Ohio subset of Plant Communities of the Midwest ... - NatureServe

Forests and Woodlands: Appalachian Highlands Xeric Virginia / Shortleaf Pine Woodlands
Pinus virginiana - Pinus (rigida, echinata) - (Quercus prinus) / Vaccinium pallidum Forest
Virginia Pine - (Pitch Pine, Shortleaf Pine) - (Rock Chestnut Oak) / Hillside Blueberry Forest
Appalachian Low Elevation Mixed Pine Forest
CEGL007119
DESCRIPTION: This community is a needle-leaved evergreen forest with a somewhat open to closed canopy. A
deciduous subcanopy may be present, especially in areas where fire has been excluded. The shrub layers can be
sparse to very dense and are composed of tall and short shrubs, predominantly ericaceous species. Herb cover is
sparse, and leaf litter often dominates the ground layer. Pinus virginiana is the canopy dominant throughout the range
of the type. In the southern Appalachians and southern Ridge and Valley it may occur with mixes of Pinus rigida,
Pinus echinata, or Pinus strobus. Within its range, Pinus pungens may be present as a very minor component. Small
stems of Quercus prinus, Quercus coccinea, Acer rubrum, Nyssa sylvatica, and Oxydendrum arboreum are common
in the subcanopy and sapling strata, particularly in areas where fire has been excluded. In the southern Blue
Ridge/Piedmont and southern Blue Ridge/Ridge and Valley transition regions, Quercus marilandica, Quercus falcata,
and Quercus stellata can be deciduous components. Common shrub dominants include Vaccinium pallidum,
Vaccinium stamineum, and Kalmia latifolia. Other typical shrubs can include Gaylussacia ursina, Gaylussacia
baccata, Sassafras albidum, and Vaccinium hirsutum (southwestern North Carolina and southeastern Tennessee
only). Smilax glauca and Smilax rotundifolia can be common vines. Characteristic herbaceous species from the
southern Blue Ridge and southern Ridge and Valley include Baptisia tinctoria, Chimaphila maculata, Dichanthelium
commutatum, Epigaea repens, Euphorbia corollata, Galax urceolata, Hypoxis hirsuta, Iris verna, Pityopsis
graminifolia var. latifolia, Pteridium aquilinum var. latiusculum, and Schizachyrium scoparium. Typical herbs from
examples in the western portion of the range (Interior Low Plateau) include Antennaria plantaginifolia, Antennaria
solitaria, Carex albicans var. albicans (= Carex artitecta), Danthonia spicata, Dichanthelium dichotomum, Lespedeza
violacea (= Lespedeza intermedia), Hieracium gronovii, Hieracium venosum, Krigia biflora, Solidago erecta, and
Tephrosia virginiana (M. Homoya pers. comm. 1999). In some of these examples Opuntia humifusa, Calamagrostis
porteri ssp. insperata, and Solidago squarrosa may occur locally.
Stands of this forest occur on narrow ridges and knobs, steep, upper slopes, bluff and cliff tops, and other exposed
sites throughout the range of the type. They are found primarily on south-, southeast- or southwest-facing aspects on
excessively drained, shallow soils. In the Blue Ridge Escarpment region, the western margin of the Blue Ridge, and
west into the Ridge and Valley and Cumberland Mountains, this xeric forest occurs on convex slopes and ridges
below 610 meters (2000 feet) elevation, over soils classed as Inceptisols, typically Lithic Dystrochrepts originating
from sandstone, shale and other noncalcareous parent material. Its environmental situation in the western
Alleghenies is not known. In the Interior Low Plateau of Kentucky, Tennessee, and Indiana, this association occurs in
edaphically extreme situations, including bluff tops and narrow ridges in thin soils weathered from relatively acidic
caprocks with southern and western aspects, as well as other similar slopes, over cherty limestone, siltstones,
sandstones, and shales. In particular, in the Knobstone Escarpment Subsection (a few Indiana counties just north of
Louisville, Kentucky) it occurs in glade-like situations on steep slopes with thin soils.
Southern pine beetle (Dendroctonus frontalis) can cause significant damage to canopy trees in this community. This
forest is also susceptible to damage by fire and has been found to be particularly sensitive to ozone, which causes
foliar damage of Pinus virginiana (Burns and Honkala 1990a).
COMMENTS: 1, SCS. Some vegetation formerly placed (at least conceptually) in the Pinus virginiana - Quercus
(coccinea, prinus) Forest Alliance (A.408) and its provisional association Pinus virginiana - Quercus (coccinea,
prinus) Forest (CEGL005040), has been transferred here, with this association (CEGL007119) becoming more
geographically inclusive. In Indiana examples, the substrate is primarily a matrix of acidic siltstone, shale, and
sandstone. Rarely are cliffs formed; instead the setting is mostly very steep slopes with high hills and deep ravines.
Early successional vegetation associated with old fields, old pastures, clearcuts, and burned or eroded areas and
dominated by Pinus virginiana is classified as Pinus virginiana Successional Forest (CEGL002591). Appalachian
xeric oak forests with similar floristics, but with a mainly deciduous canopy are classed in (Quercus prinus, Quercus
coccinea) / Kalmia latifolia / Galax urceolata Forest (CEGL006271). Appalachian shale forests and woodlands with
Pinus virginiana occur on steep, shaley slopes and have a stunted canopies and sparse herb and shrub strata,
characterized by species adapted to shaley substrates. These shale communities are classed in Pinus virginiana -
Quercus (coccinea, prinus) Forest Alliance (A.408) and Pinus (rigida, pungens, virginiana) - Quercus prinus
Woodland Alliance (A.677).
PLANT COMMUNITIES OF THE MIDWEST – 2001. APPENDIX: ASSOCIATION DESCRIPTIONS
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