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NY Heritage: Pitch pine-oak-heath woodland | Ecological Communities of New York, 2nd Ed.
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Name: NY Heritage: Pitch pine-oak-heath woodland Reference: Ecological Communities of New York, 2nd Ed. Description: A pine barrens community that occurs on well-drained, infertile, sandy soils in eastern Long Island (and possibly on sandy or rocky soils in upstate New York). The structure of this community is intermediate between a shrub-savanna and a woodland. Pitch pine (Pinus rigida) and white oak (Quercus alba) are the most abundant trees, and these form an open canopy with 30 to 60% cover. Scarlet oak (Quercus coccinea) and black oak (Q. velutina) may also occur in the canopy. The shrublayer is dominated by scrub oaks (Quercus ilicifolia, Q. prinoides), and includes a few heath shrubs such as huckleberry (Gaylussacia baccata) and blueberry (Vaccinium pallidum). The density of the shrublayer is inversely related to the tree canopy cover; where the trees are sparse, the shrubs form a dense thicket, and where the trees form a more closed canopy, the shrublayer may be relatively sparse. Stunted, multiple-stemmed white oaks may be present in the shrublayer if the site has burned regularly. Characteristic species of the groundcover include bearberry (Arctostaphylos uva-ursi), Pennsylvania sedge (Carex pensylvanica), golden heather (Hudsonia ericoides), beach heather (Hudsonia tomentosa), and pinweed (Lechea villosa). Like other closely related pine barrens communities, the woodland provides habitat for buck moth (Hemileuca maia) and prairie warbler (Dendroica discolor). This community is adapted to periodic fires; the fire frequency has not been documented, but it probably burns less frequently than pitch pine-scrub oak barrens (i.e., more than 15 years between fires). This community may have a fairly low species richness: it is more diverse than dwarf pine plains, but less diverse than pitch pine-scrub oak barrens.  Accession Code: VB.CC.29019.NYHERITAGEPITCH Plot-observations of this Community Concept: 2
	Party Perspective according to: Howard, Timothy Perspective from: 03-Dec-2004 to: ongoing
	status: accepted Community's Parent: NY Heritage: TERRESTRIAL SYSTEM This Community's Children: [none]		Names:   Other: NY Heritage: Pitch pine-oak-heath woodland