Name:
Tsuga canadensis - Fagus grandifolia - Acer saccharum / (Hamamelis virginiana, Kalmia latifolia) Forest
Reference:
Eastern Ecology Working Group of...
Description:
This community is found in parts of the Interior Low Plateau and the Western Allegheny Plateau and possibly the Central Appalachians of Virginia in the northeastern and east-central United States. Stands occur on dry-mesic to mesic slopes, sometimes in steep-sloped valleys. Soils are typically acid, silty to sandy loams, with a sandstone or shale parent material. The overstory is dominated by Tsuga canadensis, Acer saccharum, Acer rubrum, and Fagus grandifolia. Rarely does any one of these comprise more than 50% of the mature trees in a stand. Other trees are common in the canopy, among them Betula alleghaniensis, Betula lenta, Carya spp., Liriodendron tulipifera, Nyssa sylvatica, Pinus strobus, Prunus serotina, Quercus alba, Quercus rubra, and Tilia americana. The shrub layer, occasionally sparse, contains Hamamelis virginiana, Lindera benzoin, and Viburnum acerifolium, as well as ericaceous shrubs, including Kalmia latifolia (except in the northern portion of the Western Allegheny Plateau) and Rhododendron maximum. The ground layer contains the ferns Botrychium virginianum, Dryopteris intermedia, Dryopteris marginalis, Polystichum acrostichoides, and the herbs Arisaema triphyllum, Maianthemum canadense, Mitchella repens, Podophyllum peltatum, Viola blanda, and Viola rotundifolia, among others. Three subtypes are possible: (1) steep-walled sandstone gorges and talus, where Hydrangea arborescens, Kalmia latifolia, and Dryopteris marginalis may be indicative; (2) more gently sloped valleys, with shrubs such as Hamamelis virginiana, Viburnum acerifolium; and (3) rolling lakeplain ridges. The Kentucky examples, which are mesic rather than dry-mesic, may lack Acer saccharum, Maianthemum canadense, and several other species, and may contain Magnolia spp., (e.g., Magnolia tripetala, Magnolia acuminata, and Magnolia macrophylla) (J. Campbell pers. comm. 2000). In addition, Betula lenta (widespread on Appalachian Plateaus) is replaced by Betula alleghaniensis (var. macrolepis?) in western Kentucky and southern Indiana.
Accession Code:
VB.CC.23762.TSUGACANADENSIS
Plot-observations of this Community Concept:
0
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