Name:
Quercus rubra - Acer rubrum - Betula spp. - Pinus strobus Forest
Reference:
Eastern Ecology Working Group of...
Description:
This deciduous to mixed forest of northern New England is a broadly defined community, usually developing after severe disturbance including clearing, pasturing, logging, fires, severe hurricanes, or simply heavily fragmented residential development. While in some cases it is a successional type, it may persist in some settings, particularly where soils are limited, for example along ridgelines. The canopy trees are mostly 40-100 years old. The canopy ranges from somewhat open to closed; the shrub, herb, and bryoid layers are patchy and rarely extensive. Composition is variable depending on site history. The canopy is usually mostly deciduous, dominated by a heterogeneous mixture of Quercus rubra, Pinus strobus, and Fagus grandifolia. Typically these occur in association with light-requiring, wind-dispersed trees such as Acer rubrum, Populus tremuloides, Populus grandidentata, Betula papyrifera, Betula populifolia, and Prunus serotina. Minor associates include Picea rubens and Acer saccharum. Understory species tend to reflect predisturbance conditions and include Acer pensylvanicum, Corylus cornuta, Viburnum acerifolium, or Hamamelis virginiana in the shrub layer. Vaccinium angustifolium is a typical low shrub. Pteridium aquilinum is characteristic, and may be abundant, in the herbaceous layer; other common herbs include Trientalis borealis, Maianthemum canadense, Deschampsia flexuosa, and Aralia nudicaulis. The bryophyte layer is of variable cover and may include Polytrichum commune and Dicranum polysetum. This association is differentiated from similar forests and woodlands by its thin canopy that usually includes some early-successional species, low abundance of tolerant hardwoods other than red oak, and the lack of a well-developed heath shrub layer (as is typical in oak-pine woodlands). Unlike oak and oak-pine forests to the south, Quercus rubra is the only oak species present in any abundance.
Accession Code:
VB.CC.21986.QUERCUSRUBRAACE
Plot-observations of this Community Concept:
0
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