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Quercus alba - Carya glabra - Fraxinus americana / Cercis canadensis / Muhlenbergia sobolifera - Elymus hystrix Forest | Eastern Ecology Working Group of...
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Name: Quercus alba - Carya glabra - Fraxinus americana / Cercis canadensis / Muhlenbergia sobolifera - Elymus hystrix Forest Reference: Eastern Ecology Working Group of... Description: Found in the Culpeper Basin and western Piedmont foothills of Virginia and Maryland, this subxeric to submesic oak-hickory forest occurs in association with soils weathered from fine-grained mafic rocks (diabase and metabasalt). These soils often have a plastic, hardpan subsoil or are shallow over bedrock, and some have pronounced shrink-swell properties. Forest canopies can be open to closed, sometimes stunted, with variable combinations of oaks (especially <i>Quercus alba</i> and <i>Quercus rubra)</i>, hickories (<i>Carya glabra, Carya ovalis, Carya alba)</i>, and <i>Fraxinus americana</i>. Subcanopy tree layers are usually dominated by young hickories and <i>Fraxinus americana</i>. Characteristic species in the shrub and small-tree layers are <i>Cercis canadensis var. canadensis, Juniperus virginiana var. virginiana, Cornus florida, Ulmus rubra, Celtis occidentalis</i>, and <i>Rosa carolina</i>. Less constant, but sometimes locally important, understory species include <i>Ostrya virginiana, Carpinus caroliniana</i> (on more mesic sites), and <i>Chionanthus virginicus</i>. The herb layer of this community is frequently characterized by patch-dominance of the dry-site forest grasses <i>Muhlenbergia sobolifera, Dichanthelium boscii, Elymus hystrix var. hystrix</i>, and <i>Danthonia spicata</i>. Co-occurring among the dominant grasses are a large number of low-cover forbs and graminoids. In 50 Virginia plot samples, this unit has a mean species richness of 82 taxa per 400 square meters, one of the highest among all classified upland types in Virginia. This community is distinguished from other Mid-Atlantic region oak-hickory forests by its patch-dominance of forest grasses and its strong association with sub-level topography and soils with an impermeable hardpan or shallow bedrock.  Accession Code: VB.CC.31049.CEGL006216 Plot-observations of this Community Concept: 0
	Party Perspective according to: NatureServe (organization) Perspective from: 17-Nov-2014 to: 01-May-2019
	status: accepted This Community's Level: association This Community's Children: [none]		Names:   UID: ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.738472 NatureServe Explorer   Common: Northern Hardpan Basic Oak-Hickory Forest   Translated: White Oak - Pignut Hickory - White Ash / Eastern Redbud / Rock Muhly - Eastern Bottlebrush Grass Forest   Scientific: Quercus alba - Carya glabra - Fraxinus americana / Cercis canadensis / Muhlenbergia sobolifera - Elymus hystrix Forest   Code: CEGL006216