Vegetation Classification and Mapping Project Report - USGS

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USGS-NPS Vegetation Mapping Program Colonial National Historical Park COMMON NAME (PARK-SPECIFIC): PIEDMONT / COASTAL PLAIN OAK - BEECH / HEATH FOREST SYNONYMS USNVC English Name: American Beech - (White Oak, Black Oak, Chestnut Oak) / Mountain Laurel Forest USNVC Scientific Name: Fagus grandifolia - Quercus (alba, velutina, prinus) / Kalmia latifolia Forest USNVC Identifier: CEGL006919 LOCAL INFORMATION Environmental Description: This deciduous forest occurs in submesic habitats on west- to north-facing, steep ravine slopes and bluffs with acidic, nutrient-poor soils. Vegetation Description: Piedmont / Coastal Plain Oak - Beech / Heath Forest is characterized by very low species richness and evergreen shrub layers. The canopy is closed to very open. Fagus grandifolia (American beech) is usually the dominant overstory tree, with Quercus alba (white oak), Quercus prinus (chestnut oak), and other Quercus spp. (oaks) as associates. Fagus grandifolia (American beech) and Acer rubrum (red maple) usually dominate the small-tree layers. Ilex opaca var. opaca (American holly) is a common small tree/large shrub, along with Nyssa sylvatica (blackgum), Sassafras albidum (sassafras), and Oxydendrum arboreum (sourwood). Kalmia latifolia (mountain laurel) forms a dense to nearly continuous (usually >50% cover) tall-shrub layer. True herbs are very sparse and litter dominates the ground layer. Some stands lack Fagus grandifolia (American beech) and are dominated by Quercus alba (white oak) or Quercus prinus (chestnut oak) and may have Pinus taeda (loblolly pine) in the canopy as a minor (
USGS-NPS Vegetation Mapping Program Colonial National Historical Park Local Description Authors: K. D. Patterson. Plots: COLO.20, COLO.21. Colonial National Historical Park Inventory Notes: Information not available. GLOBAL INFORMATION USNVC CLASSIFICATION Physiognomic Class Forest (I) Physiognomic Subclass Deciduous forest (I.B.) Physiognomic Group Cold-deciduous forest (I.B.2.) Physiognomic Subgroup Natural/Semi-natural cold-deciduous forest (I.B.2.N.) Formation Lowland or submontane cold-deciduous forest (I.B.2.N.a.) Alliance Fagus grandifolia - Quercus rubra - Quercus alba Forest Alliance (A.229) Alliance (English name) American Beech - Northern Red Oak - White Oak Forest Alliance Association Fagus grandifolia - Quercus (alba, velutina, prinus) / Kalmia latifolia Forest Association (English name) American Beech - (White Oak, Black Oak, Chestnut Oak) / Mountain Laurel Forest Ecological System(s): Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain Hardwood Forest (CES203.475). GLOBAL DESCRIPTION Concept Summary: This mixed forest of beech and oaks occurs on the inner Coastal Plain and outer Piedmont from New Jersey to southern Virginia. It is particularly common on steep ravine slopes and bluffs of dissected terrain with highly acidic soils. It occurs occasionally on short, steep bluffs of the outer Coastal Plain, and occasionally occurs on elevated swamp islands with sandy, oligotrophic soils. The overstory is composed of Fagus grandifolia (American beech) with variable codominance by several oaks, particularly Quercus prinus (chestnut oak), Quercus alba (white oak), and Quercus velutina (black oak). Minor associates include Quercus coccinea (scarlet oak), Acer rubrum (red maple), Carya spp. (hickories), and Liriodendron tulipifera (tuliptree). Typical subcanopy trees include Sassafras albidum (sassafras), Acer rubrum (red maple), Nyssa sylvatica (blackgum), Cornus florida (flowering dogwood), Amelanchier arborea (common serviceberry), and Ilex opaca var. opaca (American holly), the latter frequently dominating in Coastal Plain stands. An evergreen shrub layer with strong dominance by Kalmia latifolia (mountain laurel) is characteristic, with low-cover associates of Rhododendron periclymenoides (pink azalea), Vaccinium spp. (blueberries), and Gaylussacia baccata (black huckleberry). Deciduous ericads alone are dominant in rare patches that lack Kalmia latifolia (mountain laurel). On northern exposures, Fagus grandifolia (American beech) tends to strongly dominate, and Kalmia latifolia (mountain laurel) may achieve >75% cover. Environmental Description: This association is characteristic of steep ravine slopes and bluffs in dissected terrain of the inner Coastal Plain and outer Piedmont. It also occurs occasionally on short, steep bluffs of the outer Coastal Plain, as well as on elevated swamp islands with sandy, oligotrophic soils. Sites are mesic to submesic, with extremely acidic, infertile soils. The type occurs on slopes of various aspects but tends to favor northerly ones. Soil samples collected from 24 Virginia and Maryland sites had a mean pH of 4.2 and very low cation and base saturation levels. In the southern part of the range, this association is fairly common in dissected landscapes of the inner Coastal Plain and fall-line zone of the Piedmont, but occurs in progressively smaller and more isolated patches westward in the Piedmont, typically on steep cut-slopes on the outside of meander bends in large creeks and small rivers. Vegetation Description: The overstory is composed of Fagus grandifolia (American beech) with variable codominance by several oaks, particularly Quercus prinus (chestnut oak), Quercus 199
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Vegetation Classification and Mapping Project Report - USGS

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