Name:
Quercus rubra Montane Forest Alliance
Reference:
Southeastern Ecology Working Gro...
Description:
This alliance includes Quercus rubra-dominated forest vegetation of high elevations (over 1070 m or 3500 feet), montane landscapes in the central and southern Appalachians. A closed to very open canopy has trees that are often gnarled and stunted, especially on ridge crests. Quercus rubra is often the only canopy tree, but other species may have minor importance, including Acer rubrum, Crataegus punctata, Crataegus flabellata, Betula alleghaniensis, and Betula lenta. Quercus alba is a significant component of forests at high elevations in Virginia's Ridge and Valley and at the lower elevations of associations in the Southern Blue Ridge. Forests in this alliance have variable physiognomies, ranging from open herb-dominated understories to understories dominated by dense ericaceous shrubs. If a subcanopy is present, typical species include canopy species plus Hamamelis virginiana, Amelanchier arborea, Acer pensylvanicum, Halesia tetraptera, and Ilex montana. In forests with little or no shrub cover, herbaceous cover is dense and diverse, composed of sedges, ferns, and tall herbs, with dominance varying within and between occurrences. Where shrub cover is dense, the herbaceous stratum is not diverse and is typically very sparse with scattered forbs. Major compositional variation within these forests is related to a moisture gradient, which in turn is a function of topographic position and relative amount of solar radiation received. Forests typically occur over well-drained, loamy soils underlain by Precambrian gneisses, schists, and granites. These soils are classified as Typic, Umbric, or Lithic Dystrochrepts, and Typic Haplumbrepts. Soils supporting these forests tend to have relatively high base status. Forests occur on most of the major mountain ranges of the southern Appalachians at elevations of 1070-1525 m (3500-5000 feet) on broad ridges, mid to upper slope positions, and on steep rocky slopes at the heads of coves. Forests are also known from the central (on granitic crests) and northern Blue Ridge (on middle to upper convex slopes) and in the northern Ridge and Valley. Damage by ice storms is probably the most common form of natural disturbance in these montane forests. On exposed sites these forests commonly contain, as inclusions, acidic rock outcrop communities and montane shrublands, and may grade into forests dominated by Tsuga caroliniana, Pinus rigida, Pinus pungens, and Quercus prinus. At higher elevations these forests often occur adjacent to or grade into forests dominated by Picea rubens, Abies fraseri, or northern hardwood species (Betula alleghaniensis, Fagus grandifolia, Aesculus flava). In some areas, forests are found adjacent to montane shrublands and grasslands. At low elevations, on dry sites, these forests may grade into forests dominated by mixed Quercus species. Many Quercus rubra-dominated stands of today were, prior to the Chestnut Blight in the 1930s, dominated or codominated by Castanea dentata with scattered Quercus rubra and Acer rubrum in the canopy. The fungus Cryphonectria parasitica (= Endothia parasitica) eliminated Castanea dentata in the upper canopy, subsequently releasing the subcanopy Quercus rubra, which eventually resulted in a nearly pure upper canopy of large Quercus rubra.
Accession Code:
VB.CC.19913.QUERCUSRUBRAMON
Plot-observations of this Community Concept:
0
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