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Related Subnational Community Units These data are subject to substantial ongoing revision and may be out of date for some states.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/natureserve-network. Information from programs in other jurisdictions will be posted when they are made available.
Subnation	Concept Name	Relationship to Standard	Confidence	Reference
Pennsylvania	Serpentine Virginia Pine - Oak Forest	Broader		Fike 1999

Other Related Concepts

Related Concept Name: Serpentine Barren

Relationship: B - Broader

Reference: Harrison, J. W., compiler. 2004. Classification of vegetation communities of Maryland: First iteration. A subset of the International Classification of Ecological Communities: Terrestrial Vegetation of the United States, NatureServe. Maryland Natural Heritage Program, Maryland Department of Natural Resources, Annapolis. 243 pp.

Related Concept Name: Smith's Eastern Serpentine Barren

Relationship: B - Broader

Reference: Podniesinski, G., A. Leimanis, and J. Ebert. 1999. Serpentine plant community classification. Unpublished data. Western Pennsylvania Conservancy, Pittsburgh, PA. 14 pp.

Ecological Systems Placement
Ecological System Unique ID	Ecological System Name
CES202.347	Eastern Serpentine Woodland

Global Status: G1G2 (20Sep2005)
Rounded Global Status: G1 - Critically Imperiled
Reasons: New ranking will need to be developed for each serpentine association.

United States Distribution: MD, PA
Global Distribution: United States
Global Range: This community occurs in serpentine barrens located within Chester and Lancaster counties in Pennsylvania and Cecil County in Maryland.

U.S. Forest Service Ecoregions
Domain Name: Humid Temperate Domain
Division Name: Hot Continental Division
Province Name: Eastern Broadleaf Forest (Oceanic) Province
Province Code: 221			Occurrence Status: Confident or certain
Section Name: Northern Appalachian Piedmont Section
Section Code: 221D			Occurrence Status: Confident or certain
Division Name: Subtropical Division
Province Name: Outer Coastal Plain Mixed Forest Province
Province Code: 232			Occurrence Status: Confident or certain
Section Name: Coastal Plains and Flatwoods, Lower Section
Section Code: 232B			Occurrence Status: Confident or certain

Vegetation Summary: The dominant canopy trees are Pinus virginiana and Juniperus virginiana. Sassafras albidum and Acer rubrum also are present but are not abundant in the canopy. The low-shrub layer is sparse and consists mainly of occasional hardwood seedlings. The dense shade of the conifer overstory and the accumulation of needle litter have produced a depauperate herbaceous layer. Smilax rotundifolia is the dominant species in the herbaceous layer and also acts as a liana, climbing into the conifer canopy and forming an often impenetrable curtain. Characteristic herbaceous species include Microstegium vimineum, Danthonia spicata, and Polystichum acrostichoides.

Vegetation Composition (incomplete)
Species Name	Rounded Global Status	Growth Form	Stratum	Charact- eristic	Dominant	Constant	Cover Class %	Con- stancy %
Juniperus virginiana	G1	Needle-leaved tree	Tree canopy
Pinus virginiana	G1	Needle-leaved tree	Tree canopy
Microstegium vimineum	G1	Graminoid	Herb (field)
Smilax rotundifolia	G1	Liana	Herb (field)

Wetland Indicator: N
Environmental Summary: This serpentine plant community is associated with soils derived from weathered serpentine bedrock and typically occurs on the upper portions of moderate to steep slopes (typically 5-25°) commonly with a northerly and/or easterly aspect. Soils are typically well-drained and somewhat moist to dry. Soil texture is characteristically silt loam or clay loam and may be stony to stone-free. Soil depth varies from 4 cm to >30 cm but is typically 10 to 20 cm deep.

Dynamics: This plant community is adapted to the weathering of serpentine bedrock. It was once thought that the lack of canopy cover was maintained by the unique edaphic features of the chrome series soils, but in the last 20 years, many sites have been invaded by dense Pinus virginiana (Tyndall 1992a). In this community, Virginia pine and eastern red-cedar are the canopy dominants. This phenomenon dramatically alters the light regime and promotes substantial soil development (up to 10 cm in 20 years). Under these conditions, an entirely different community develops as the influence of the bedrock is buffered by the soil/litter accumulation. This closed-canopy serpentine forest exhibits a dense understory of Smilax rotundifolia. Some of the characteristic herbaceous serpentine species apparently persist in the ground layer as scattered non-flowering individuals; other populations appear to die out but may persist in the seed bank. Selective cutting has been effective in restoring degraded sites to their previous composition and structure, but most researchers believe that without regular burning to prevent soil development the serpentine plant communities will not persist. There is substantial evidence that most of the existing areas were regularly burned by Native Americans (Marye 1920, 1955a, 1955b, 1955c) and perhaps maintained by grazing after European settlement.

Plots stored in VegBank

Concept Author(s): G. Podniesinski, A. Leimanis, and J. Ebert (1999)
Element Description Edition Date: 20Sep2005
Element Description Author(s): G. Podniesinski, A. Leimanis, J. Ebert, M. Anderson
NatureServe Conservation Status Factors Edition Date: 20Sep2005
NatureServe Conservation Status Factors Author(s): L.A. Sneddon and E.F. Largay

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