Natural Communities of Virginia - Terrestrial System - Low-Elevation Dry and Dry - Mesic Forests and Woodlands: Dry Mesic Calcareous Forests

The Natural Communities of Virginia
Classification of Ecological Community Groups
SECOND APPROXIMATION (Version 2.2)

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 between 500 m (1,700 ft) and 1,150 m (3,800 ft) elevation. Forests of this group are widely distributed in the Ridge and Valley province, rather local in the Cumberland Mountains, and absent or rare in the Blue Ridge. 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 lacks maples and 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).

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. Photo: Gary P. Fleming.
	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). Photo: Gary P. Fleming.

REPRESENTATIVE COMMUNITY TYPES:
Two community types are supported by less than fifteen plot samples. This is a rather small sample size compared to the apparent extent of the group in the Ridge and Valley province. The full distribution and status of this group in western Virginia is uncertain and needs targeted 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 - Bromus pubescens Forest
Central Appalachian Sugar Maple - Oak - Hickory Forest
USNVC: = CEGL008517
Global/State Ranks: G4?/S4
Quercus muhlenbergii - Quercus alba / Cercis canadensis / Dirca palustris Forest Ridge and Valley Dry-Mesic Limestone Forest
USNVC: CEGL004793
Global/State Ranks: G3Q/SNR

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The Natural Communities of Virginia Classification of Ecological Community Groups SECOND APPROXIMATION (Version 2.2)

The Natural Communities of Virginia
Classification of Ecological Community Groups
SECOND APPROXIMATION (Version 2.2)