Addendum 2
Chapter 4 Habitats
associates, with black oak and sometimes scarlet oak present along with hickories and shortleaf pine. They remain one of the most abundant community types in the Piedmont but have been reduced by a great proportion from their past extent. Very mature examples and large unfragmented examples are uncommon. Examples of Dry — Mesic Oak — Hickory Forest are rare in the Coastal Plain, though more abundant than Dry Oak — Hickory Forest. • Dry Basic Oak — Hickory Forest communities occur on rocks such as gabbro and diabase that produce less acidic soils. They occur on upper slopes and upper flats with similar moisture levels as Dry Oak — Hickory Forests. They are dominated by white oak in combination with post or southern red oak, but usually have abundant hickories, including less common species such as shagbark and southern shagbark. Ash is also usually common and shortleaf pine is often a component. Distinctive species of trees, such as redbud and chalk maple, may predominate in the understory, and viburnums, coralberry, or Carolina buckthorn are often more common than blueberries in the shrub layer. These communities have suffered losses from their past extent that are comparable to those of Dry Oak — Hickory Forest, but because their substrates are much less common, remaining examples are scarce. • Dry — Mesic Basic Oak Hickory Forest communities occur on substrates such as gabbro and diabase in settings with moisture levels similar to Dry — Mesic Oak — Hickory Forest. The canopy is dominated by white oak and red oak, in combination with hickories that often include shagbark and southern shagbark, as well as ash, shortleaf pine, and sometimes southern sugar maple. The distinctive understory and shrub species found in Dry Basic Oak — Hickory Forest are often present. Additionally, species typical of mesic and floodplain communities, such as spicebush and dwarf buckeye, as well as a number of herbaceous species, may occur farther uphill in these communities. • Piedmont Monadnock Forests occur on scattered erosional remnant hills that stand above the surrounding uplands because they are more resistant to erosion. The substrate is rocky and soil conditions dry. These communities are dominated by chestnut oak, a species that is common in the mountains but otherwise uncommon in the Piedmont. Shortleaf pine may be codominant. White, post, southern red, and scarlet oaks may be present in small numbers, but often chestnut oak makes up nearly all the canopy. These communities are restricted and are unlikely to migrate. Their extent probably will stay the same, but some aspects of the communities may change.
2022 Addendum 2
4A2- 2
NC Wildlife Action Plan
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