Name:
Chamaecyparis thyoides - Acer rubrum Saturated Forest Alliance
Reference:
Eastern Ecology Working Group of...
Description:
This alliance is characterized by a canopy of abundant Chamaecyparis thyoides, but because other hardwoods are often present in quantity, this vegetation is placed within a mixed alliance. Nearly pure stands do occur, but their floristic composition is similar enough to warrant their placement within this alliance. Associated canopy trees include Acer rubrum, Magnolia virginiana, Betula alleghaniensis, Pinus strobus, Pinus rigida, Pinus serotina, and Nyssa sylvatica. Common shrubs include Vaccinium corymbosum, Ilex glabra, Leucothoe racemosa, Lyonia lucida, Rhododendron viscosum, Clethra alnifolia, and Gaylussacia frondosa. Common herbaceous species of this alliance include Osmunda cinnamomea, Woodwardia virginica, Smilax rotundifolia, Smilax laurifolia, Trientalis borealis, Arundinaria gigantea, Maianthemum canadense, and Aralia nudicaulis. Sphagnum hummocks are usually characteristic of this vegetation. Schizaea pusilla is apparently restricted to this vegetation, where it grows at the bases of cedar trees. Other species found in this alliance on the Delmarva peninsula include Orontium aquaticum and Alnus maritima. Communities of this alliance are commonly associated with pine barrens vegetation in New Jersey; Long Island, New York; and Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Isolated communities also occur in poorly drained depressions inland of the coastal plain in Massachusetts, New York and New Jersey. Waters are generally acidic, and soils are usually thick peat deposits in basin wetlands, or mucks overlying mineral soils along water courses. Atlantic white-cedar grows in basins and along streams in the pine barrens; it is much more common in this habitat in Delaware than it is in basins not influenced by stream flooding or seepage. White-cedar reaches its greatest abundance on artificial habitats in Delaware, headwaters of dammed mill ponds (Clancy 1993b). As a commercially important species, Atlantic white-cedar has been cut extensively throughout its range, and very few virgin or old-growth stands are known. Classification of this vegetation is complicated by this fact, although much research has been done on the impacts of fire in this vegetation. Although Atlantic white-cedar trees are fire-sensitive, many stands were initiated following fire. Low-intensity fires that did not burn the forest floor foster the growth of dense seedlings. Seedling mortality is high, but even mature stands initiated in this way are quite dense (McCormick 1979.)
Accession Code:
VB.CC.18277.CHAMAECYPARISTH
Plot-observations of this Community Concept:
0
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