Name:
Quercus stellata - Juniperus virginiana / Ulmus alata - (Cotinus obovatus) Woodland
Reference:
NatureServe Biotics 2019
Description:
Stands of this post oak woodland are found on south-facing slopes and narrow ridges over Mississippian limestones of the lower escarpment of the Cumberland Plateau in Tennessee, Georgia and adjacent Alabama. Its northward extent is not known, but it is not reported from Kentucky. The open canopy is dominated by <i>Quercus stellata</i> and/or <i>Quercus muehlenbergii</i> with substantial <i>Juniperus virginiana var. virginiana</i> in the subcanopy. The canopy and subcanopy may contain <i>Cotinus obovatus</i> (within its range), <i>Ulmus alata, Carya carolinae-septentrionalis, Quercus rubra, Fraxinus americana, Fraxinus quadrangulata, Celtis laevigata, Ulmus serotina</i>, and <i>Cercis canadensis</i>. Shrubs include <i>Sideroxylon lycioides, Forestiera ligustrina, Rhus aromatica, Hypericum frondosum, Symphoricarpos orbiculatus</i>, and <i>Viburnum rufidulum</i>. Herbs include <i>Cheilanthes lanosa, Pellaea atropurpurea, Elymus hystrix</i>, and <i>Scutellaria ovata</i>. Herbaceous openings may contain <i>Schizachyrium scoparium</i>. This association probably extends on limestone strata to the north along the escarpment and may also be found on limestone slopes in the Ridge and Valley of Tennessee (outside of the range of <i>Cotinus obovatus</i>). Without fire, <i>Juniperus</i> will increase in importance and stature, eventually occupying part of the canopy with the oaks and presenting greater canopy closure. In intermediate stages, an oak canopy will overtop a subcanopy of <i>Juniperus</i>. Drier, rockier, or more frequently burned examples will tend to exhibit an oak woodland physiognomy.
Accession Code:
urn:lsid:vegbank.org:commConcept:33368-{F3D1A9A8-8EB8-43B4-B3F2-48097411B36F}
Plot-observations of this Community Concept:
0
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