Vegetation Classification and Mapping Project Report - USGS

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USGS-NPS Vegetation Mapping Program Colonial National Historical Park COMMON NAME (PARK-SPECIFIC): ACIDIC OAK - HICKORY FOREST SYNONYMS USNVC English Name: White Oak - Northern Red Oak - Mockernut Hickory / Flowering Dogwood / Deerberry / Naked-stem Tick-trefoil Piedmont Forest USNVC Scientific Name: Quercus alba - Quercus rubra - Carya alba / Cornus florida / Vaccinium stamineum / Desmodium nudiflorum Piedmont Forest USNVC Identifier: CEGL008475 LOCAL INFORMATION Environmental Description: Acidic Oak - Hickory Forest occurs on submesic to subxeric uplands on short, steep slopes and associated flat areas above tidal marshes. Slope aspects are northwest to south. Soils are strongly acidic and nutrient-poor, being weathered primarily from Pleistocene-aged fluvial deposits. Vegetation Description: The canopy is dominated by Quercus prinus (chestnut oak) and / or Quercus alba (white oak) in combination with other, less abundant, dry-site oaks and hickories like Quercus marilandica (blackjack oak), Quercus stellata (post oak), Quercus falcata (southern red oak), (Carya pallida (sand hickory), Carya glabra (pignut hickory), and Carya alba (mockernut hickory). Small trees and saplings of the canopy species, as well as of Pinus virginiana (Virginia pine) and Ilex opaca var. opaca (American holly), are common in the subcanopy and tall shrub layer. The short-shrub layer is sparse to absent. The ground is covered with litter and mosses with sparse herbaceous cover composed primarily of graminoids with scattered forbs. The most abundant herbs are Danthonia spicata (poverty oatgrass) and Dichanthelium dichotomum (cypress panicgrass). Other typical herbaceous species include Antennaria plantaginifolia (woman's tobacco), Carex albicans (whitetinge sedge), Chimaphila maculata (striped prince's pine), Erechtites hieraciifolia var. hieraciifolia (American burnweed), Galium circaezans (licorice bedstraw), Hieracium venosum (rattlesnakeweed), and Schizachyrium scoparium (little bluestem). Some stands may lack Quercus prinus (chestnut oak) entirely and have Quercus alba (white oak) dominating the canopy. Carya pallida (sand hickory) may be dominant in some stands. Hickories may not be present in every stand. While most stands lack a short-shrub layer, Gaylussacia frondosa (blue huckleberry) can occur locally in small patches, but does not dominate the shrub layer. Most Abundant Species: Stratum Lifeform Species Tree canopy Broad-leaved deciduous tree Quercus alba (white oak), Quercus prinus (chestnut oak) Characteristic Species: Dichanthelium dichotomum (cypress panicgrass), Ilex opaca var. opaca (American holly), Pinus virginiana (Virginia pine), Quercus alba (white oak), Quercus prinus (chestnut oak), Quercus stellata (post oak). Other Noteworthy Species: Information not available. Subnational Distribution with Crosswalk Data: State SRank Rel Conf SName Reference VA SNR* B 1 Acidic Oak - Hickory Forest Fleming et al. 2006 214
USGS-NPS Vegetation Mapping Program Colonial National Historical Park Local Range: In Colonial National Historical Park, Acidic Oak - Hickory Forest is mapped at Ringfield / King Creek and at College Creek / Kingsmill. It is mapped as 12 polygons, ranging in size from 0.3 to 3.3 hectares (0.8 to 8.1 acres) and covering a total land area of 18.9 hectares (46.8 acres). Classification Comments: This forest is distinguished from Piedmont / Low Elevation Mixed Oak / Heath Forest by lacking a more-or-less continuous, dense ericaceous shrub layer. Acidic Oak - Hickory Forest is distinguished from Mesic Mixed Hardwood by occurring on xeric to submesic sites and having less species diversity in all strata. Mesic Mixed Hardwood Forest often has high cover of Liriodendron tulipifera (tuliptree) or Fagus grandifolia (American beech), two species absent to rare in Acidic Oak - Hickory Forest. Other Comments: Information not available. Local Description Authors: K. D. Patterson. Plots: COLO.24. 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 Quercus alba - (Quercus rubra, Carya spp.) Forest Alliance (A.239) Alliance (English name) White Oak - (Northern Red Oak, Hickory species) Forest Alliance Association Quercus alba - Quercus rubra - Carya alba / Cornus florida / Vaccinium stamineum / Desmodium nudiflorum Piedmont Forest Association (English name) White Oak - Northern Red Oak - Mockernut Hickory / Flowering Dogwood / Deerberry / Naked-stem Tick-trefoil Piedmont Forest Ecological System(s): Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain Hardwood Forest (CES203.475). Northeastern Interior Dry-Mesic Oak Forest (CES202.592). Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-(Pine) Forest (CES202.339). Piedmont Hardpan Woodland and Forest (CES202.268). GLOBAL DESCRIPTION Concept Summary: This forest is found on submesic to subxeric upland sites throughout the Piedmont of the Carolinas, Virginia, south-central Maryland, and possibly Georgia. It favors mid- to upper-slope positions with northerly or easterly aspects, or mid- to lower slopes with more southerly aspects. In drier landscapes, this type occupies habitats considered relatively mesic (e.g., concave slopes, lower slopes, shallow ravines). These sites are described as dry to intermediate in soil moisture. The soils are moderately to strongly acidic and nutrient-poor, being weathered primarily from felsic metamorphic, metasedimentary, and sedimentary rocks, or composed of unconsolidated sediments. At some sites, soils are weathered from interbedded metasedimentary and mafic rocks, resulting in soil chemistry that is intermediate or slightly basic. Stands of this forest are closed to somewhat open and are dominated by mixtures of oaks and hickories, with Quercus alba (white oak) being most prevalent, along with Quercus rubra (northern red oak), Quercus coccinea (scarlet oak), Quercus velutina (black oak), Quercus falcata (southern red oak), Carya alba (mockernut hickory), Carya ovalis (red hickory), and Carya glabra (pignut hickory). Carya spp. (hickories) are common in this type but often most abundant in the understory. In forests with a history of disturbance, such as selective logging or 215
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