Name:
Juglans nigra / Verbesina alternifolia Ruderal Forest
Reference:
NatureServe Biotics 2019
Description:
This successional black walnut forest of the eastern United States occurs in a variety of habitats, all associated with disturbance, and frequently associated with rich or circumneutral soils, usually having a neutral to basic pH. These habitats include ridgetops, slopes, floodplains, alluvial terraces, and the floors of sinkholes. These are all generally areas that were cleared for agriculture or homesites. It has been documented from various-sized drainages. The community was originally defined from former homesites in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, where this association is an open, successional forest. It has since been found on some old pasture sites, associated with former settlements, from Georgia northeast to Pennsylvania, and is potentially a wide-ranging type. It has also been sampled from the floors of sinkholes and other related areas at Mammoth Cave National Park. The canopy can be closed to somewhat open. <i>Juglans nigra</i> forms at least half of the canopy and is often the sole canopy tree. Associated canopy trees vary from site to site and can include <i>Liriodendron tulipifera, Juglans cinerea, Robinia pseudoacacia, Fraxinus americana, Ulmus americana, Platanus occidentalis, Acer saccharum, Acer nigrum, Morus rubra</i>, and <i>Aesculus flava</i>. Additional tree species in the subcanopy can include <i>Carya cordiformis</i> and <i>Celtis occidentalis</i>. <i>Sassafras albidum</i> and/or <i>Carpinus caroliniana</i> may be present as small trees. The shrub layer may or may not be well-developed; common species include <i>Asimina triloba, Viburnum prunifolium, Lindera benzoin, Corylus americana</i>, and the exotic invasive <i>Rosa multiflora</i>. The herb layer is variable, often with one or a few species providing most of the cover. <i>Verbesina alternifolia</i> (within its range) and <i>Ageratina altissima</i> are characteristic and may be dominant; other herbs include <i>Ambrosia trifida, Amphicarpaea bracteata, Agrimonia pubescens, Apios americana, Cryptotaenia canadensis, Galium triflorum, Osmorhiza longistylis, Dichanthelium clandestinum, Packera aurea, Polygonum virginianum, Rudbeckia laciniata, Podophyllum peltatum, Impatiens capensis, Circaea lutetiana ssp. canadensis, Viola striata</i>, and <i>Ambrosia trifida</i>. The invasive exotics <i>Microstegium vimineum, Alliaria petiolata, Rosa multiflora</i>, and <i>Polygonum cespitosum</i> can be common in this community.
Accession Code:
urn:lsid:vegbank.org:commConcept:36063-{3EFA4AE9-4B0C-4996-A058-21A511C73607}
Plot-observations of this Community Concept:
17
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