Name:
NY Heritage: Hemlock-northern hardwood forest
Reference:
Ecological Communities of New York, 2nd Ed.
Description:
A mixed forest that typically occurs on middle to lower slopes of ravines, on cool, mid-elevation slopes, and on moist, well-drained sites at the margins of swamps.
In any one stand, eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis) is codominant with any one to three of the following: American beech (Fagus grandifolia), sugar maple (Acer saccharum), red maple (A. rubrum), black cherry (Prunus serotina), white pine (Pinus strobus), yellow birch (Betula alleghaniensis), black birch (B. lenta), red oak (Quercus rubra), and basswood (Tilia americana). The relative cover of eastern hemlock is quite variable, ranging from nearly pure stands in some steep ravines to as little as 20% of the canopy cover. Striped maple (Acer pensylvanicum) is often prominent as a mid-story tree.
The shrublayer may be sparse; characteristic shrubs are hobblebush (Viburnum lantanoides), maple-leaf viburnum (Viburnum acerifolium), and raspberries (Rubus spp.). In some ravines, especially in the southern part of the state, rosebay (Rhododendron maximum) forms a dense subcanopy or tall shrublayer. Canopy cover can be quite dense, resulting in low light intensities on the forest floor and hence a relatively sparse groundlayer.
Characteristic groundlayer plants are Indian cucumber-root (Medeola virginiana), Canada mayflower (Maianthemum canadense), shining fir clubmoss (Huperzia lucidula), common wood fern (Dryopteris intermedia), mountain wood fern (Dryopteris campyloptera), christmas fern (Polystichum acrostichoides), star flower (Trientalis borealis), sessile-leaved bellwort (Uvularia sessilifolia), common wood-sorrel (Oxalis montana), partridge berry (Mitchella repens), foamflower (Tiarella cordifolia), round-leaf violet (Viola rotundifolia), twisted stalk (Streptopus roseus), purple trillium (Trillium erectum), and the moss Leucobryum glaucum. In forests that have American beech as a codominant, beech-drops (Epifagus virginiana) is a common herb.
Characteristic birds include wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo), pileated woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus), golden-crowned kinglet (Regulus satrapa), black-throated green warbler (Dendroica virens), and Acadian flycatcher (Empidonax virescens).
This is a broadly defined and very widespread community, with many regional and edaphic variants. For example, in the Hudson Valley, eastern hemlock is sometimes codominant with red oak; in the Adirondacks, yellow birch and sugar maple are sometimes codominant, with a relatively small number of eastern hemlocks as well as a few red spruce (Picea rubens). More data on the shrublayer and groundlayer composition are needed before these regional variants can be distinguished as separate types.
Accession Code:
VB.CC.28655.NYHERITAGEHEMLO
Plot-observations of this Community Concept:
14
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