Name:
Quercus incana - Quercus arkansana - Pinus echinata Woodland Alliance
Reference:
NatureServe Biotics 2019
Description:
This alliance includes communities dominated by a combination of <i>Pinus echinata</i> (rarely with some <i>Pinus taeda</i>) with the scrubby oaks <i>Quercus incana, Quercus margarettae</i>, and/or <i>Quercus arkansana</i>. <i>Quercus incana</i> is the most characteristic and typically dominant of these. In addition to the aforementioned species, <i>Carya texana</i> may be present. Some stands are short-statured, deciduous woodlands with scattered pines, while others are more pine-dominated and forest-like. A patchy shrub stratum (varying from approximately 30-60% in total cover) consisting of stunted, scrubby <i>Quercus</i> spp. and tall shrubs ranging from 2.5-5 m in height is usually present. <i>Quercus arkansana</i>, a rare Coastal Plain endemic species, may occur in some examples. Due to xeric conditions, graminoids and forbs are very sparse in this community, and patches of exposed sand are common. Lichens (<i>Cladonia</i> spp.) and <i>Selaginella arenicola ssp. riddellii</i> form large patches. Typical shrubs include <i>Asimina parviflora, Chionanthus virginicus, Frangula caroliniana, Ilex vomitoria, Sassafras albidum, Sideroxylon lanuginosum ssp. lanuginosum, Stillingia sylvatica, Vaccinium arboreum</i>, and seedlings of canopy species. Depending, in part, upon management history, the herbaceous layer density may vary widely and is sometimes quite sparse. Stands of this alliance occur on xeric, sandy sites in the Coastal Plain west of the Mississippi River in eastern Texas, southeastern Oklahoma, northwestern Louisiana, and southwestern Arkansas. The canopy coverage may be variable, reflecting the range of situations involved, ranging from open-canopied woodlands on very well-drained Pleistocene terraces and low, broad ridges on deep, acidic sandy soils to slightly more-or-less dense examples on similarly droughty sites.
Accession Code:
urn:lsid:vegbank.org:commConcept:38058-{04F6FC07-8855-4AD2-93C1-C84B006B59EB}
Plot-observations of this Community Concept:
0
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