Department of Conservation and Recreation

THE NATURAL COMMUNITIES OF VIRGINIA
CLASSIFICATION OF ECOLOGICAL COMMUNITY GROUPS

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Second Approximation (Version 2.5)
Information current as of February, 2012

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Dry-Mesic Calcareous Forests

This group of montane, mixed hardwood forests occupies submesic slopes and crests with warm (southeast to southwest) aspects and fertile soils weathered from underlying limestone, dolomite, calcareous sandstone, and calcareous siltstone. Habitats in western Virginia include valley sideslopes, lower mountain slopes, gentle crests, and ravines up to about 1,150 m (3,800 ft) elevation. Forests of this group are widely distributed in the Ridge and Valley province, more local in the Cumberland Mountains, and rare in the northern Piedmont Triassic Basin. Mixtures of sugar maple (Acer saccharum var. saccharum), black maple (Acer nigrum), white oak (Quercus alba), northern red oak (Quercus rubra), black oak (Quercus velutina), and hickories (Carya spp.) are typical. Another variant features co-dominance by white oak, chikapin oak (Quercus muhlenbergii), white ash (Fraxinus americana), and hickories. Tulip-poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera) is most abundant as an invader of logged stands. Understory and herbaceous vegetation varies from sparse to lush (especially on limestone sites), but is generally dominated by species characteristic of submesic soil moisture conditions, such as white snakeroot (Ageratina altissima var. altissima), hog-peanut (Amphicarpaea bracteata), common eastern bromegrass (Bromus pubescens), and black bugbane (Cimicifuga racemosa).

Dry-Mesic Calcareous Forests are readily distinguished from Rich Cove and Slopes Forests or Basic Mesic Forests by the absence of prominent mesophytic forbs such as blue cohosh (Caulophyllum thalictroides), broad-leaved waterleaf (Hydrophyllum canadense), or wood nettle (Laportea canadensis). Compared to Montane Dry Calcareous Forests and Woodlands, they occupy more mesic habitats and lack a strong component of xerophytic plants. Many stands of this group have been heavily cut over or destroyed for agriculture. In some cases, it appears that stands of this community result from the invasion of oak-hickory forests by more mesophytic species (especially sugar maple), perhaps as a result of long-term fire exclusion.

References: Fleming (1999), Fleming and Coulling (2001), Fleming and Moorhead (1996), Fleming and Moorhead (2000).

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Click on the images below to open a larger image in a separate window.

	Dry-Mesic Calcareous Forest on a limestone slope at the foot of Peters Mountain, Alleghany County (George Washington and Jefferson National Forests). Photo: William H. Moorhead III.
	Enchanter's nightshade (Circaea lutetiana ssp. canadensis) covers the forest floor under chinkapin oak (Quercus muhlenbergii) and white oak (Quercus alba) on a limestone ridge in the northern Shenandoah Valley. Near Cedar Creek, Frederick County. Gary P. Fleming / © DCR Natural Heritage.
	Marginal wood-fern (Dryopteris marginalis) dominates the herb layer of a rocky, dry-mesic limestone forest on the lower slopes of Back Creek Mountain near Hidden Valley, Bath County (George Washington and Jefferson National Forests). Gary P. Fleming / © DCR Natural Heritage.

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REPRESENTATIVE COMMUNITY TYPES:

Three community types are supported by 49 quantitative plot samples (map). This is a modest sample size compared to the apparent extent of the group in the Ridge and Valley province. The full distribution and status of these types in western Virginia is not yet clear and needs additional inventory. Click on any highlighted CEGL code below to view the global USNVC description provided by NatureServe Explorer.

• Acer saccharum - Quercus rubra - Carya (glabra, ovata) / Ageratina altissima Forest
  Dry-Mesic Calcareous Forest (Sugar Maple - Northern Red Oak Type)
  USNVC: = CEGL008517
  Global/State Ranks: G4/S4
  
  
• Quercus (muhlenbergii, alba, rubra) - Carya cordiformis / Lindera benzoin - Viburnum prunifolium Forest
  Dry-Mesic Calcareous Forest (Chinkapin Oak - Mixed Hardwoods Type)
  USNVC: = CEGL004793
  Global/State Ranks: G3G4/S3S4
  
  
• Quercus (alba, rubra) - Carya ovalis - Liriodendron tulipifera / Cercis canadensis / Polystichum acrostichoides Forest
  Dry-Mesic Calcareous Forest (Southern Ridge and Valley / Cumberlands Type)
  USNVC: = CEGL007233
  Global/State Ranks: G4/S3?
  

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