Ecological dynamics

5 - Moderately Deep Well-Drained Uplands
Individual sites deserve a detailed understanding before conservation and restoration practices are implemented; therefore, it should be noted that the communities described in this provisional document reflect plant communities that are likely to be found on these soils and have not been field verified. Therefore, this PES describes hypotheses based on available data of many different scales and sources and has not been developed utilizing site-specific ecological field monitoring. This PES also does not encompass the entire complexity or diversity of these sites. Additional field studies are required to develop a comprehensive and science-based ESD.

Forest Vegetation as listed in Official Series Descriptions (OSD):
Caneyville: Native forests are oaks, hickory, elm, hackberry, and redbud as the dominant species.
Fredonia: Native forests have redcedar, oaks, hickory, elm, ash, walnut, and redbud as common species.
Needmore: The native vegetation is forests consisting of dominantly of oaks, hickories, elms, maples, beech, and dogwood.

Ecological Dynamics
This PES describes an oak-hickory forest community on moderately-deep, well-drained, soils formed in residuum of limestone or interbedded limestone/shale.

Only two tree species can be selected for entry into the database as dominants; however, multiple tree species may be dominant on these sites and it will vary depending on aspect, soil depth, seed sources, management, and disturbance history.

State 1. Forestland
Phase 1.1:
black oak – white oak / coralberry - Carolina buckthorn / bedstraw- bignonia
(Quercus velutina – Quercus alba / Symphoricarpos orbiculatus - Frangula caroliniana / Gallium spp. -Bignonia capreolata)

These sites are characterized by moderately-deep soils predominately influenced by parent materials of limestone, calcareous shale, or interbedded limestone and shale. Soil depths of 20 to 40 inches provide an adequate moisture and growing environment for a wide range of quality hardwood trees, including various species of oaks and hickories. White oak, black oak, shagbark hickory, chinkapin oak, and sugar maple are likely to be on these sites. Understory communities, while influenced by differences in soil depths and soil parent materials, will exhibited similarities in species composition.

Remaining wooded sites on these soil are generally located on hillsides and ridges, and are oak-hickory or oak-hickory-sugar maple forests with a robust and diverse herbaceous layer. Understory species may include agrimony, bedstraws, black snakeroots, white snakeroot, Virginia creeper, bignonia, smooth Solomon's seal, and false Solomon's seal. The shrub layer usually consisted of coralberry, Carolina buckthorn, and/or northern spicebush.


State: 2. Pasture
Phase 2.1: Managed Pasture.
Plant species dominants: Schedonorus arundinaceus (tall fescue)

Pasture plant species are dependent on seeding, weed control, concurrent land uses, on-going levels of disturbance, and landowner goals. Individual site and soil characteristics, along with management activities, will influence production levels.

Many species of grass, both warm and cool season, are available and suitable for these sites. Common forage species include tall fescue, orchard grass, Kentucky bluegrass, Johnson grass, timothy, and various species of clover.

Management of pasture sites should follow conservation planning standards and protocols which include watershed protection, soil health, and adequate forage species.

Transitioning this state to a reference condition would require long-term timber stand improvement practices to control non-native vegetation and manage for desired hardwood species.

State: 3. Transitional Field
Phase 3.1: Plant species dominants: Eastern red cedar / berries / ironweed- tall fescue

Eastern red cedar would likely be the dominant successional tree species on these sites. Seedlings and saplings of Acer spp, (especially red maple, sugar maple, and boxelder), Sassafras albidum (sassafras), Robinia pseudoacacia (black locust), Celtis occidentalis (hackberry), Fraxinus spp. (ash), Quercus spp., and Carya spp. may be present depending on management and adjacent seed sources. Shrubs may include sumac, blackberries, dewberries, multiflora rose, Carolina rose, and other successional species.

Tree regeneration on these sites will depend on the severity and duration of disturbance, soil characteristics, adjacent plant communities and seed sources, post-disturbance management inputs, presence or absence of continued site disturbances (grazing, fire, timber cutting), slope, and aspect.

Transitioning this state to a reference condition would likely require timber stand improvement practices to control non-native vegetation and manage for desired tree species.
State 4: Phase 4.1. Abandoned Croplands

Plant species dominant:
henbit deadnettle (Lamium amplexicaule) – mouse-eared chickweed (Cerastium L. )

Abandonment of cropland would result in many weed species taking over the site. Initially, annual weeds would be predominate followed by grasses, shrubs and finally, pioneers trees.

It would require years of management, plantings, and weed control to establish successional communities that could transition to a reference community.

State 5: Phase 5.1. Cropland
Dependent upon seeding and management. Most common crops are corn and soybeans.

It would require years of management, plantings, and weed control to establish successional communities that could transition to a reference community.

TO VALIDATE THE INFORMATION IN THIS PROVISIONAL ECOLOGICAL SITE DESCRIPTION FUTURE FIELD WORK IS NEEDED. This will include field inspection and data collection including medium to high intensity sampling, soil correlations, and analysis of that data.

A final field review, peer review, quality control, and quality assurance reviews of the ESD will be needed to produce a document to be utilized for on-site conservation planning.