Name:
Acer saccharum - Fraxinus americana - Tilia americana / Acer spicatum / Allium tricoccum - Caulophyllum thalictroides Forest
Reference:
Eastern Ecology Working Group of...
Description:
This rich maple - ash - basswood forest association is found from the northeastern United States and Canada to the central Great Lakes area, south to the High Alleghenies of Virginia and West Virginia. Stands occur on nutrient-rich, mesic or wet-mesic settings on sloped to rolling terrain. Slope bottoms, where colluvium collects, is a common landscape position. The surface soils are deep sand, loamy sand, or loam and may be underlain by sandy clay loam to clay loam. The sites are somewhat poorly drained to well-drained and can have a water table 0.4-2 m below the surface. Small (<1 ha) seep areas that may occur within these forests have soils that are usually saturated. This forest community has a well-developed tree canopy composed of deciduous species. Shrubs are scattered, but the herbaceous stratum is generally extensive. Bryoids are only a minor component of the ground layer, which is predominantly nitrogen-rich sugar maple leaves. Acer saccharum and Fraxinus americana are the dominant trees; Tilia americana is frequent but not necessarily abundant. Ostrya virginiana is very common as a small tree. Quercus rubra, Acer rubrum, Betula alleghaniensis, Fagus grandifolia, and Prunus serotina are typical associates. Ulmus rubra and Juglans cinerea are occasional. Shrubs that may be found in this community include Cornus alternifolia, Viburnum lantanoides (= Viburnum alnifolium), Hamamelis virginiana, Dirca palustris, and Lonicera canadensis. The ground flora, including many spring ephemerals, is diverse and consists primarily of nutrient- and light-requiring species. Many of these flower and fruit early in the spring before the tree canopy has fully leafed out; Dicentra cucullaria, Dicentra canadensis, Hepatica spp., Asarum canadense, Caulophyllum thalictroides, Viola canadensis, Viola rotundifolia, Actaea pachypoda, Osmorhiza claytonii, Panax quinquefolius, Sanguinaria canadensis, and Erythronium americanum are typical. Fern richness is often high, with characteristic species including Adiantum pedatum, Cystopteris bulbifera, Deparia acrostichoides (= Athyrium thelypterioides), Dryopteris goldiana, Dryopteris filix-mas, Botrychium virginianum, Athyrium filix-femina, Phegopteris hexagonoptera (= Thelypteris hexagonoptera), and, especially in seepy spots, Matteuccia struthiopteris. Various sedges are present (particularly the Laxiflorae) such as Carex laxiflora, Carex platyphylla, Carex plantaginea, Carex leptonervia, Carex hitchcockiana, Carex aestivalis, Carex davisii, Carex bebbii, and others. The herbaceous flora in seeps often contains Calamagrostis canadensis, Carex scabrata, Ageratina altissima (= Eupatorium rugosum), Glyceria melicaria, Impatiens capensis (sometimes Impatiens pallida as well), and Solidago flexicaulis. These forests are differentiated from less-rich northern hardwood forests, e.g., Acer saccharum - Betula alleghaniensis - Fagus grandifolia / Viburnum lantanoides Forest (CEGL006252), primarily by their abundant and diverse herbaceous layer, as well as by the greater prominence of sugar maple and ash in the canopy and reduced importance of beech.
Accession Code:
VB.CC.22810.ACERSACCHARUMFR
Plot-observations of this Community Concept:
0
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