dominated vegetation, where Pinus palustris has been removed and/or failed to regenerate due to fire suppression or other environmental modifications, including turpentining and logging. Canopy closure of fire-suppressed examples may exceed 60%. The relative density and diversity of the shrub and herb layers will vary with degree of fire suppression; the local expression will vary with latitude and the distributions of various shrub and herbaceous components, as well as with soil texture. For conservation and restoration purposes, these communities should be considered as lower quality (but often highly restorable) examples of various communities in II.A.4.N.a Pinus palustris / Quercus spp. Woodland Alliance (A.499). This alliance includes vegetation with an open to somewhat dense canopy and understory of Quercus laevis, with other dry-habitat oak species such as Quercus margarettiae, Quercus marilandica, and Quercus incana. The canopy may include other hardwoods, such as Carya floridana, Sassafras albidum, and Diospyros virginiana. In Florida, Quercus incana may be codominant with Quercus laevis, but it declines more rapidly with prolonged fire suppression. The density of other strata will depend on site conditions and fire-return interval. Under conditions of extreme fire suppression, the structure may approach that of a forest (i.e., greater than 60% canopy closure). A low-shrub layer may contain such species as Gaylussacia dumosa and Toxicodendron pubescens. Herbs which may be present include Aristida stricta, Aristida beyrichiana, Aristida lanosa, Cnidoscolus stimulosus, Licania michauxii, Opuntia humifusa (= Opuntia compressa), Pityopsis graminifolia, Pteridium aquilinum, Schizachyrium scoparium, Andropogon virginicus, and Tephrosia virginiana. Some xeric Florida sandhills are very species-rich. The herb layer frequently includes fruticose lichens such as Cladonia spp. and Cladina spp. In some more fire-suppressed examples, herbs may be limited and sparse and may include Andropogon virginicus and/or Schizachyrium scoparium. Although Turkey Oak Woodlands might have occurred naturally in presettlement times, they were probably transitory and of small extent, and are best considered as localized inclusions of lower pine density in Pinus palustris sandhills. In any case, their prevalence has greatly increased with removal of Pinus palustris and subsequent fire suppression. The alliance occurs primarily on sandy ridges or high dunes; it is best developed and most prevalent in the central peninsula of Florida and the Sandhills of the Carolinas. Soils of these sites are most frequently strongly acid Entisols, lacking substantial clay and organic matter in the soil (including some deep sands). Some examples with higher canopy closure (some formerly classed as forest associations) include fire-suppressed Quercus laevis forests in the Inner Coastal Plain of South Carolina; sandhills over clays or sands with clay lenses where Pinus palustris was removed or failed to regenerate; various other fire-suppressed oak forests following removal of Pinus palustris; as well as depauperate longleaf pine sandhill communities at the northern limit of the range of Aristida stricta and other Pinus palustris associates. In the central sand ridges of Florida, this vegetation occurs in association with scrub communities, partly the result of logging and fire suppression.
Accession Code:
VB.CC.28435.QUERCUSLAEVISWO
Plot-observations of this Community Concept:
0
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