Name:
Quercus velutina - Quercus alba Eastern Forest Alliance
Reference:
NatureServe Biotics 2019
Description:
Forests in this alliance represent dry oak forests characterized by dominance or codominance by some combination of <i>Quercus alba, Quercus coccinea</i>, and/or <i>Quercus velutina</i>. <i>Quercus velutina</i> is characteristic and constant. Stands are generally closed-canopy and characterized by some combination of <i>Quercus alba, Quercus coccinea, Quercus rubra</i>, and/or <i>Quercus velutina</i>. In addition, <i>Carya tomentosa, Carya glabra, Carya ovata, Pinus echinata, Pinus virginiana, Quercus montana</i>, and <i>Quercus stellata</i> are common associates. Other common associates can include <i>Acer rubrum var. rubrum, Quercus falcata, Quercus macrocarpa</i> (within its range), and <i>Sassafras albidum</i>. Typical understory trees include <i>Betula lenta, Oxydendrum arboreum</i>, and <i>Sassafras albidum</i>. <i>Ilex opaca</i> is an associate in portions of the Piedmont. The shrub layer is usually strongly dominated by ericaceous species, including <i>Gaylussacia baccata, Kalmia latifolia, Rhododendron calendulaceum, Rhododendron periclymenoides, Vaccinium angustifolium, Vaccinium pallidum</i>, and occasionally including <i>Hamamelis virginiana</i> and <i>Viburnum acerifolium</i>. The herbaceous composition varies considerably over the wide range of this alliance. Some common herbs include <i>Antennaria plantaginifolia, Carex blanda, Carex pensylvanica, Conopholis americana, Cypripedium acaule, Danthonia spicata, Desmodium nudiflorum, Dioscorea villosa, Gaultheria procumbens, Hieracium venosum, Maianthemum racemosum, Medeola virginiana, Polygonatum biflorum, Prenanthes altissima, Schizachyrium scoparium, Solidago odora</i>, and <i>Thelypteris noveboracensis</i>. These forests occupy dry, nutrient-poor sites on sandy or rocky soil, upper slopes, and ridgetops; the alliance also includes red maple - oak or red maple - pine forests that developed over serpentine bedrock but have sufficient duff development that serpentine chemistry is not evident in the vegetation. This alliance is wide-ranging, with a center of distribution in the Central Appalachians, south to the Southern Blue Ridge; to Cumberland, Western Allegheny, and High Allegheny plateaus; west and north to the Great Lakes; and east through Lower New England / Northern Piedmont, and the Piedmont.
Accession Code:
urn:lsid:vegbank.org:commConcept:38306-{92983B90-9AD8-438E-9DAA-4D86F907DDE6}
Plot-observations of this Community Concept:
0
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