Ecological Communities

Appalachian oak-hickory forest

A hardwood forest with more than 60% canopy cover of trees that occurs on well-drained sites, usually on flat hilltops, upper slopes, or south and west facing slopes. Dominant trees include one or more of red oak, white oak, and black oak. Mixed with oaks, are one or more of pignut, shagbark, and sweet pignut hickory. Common associates are white ash, red maple, and hop hornbeam. Small trees include flowering dogwood, witch hazel, shadbush, and choke cherry. Shrubs and groundlayer flora are diverse. Shrubs include maple-leaved viburnum, blueberries, red raspberry, gray dogwood, and beaked hazelnut.

Beech-maple mesic forest

A hardwood forest with sugar maple and beech co-dominant. Found on moist, well-drained soils, on north and east facing slopes, and on gently sloping hilltops of any aspect, this ecological community type rarely occurs in ravines. Common associates are basswood, American elm, white ash, yellow birch, hop hornbeam, and red maple. Characteristic species in the sub-canopy are musclewood, striped maple, witch hazel, hobblebush, and alternate-leaved dogwood. There typically are few herbs and shrubs, but tree seedlings may be abundant. There are many spring ephemerals.

Intermittent stream

The aquatic community of a small ephemeral streambed with a moderate to steep gradient where the water flows only during the spring or after a heavy rain. The streambed may be covered with mosses such as Bryhnia novae-angliae.

Rocky headwater stream

The aquatic community of a small to moderate sized rocky stream with a moderate to steep gradient that lacks persistent emergent vegetation. The cold water stream flows over eroded bedrock near the stream origin and contains alternating riffle and pool sections. These streams typically have mosses and algae present, but few larger rooted plants.

Shale cliff and talus community

A community with sparse vegetation that occurs on nearly vertical exposures of shale bedrock, ledges, and talus. The talus is unstable, there is little soil. Characteristic species include blunt-lobed woodsia, rusty woodsia, hairy penstemon, herb-Robert, panic grass, Carex pensylvanica, and eastern red cedar.

Shale talus slope woodland

An open to closed canopy woodland that occurs on talus slopes composed of shale. Slopes are unstable and very well drained. Soils are shallow and dry. Canopy cover is less than 50%. Characteristics trees include chestnut oak, pignut hickory, red oak, white oak, white pine, white ash, and eastern white cedar. Characteristic shrubs include smooth sumac, poison ivy, hairy penstemon, everlasting, and Pennsylvania sedge.

Successional red cedar woodland

A woodland community that commonly occurs on abandoned agricultural fields and pastures, particularly on fertile, calcareous soils, on slopes along the lakes and, occasionally, on well drained soils of alluvial valleys. The dominant tree is usually red cedar. Gray birch, hawthorn, buckthorn, white ash, and black walnut are common associates. Shrubs and ground layers are similar to that of successional old field.