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Schizachyrium scoparium - Packera paupercula - Packera plattensis Appalachian Mafic Glade Group | NatureServe Biotics 2019
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Name: Schizachyrium scoparium - Packera paupercula - Packera plattensis Appalachian Mafic Glade Group
Reference: NatureServe Biotics 2019
Description: This group consists of vegetation associated with shallow soils over predominantly mafic and ultramafic bedrock substrates in the Piedmont and Blue Ridge, usually with significant areas of rock outcrop. Bedrock includes a variety of igneous and metamorphic rock types such as greenstone, shale, diabase, serpentine, and amphibolite. These areas on gentle to moderate slopes support a patchy mosaic of open woodland and grassy herbaceous vegetation sometimes with a predominant woody short-shrub community present. Shallow soils impede tree growth and help to distinguish this group from forests. The vegetation is structurally intermediate between other rock outcrop groups and forests. The unusual and extreme soil chemistry determines the special flora of the type. Most examples are open woodlands with <i>Pinus rigida, Pinus virginiana, Juniperus virginiana var. virginiana</i>, and/or <i>Quercus alba, Quercus marilandica</i>, and <i>Quercus stellata</i> in the often stunted canopy. Trees can include <i>Fraxinus americana, Ulmus alata</i>, and <i>Cercis canadensis</i> on basic soil examples. Shrubs may be dense, with species determined by soil chemistry. The herb layer is usually fairly dense and may be dominated by grasses or by a mix of grasses and forbs, both in treeless areas and beneath open canopies. The forbs include species characteristic of other rock outcrops and grassland species, with a smaller number of forest species present. Plant species richness may be fairly high. Extreme edaphic conditions lead to locally xerophytic growing conditions that contribute to relatively open canopies and a ground cover dominated by prairie grasses and a variety of forbs. Disjunct species from drier regions and some endemic plant taxa are often present. 
Accession Code: urn:lsid:vegbank.org:commConcept:39983-{F4680959-30FC-41C1-AE4B-36A87595A032}
Plot-observations of this Community Concept: 0
      Party Perspective according to: NatureServe (organization)
Perspective from: 18-Mar-2010 to: ongoing
      Names:   UID: ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.836005 NatureServe ExplorerNatureServe Explorer logo
  Code: G180
  Scientific: Schizachyrium scoparium - Packera paupercula - Packera plattensis Appalachian Mafic Glade Group