The Natural Communities of Virginia
Classification of Ecological Community Groups
SECOND APPROXIMATION (Version 2.2)
Piedmont / Coastal Plain Oak – Beech / Heath Forests
In Virginia, forests of this group are widely but locally distributed in small patches across much of the Piedmont and dissected, inner Coastal Plain. Similar forests are known from North Carolina, South Carolina, and Maryland. Typical habitats are submesic, usually north-facing bluffs, and steep ravine slopes with acidic, nutrient-poor soils. Over most of the state, white oak (
Quercus alba), northern red oak (
Quercus rubra), chestnut oak (
Quercus montana, = Quercus prinus), and American beech (
Fagus grandifolia) are the major overstory trees. In the southeastern Virginia Coastal Plain, southern red oak (
Quercus falcata) and water oak (
Quercus nigra) are prominent. Eastern hemlock (
Tsuga canadensis) and sweet birch (
Betula lenta) are occasional associates in the Piedmont. Sourwood (
Oxydendrum arboreum), blackgum (
Nyssa sylvatica), red maple (
Acer rubrum), American holly (
Ilex opaca var. opaca) and, in southeastern Virginia, sweetleaf (
Symplocos tinctoria) are common understory trees. Dense colonies of mountain-laurel (
Kalmia latifolia) or, very locally, great rhododendron (
Rhododendron maximum) form a continuous shrub layer. Few herbaceous species occur in the stands. On very steep and rocky bluffs, tree canopies may be quite open as the result of poor establishment and frequent downfalls. Communities in this group are similar to Mesic Mixed Hardwood Forests but usually occupy drier, steeper sites that support fewer mesophytic plants and a greater abundance of heaths.
References: Fleming (2002a), Walton et al. (2001).
Click on the images below to open a larger image in a separate window.
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American beech (Fagus grandifolia), white
oak (Quercus alba), and mountain-laurel (Kalmia latifolia) on a densely
wooded bluff along the Rivanna River in Fluvanna County.
Photo: © Gary P. Fleming.
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Dense oak – beech / heath stand on a bluff near North Branch Chopawamsic Creek, Prince William Forest Park, Prince William County.
Photo: Gary P. Fleming.
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REPRESENTATIVE COMMUNITY TYPES:
Although the three community types that have been classified in this group are reasonably well supported by data
from 33 plot samples, the units intergrade geographically and have relatively subtle floristic and environmental differences. Moreover,
there are major questions regarding the relationships of Virginia vegetation in this group, which is relatively widespread, to that
described in the USNVC based largely on North Carolina data and alleged to be globally rare.
Click on any highlighted CEGL code below to view the global USNVC description provided by
NatureServe Explorer.
- Fagus grandifolia – Quercus (alba , falcata , nigra) / Symplocos
tinctoria / Kalmia latifolia Forest
Coastal Plain Beech – Oak / Heath Forest (Mixed Oak/Sweetleaf Type)
USNVC:
no equivalent
Global/State Ranks:
GNR/SNR
- Quercus alba – Fagus grandifolia / Kalmia latifolia – Rhododendron periclymenoides Forest
Piedmont / Coastal Plain Oak – Beech / Heath Forest (White Oak Type)
USNVC:
no equivilant
Global/State Ranks:
GNR/S3
- Quercus montana – Fagus grandifolia / Ilex opaca / Kalmia latifolia Forest
Piedmont / Coastal Plain Oak – Beech / Heath Forest (Chestnut Oak / American Holly Type)
USNVC:
no equivilant
Global/State Ranks:
GNR/S3
