Name:
Pinus virginiana - Juniperus virginiana - Quercus rubra / Solidago arguta var. harrisii - Opuntia humifusa Woodland
Reference:
NatureServe Biotics 2019
Description:
This shale barren woodland occurs on steep unstable shale slopes with areas of exposed bedrock in the central Appalachian Mountains from south-central Pennsylvania to southwestern Virginia. Most are at less than 400 m elevation, but they can range up to 750 m. Soils are acidic and available moisture is scarce. Most substrates are shale-derived but sandstone may also be a component. Large expanses of exposed bedrock are typical. Usually with a woodland or patchy woodland physiognomy, this association may occasionally occur as closed forest or sparse shrubland. The canopy is usually a mixture of oak and conifers but may have either one or the other dominant. Canopy cover varies widely but is typically less than 70% and may be sparse. The herb layer is likewise variable but is commonly less than 25%. Canopy dominants are <i>Pinus virginiana, Juniperus virginiana</i> (often subordinate but occasionally dominant), <i>Quercus rubra</i>, and <i>Quercus montana</i>. Associates vary and include <i>Quercus stellata, Carya glabra, Celtis tenuifolia, Quercus alba, Carya tomentosa</i>, and <i>Fraxinus americana</i>. Shrubs are typically sparse or scattered and include <i>Quercus ilicifolia, Rhus copallinum, Hypericum prolificum</i>, and less frequently <i>Amelanchier arborea, Vaccinium stamineum, Vaccinium pallidum, Rhus aromatica</i>, and <i>Rosa carolina</i>. <i>Carex pensylvanica</i> and <i>Danthonia spicata</i> are the most common ground-layer species; other graminoids that may be locally common at some sites include <i>Schizachyrium scoparium</i> and <i>Deschampsia flexuosa</i>. Typical forbs include <i>Antennaria plantaginifolia, Cunila origanoides, Houstonia longifolia, Opuntia humifusa, Selaginella rupestris, Hedeoma pulegioides, Pellaea atropurpurea, Polygonum scandens var. cristatum</i>, and <i>Cheilanthes lanosa</i>, as well as the shale barren endemics (or near-endemics) <i>Paronychia montana, Antennaria virginica, Allium oxyphilum, Packera antennariifolia, Oenothera argillicola, Solidago arguta var. harrisii, Scutellaria ovata</i>, and <i>Trifolium virginicum</i>. Southern examples may contain <i>Clematis albicoma</i> and/or <i>Taenidia integerrima</i>. This association differs from other acidic shale barren types in its more northerly distribution, and the absence of the more southerly shale barren endemics (or near-endemics) <i>Allium cernuum, Arabis serotina</i>, and <i>Clematis coactilis</i>, as well as the absence of some other species typical of the more species-rich barrens, such as <i>Silene caroliniana, Penstemon canescens</i>, and <i>Penstemon pallidus</i>. Indicators include <i>Opuntia humifusa</i> and <i>Solidago arguta var. harrisii</i>.
Accession Code:
urn:lsid:vegbank.org:commConcept:34935-{65CF1066-4265-4B2C-B249-5098AB0575CB}
Plot-observations of this Community Concept:
37
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