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Related Subnational Community Units These data are subject to substantial ongoing revision and may be out of date for some states. In the U.S., contact the state Heritage Program for the most complete and up-to-date information at: http://www.natureserve.org/visitLocal/index.jsp. Information from programs in other jurisdictions will be posted when they are made available.
Subnation	Concept Name	Relationship to Standard	Confidence	Reference
North Carolina	Montane Oak--Hickory Forest	Broader		Schafale and Weakley 1990

Other Related Concepts

Related Concept Name: Montane Oak-Hickory Forest (Basic Subtype)

Relationship: ? - Undetermined

Reference: Schafale, M. 1998b. Fourth approximation guide. High mountain communities. March 1998 draft. North Carolina Natural Heritage Program, Raleigh.

Ecological Systems Placement
Ecological System Unique ID	Ecological System Name
CES202.342	Southern Piedmont Mesic Forest
CES202.886	Southern Appalachian Oak Forest

Global Status: G3 (17May2002)
Rounded Global Status: G3 - Vulnerable
Reasons: This montane oak-hickory forest is naturally limited to richer sites in the Southern Blue Ridge mountains and adjacent inner Piedmont. Later successional, unaltered occurrences are rare. Some stands have been impacted by removal of more valuable timber species (e.g., Quercus alba, other Quercus species) and the loss of herbaceous species diversity from the disturbance effects of logging.

United States Distribution: GA, NC, SC, TN, VA
Global Distribution: United States
Global Range: This community occurs in the Piedmont and Southern Blue Ridge of the Carolinas, Georgia, Virginia, and Tennessee in the eastern United States.

U.S. Forest Service Ecoregions
Domain Name: Humid Temperate Domain
Division Name: Subtropical Division
Province Name: Southeastern Mixed Forest Province
Province Code: 231			Occurrence Status: Confident or certain
Section Name: Southern Appalachian Piedmont Section
Section Code: 231A			Occurrence Status: Confident or certain
Division Name: Hot Continental Regime Mountains
Province Name: Central Appalachian Broadleaf Forest - Coniferous Forest - Meadow Province
Province Code: M221			Occurrence Status: Confident or certain
Section Name: Cumberland Mountains Section
Section Code: M221C			Occurrence Status: Confident or certain
Section Name: Blue Ridge Mountains Section
Section Code: M221D			Occurrence Status: Confident or certain

Vegetation Summary: This association includes forests dominated by Quercus alba. Other species that can be important in the canopy include Quercus rubra, Quercus coccinea, Quercus prinus, Quercus velutina, Carya glabra, and Carya alba. On some sites, species more typical of "cove forests," such as Fraxinus americana or Magnolia acuminata, may form a very minor component. Oxydendrum arboreum and Cornus florida are common in the subcanopy. Heath species (Rhododendron maximum or Kalmia latifolia) are absent or very minor in the shrub stratum. On very high-base status soils, Philadelphus hirsutus or Lindera benzoin may be in the shrub stratum. Other woody species may include Cercis canadensis, Viburnum acerifolium, and Ulmus alata. The herbaceous stratum can be quite diverse and is characterized by mesic herbs and species associated with circumneutral soils, such as Podophyllum peltatum, Arisaema triphyllum, Amphicarpaea bracteata, Adiantum pedatum, Collinsonia canadensis, Asplenium platyneuron, Actaea racemosa (= Cimicifuga racemosa), Caulophyllum thalictroides, Sanguinaria canadensis, Tradescantia subaspera, Euphorbia purpurea, Phegopteris hexagonoptera, Polystichum acrostichoides, Athyrium filix-femina ssp. asplenioides, Brachyelytrum erectum, Dennstaedtia punctilobula, and Dryopteris intermedia. A stand included here from Chilhowee Mountain in the Cherokee National Forest also includes Ageratina altissima var. altissima, Arabis canadensis, Aristolochia serpentaria, Asplenium platyneuron, Desmodium nudiflorum, Hepatica nobilis var. obtusa, Monarda fistulosa, Sanicula canadensis, Scutellaria elliptica, Silene stellata, Smallanthus uvedalius, Solidago curtisii, Solidago simplex var. spathulata (= Solidago spathulata), Spigelia marilandica, Tradescantia subaspera, and Uvularia perfoliata.

Floristic Composition
Species Name	Stratum	Growth Form	Char- acter- istic	Domi-nant	Con-stant	Cover Class %	Min Cover %	Max Cover %	Con- stancy %
Quercus alba	Tree canopy	Broad-leaved deciduous tree
Actaea racemosa	Herb (field)	Forb
Arisaema triphyllum	Herb (field)	Forb
Caulophyllum thalictroides	Herb (field)	Forb
Collinsonia canadensis	Herb (field)	Forb
Podophyllum peltatum	Herb (field)	Forb
Sanguinaria canadensis	Herb (field)	Forb
Adiantum pedatum	Herb (field)	Fern or fern ally
Amphicarpaea bracteata	Herb (field)	Vine/Liana

Wetland Indicator: N
Environmental Summary: This association includes forests codominated by Quercus alba, occurring over circumneutral soils in the Southern Blue Ridge and adjacent Piedmont. These forests can occur across a broad elevational range, from 610 to 1372 m (2000-4500 feet), and can occur in exposed topographic settings (upper slopes and broad ridgetops), as well as on more protected sites (edges of coves). Presumed upper Piedmont examples may be at lower elevations (e.g., below 305 m [1000 feet]).

Plots stored in VegBank

Concept Author(s): M.P. Schafale, mod. R. White
Element Description Edition Date: 11Jan2006
Element Description Author(s): M.P. Schafale, mod. T. Govus and R. White
NatureServe Conservation Status Factors Edition Date: 17May2002
NatureServe Conservation Status Factors Author(s): A.S. Weakley, mod. M. Pyne

Ecological data developed by NatureServe and its network of natural heritage programs (see Local Programs) and other contributors and cooperators (see Sources).