Name:
Quercus alba - (Quercus montana) / (Hydrangea quercifolia) - Viburnum acerifolium / Carex picta Forest
Reference:
NatureServe Biotics 2019
Description:
This association includes dry-mesic white oak forests of the southern Cumberland Plateau in Alabama and Tennessee. This forest occurs mostly over sandstone-derived soils, on middle to high slopes and ridges; also included are areas influenced by calcareous rocks or soils. Diagnostic features of this association are canopy dominance by <i>Quercus alba</i>, with an overall dry-mesic species composition, signified by the prominence of <i>Quercus montana, Vaccinium</i> spp., <i>Oxydendrum arboreum, Cornus florida</i>, and by the absence or low coverage of mesophytic forest species (e.g., <i>Fagus grandifolia, Tilia americana var. heterophylla, Ilex opaca var. opaca, Liriodendron tulipifera, Magnolia acuminata, Euonymus americanus</i>). In the Bankhead National Forest of Alabama, where the type was initially identified, the high constancy of <i>Magnolia macrophylla, Hydrangea quercifolia</i>, and Carex picta serve to help identify this type, but these taxa are not necessarily good indicators throughout its range, Additionally, <i>Pinus taeda</i> and/or <i>Pinus virginiana</i> (especially on higher slopes) may also be present but may indicate past disturbance. The most common subcanopy species are <i>Cornus florida, Oxydendrum arboreum</i>, and <i>Magnolia macrophylla</i> (within its range). On higher slopes and ridges <i>Nyssa sylvatica</i> and <i>Carya glabra</i> become additional, important subcanopy components. In areas with a calcareous influence, <i>Ostrya virginiana</i> may be dominant in the subcanopy. The shrub strata vary in density from site to site, but the constant shrub species are <i>Hydrangea quercifolia</i> and <i>Viburnum acerifolium</i>. On high slopes and ridges, <i>Vaccinium arboreum, Vaccinium stamineum</i>, and <i>Vaccinium pallidum</i> become shrub components, sometimes dominating the shrub layers. The herbaceous stratum can be sparse but often has patches of local dominance by <i>Carex picta</i> (within its range), especially on lower to middle slopes. <i>Piptochaetium avenaceum</i> and <i>Vitis rotundifolia</i> are characteristic of occurrences on high slopes and ridges. Additional herbs with high constancy are <i>Polystichum acrostichoides</i> and <i>Chimaphila maculata</i>, although other species may be present in more mesic examples of this forest.
Accession Code:
urn:lsid:vegbank.org:commConcept:36496-{93806FC6-977C-4D00-950B-02CFCF0148A8}
Plot-observations of this Community Concept:
25
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