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Kalmia latifolia - Gaylussacia baccata - Vaccinium (angustifolium, pallidum) - Menziesia pilosa Shrubland |
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Name: Kalmia latifolia - Gaylussacia baccata - Vaccinium (angustifolium, pallidum) - Menziesia pilosa Shrubland
Reference:
Description: This shrubland community is restricted to high-elevation, acidic bedrock exposures in the Central Appalachians of eastern West Virginia and northwestern Virginia. It occurs on upper-slope and ridgetop outcrops, pavements, and clifftops of acidic bedrock (quartzite and granitic) at elevations from about 950 to 1460 m (3100-4800 feet). Surface cover of bedrock and loose boulders averages about 80% in plot samples, and soil development is minimal. These habitats have distinctly xeric moisture regimes and are subject to year-round microclimatic extremes, including high solar exposure and temperatures in summer, high winds, periodic ice, and low winter temperatures. <i>Kalmia latifolia, Gaylussacia baccata</i>, and <i>Vaccinium</i> spp. are codominant shrubs in variable proportions, with <i>Vaccinium angustifolium</i> the principal species of high-elevation sites (all >1200 m [4000 feet]) in West Virginia and <i>Vaccinium pallidum</i> the characteristic species of somewhat lower-elevation (950-1200 [3100-4000 feet]) sites in Virginia. Other woody plants occurring frequently in the type include <i>Menziesia pilosa, Sorbus americana, Photinia melanocarpa (= Aronia melanocarpa), Gaultheria procumbens, Hamamelis virginiana, Prunus pensylvanica, Ilex montana, Nemopanthus mucronatus</i> (West Virginia only), and extremely stunted (<3 m tall) <i>Betula alleghaniensis</i>. Herbaceous plants are typically very sparse, but occasional dense colonies of <i>Deschampsia flexuosa</i> occur on open ledges with thin mats of moss and organic matter. The vegetation is floristically quite depauperate and plot-sampled stands have a mean species richness of only 15 vascular taxa. 
Accession Code: VB.CC.37493.CEGL003939
Plot-observations of this Community Concept: 14
      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:   Common: Central Appalachian Heath Barrens
  Translated: Mountain Laurel - Black Huckleberry - (Lowbush Blueberry, Blue Ridge Blueberry) - Minniebush Shrubland
  Scientific: Kalmia latifolia - Gaylussacia baccata - Vaccinium (angustifolium, pallidum) - Menziesia pilosa Shrubland
  Code: CEGL003939
  UID: ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.687365 NatureServe ExplorerNatureServe Explorer logo