Name:
Picea rubens / Kalmia latifolia - Menziesia pilosa Woodland
Reference:
Eastern Ecology Working Group of...
Description:
This red spruce woodland occurs on acidic bedrock outcrops or summits on the Allegheny Front of the Central Appalachians. The community is characterized by a stunted, open canopy of <i>Picea rubens</i>, with abundant heath shrubs and lichens. Soil is sparse, generally occurring in cracks and pore spaces between rocks, and characterized by very high organic matter and low macro- and micronutrients. Large seasonal temperature variations are recorded for this habitat. The open canopy is strongly dominated by <i>Picea rubens</i>, with much lower cover of <i>Pinus rigida, Acer rubrum, Betula alleghaniensis var. alleghaniensis, Amelanchier laevis, Sorbus americana</i>, and <i>Tsuga canadensis</i>. The shrub strata are diverse with abundant <i>Kalmia latifolia</i> accompanied by <i>Vaccinium angustifolium, Nemopanthus mucronatus, Rhododendron maximum, Menziesia pilosa, Gaylussacia baccata, Photinia melanocarpa, Vaccinium erythrocarpum</i>, and other shrubs. The herbaceous layer is sparse, often including <i>Maianthemum canadense, Pteridium aquilinum</i>, and <i>Polypodium appalachianum</i>. The nonvascular stratum has significant diversity, much of which occurs as abundant crustose lichens on the rocky substrate. In addition to crustose lichens, the nonvascular layer often includes <i>Cladina rangiferina (= Cladonia rangiferina), Umbilicaria muehlenbergii, Hypnum imponens, Leucobryum glaucum, Pleurozium schreberi</i>, and <i>Lasallia papulosa</i>. Along the Allegheny Front at Red Creek Plains and Helmick Run in West Virginia, a variant of this woodland occurs with <i>Pinus rigida</i> codominant in the canopy.
Accession Code:
VB.CC.30939.CEGL006254
Plot-observations of this Community Concept:
0
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