Closed canopy forests characterize the State 1 (pre-settlement) vegetation of this site. These forests are comprised of mixed pine and hardwood species, or hardwoods only, depending on local moisture conditions and disturbance regimes.
Characteristic canopy species include: live oak (Quercus virginiana), southern magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora), pignut hickory (Carya glabra), sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua), laurel oak (Q. hemisphaerica), swamp chestnut oak (Q. michauxii), southern hackberry (Celtis occidentalis), white ash (Fraxinus americana). Loblolly pine (Pinus taeda) may be present, particularly following canopy openings from wind or fire.
Sub-canopy strata contain many seedlings and saplings of canopy hardwoods, in addition to shrubs and small tree species: (Ilex opaca), red bay (Persea borbonia), American hornbeam (Carpinus caroliniana), devil's walkingstick (Aralia spinosa), eastern hophornbeam (Ostrya virginiana), flowering dogwood (Cornus florida), eastern redbud (Cercis canadensis), winged elm (Ulmus alata), black cherry (Prunus serotina).
Herbaceous species of the understory are shade-tolerant, and include partridgeberry (Mitchella repens), Virginia creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia), violets (Viola spp.), sedges (Carex spp.), sarsaparilla vine (Smilax pumila), ebony spleenwort (Asplenium platyneuron), woodsgrass (Oplismenus hirtellus), and longleaf woodoats (Chasmanthium laxum var. sessiliflorum).
This state describes commodity land uses of the Poorly Drained Upland Pine-Hardwood Forests. The mesic soils of this site are desirable for agriculture and timber production, including annual row crops, orchards, and pine plantations. Also included in State 2 are improved pastures of bahiagrass (or other sod forming grass species).
All phases of State 2 describe conditions following ground penetrating soil disturbance, to the degree that native ground cover is mostly absent. Generally these phases are characterized by the complete extirpation of native ground cover populations, including seed banks and dormant propagules, although native weedy species may persist (mostly annual species). Depending on the severity and frequency of ground disturbance, soil profile characteristics in the upper part of the soil may be altered.
State 3 describes a condition where one or several noxious non-native species has invaded and dominated the site. The most common noxious invasive plant species of cleared areas on these soils is cogongrass (Imperata cylindrica; (MacDonald 2004)). This highly clonal grass spreads rapidly by underground rhizomes and windblown seeds, forming dense circular patches which can become very large (on the order of 100’s of acres). Cogongrass grows vigorously in full sunlight (MacDonald 2004). Furthermore, cogongrass is a prolific seed producer, and readily invades following soil disturbances. (Yager, Miller, and Jones 2010). Several other noxious plant species may invade forested phases of this Site.
Model keys
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The Ecosystem Dynamics Interpretive Tool is an information system framework developed by the USDA-ARS Jornada Experimental Range, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, and New Mexico State University.
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