Name:
Quercus alba - Quercus macrocarpa - Quercus bicolor Woodland Alliance
Reference:
NatureServe Biotics 2019
Description:
This alliance, found primarily in the central midwestern United States and southwestern Ontario, Canada, includes oak woodlands of dry to moist well-drained soils dominated by <i>Quercus alba, Quercus macrocarpa</i>, or less commonly <i>Quercus bicolor</i>. The trees are generally shorter in stature than those occurring in a forested situation, and older trees typically exhibit spreading lower branches. <i>Carya ovata, Quercus ellipsoidalis, Quercus palustris, Quercus stellata</i> (in central Illinois and Missouri), <i>Quercus velutina</i>, and <i>Acer rubrum</i> are occasional canopy associates. Shrubs are usually sparse, sometimes scattered ericaceous species, but more typically <i>Ceanothus americanus</i> or <i>Corylus americana</i>. The herbaceous flora is usually dominated by grasses and forbs such as <i>Schizachyrium scoparium, Sorghastrum nutans, Lupinus perennis, Helianthus</i> spp., <i>Asclepias tuberosa, Desmodium</i> spp., and <i>Lespedeza</i> spp. (<i>Lespedeza capitata, Lespedeza violacea, Lespedeza virginica</i>), or <i>Carex pensylvanica</i>. On the lakeplain in southern Michigan and southwest Ontario, a variety of oaks (<i>Quercus alba, Quercus macrocarpa, Quercus palustris</i>, and <i>Quercus velutina</i>) dominate the canopy, while the ground layer is dominated by <i>Amphicarpaea bracteata, Andropogon gerardii, Apios americana, Calamagrostis canadensis, Carex pensylvanica, Galium boreale</i>, and <i>Pteridium aquilinum</i>. Soils of this alliance are dry to moist and typically well-drained. In the Midwest, stands are typically found on sand or loamy sands. In southwestern Ontario and Michigan, stands occur on undisturbed sand ridges and raised areas in poorly drained glacial lakeplains, sometimes on silty loams. The pH is typically 5.0-7.2. <i>Quercus bicolor</i> or <i>Quercus macrocarpa</i> woodlands may also be found on floodplain terraces or depressional settings. Stands are fire-dependent, and in its absence can form dense oak forests with an increasing component of mesic fire-intolerant hardwood tree species.
Accession Code:
urn:lsid:vegbank.org:commConcept:38611-{C33E2B01-10AD-468B-BB02-5B1646EDB413}
Plot-observations of this Community Concept:
0
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