Name:
Picea rubens / Vaccinium erythrocarpum / Sphagnum spp. - Bazzania trilobata Forest
Reference:
Eastern Ecology Working Group of...
Description:
This acidic conifer woodland or forested swamp occurs on saturated and temporarily flooded soils in headwater basins of the Allegheny Mountains region of West Virginia, at elevations between 1140 and 1400 m above sea level. It is a small-patch community maintained by slow seepage, low-energy overflow inundation, and rainfall. It occupies gently sloping land (0- to 6-degree slopes) on the margins between upland spruce forest and open beaver-influenced headwater wetlands, and in alluvial bottoms along high-elevation meandering streams. Standing snags are common, the result of inundation stress during wet years and beaver-influenced water table fluctuations. Microtopography is characterized by irregular hummocks formed over tree roots, tip-up mounds, decaying wood, and around woody stem clusters. Soils are somewhat poorly to poorly drained peat, muck, or organic-rich mottled silt loam, generally underlain by clay. The canopy is open to closed and strongly dominated by <i>Picea rubens</i>. The subcanopy is also dominated by <i>Picea rubens</i>, with lower cover by <i>Acer rubrum</i> and <i>Betula alleghaniensis var. alleghaniensis</i>. The tall-shrub layer is similar in composition to the subcanopy, with the occasional low cover by <i>Ilex montana, Rhododendron maximum</i>, or <i>Sorbus americana</i>. The short-shrub layer is dominated by <i>Vaccinium erythrocarpum</i>, with locally abundant <i>Kalmia latifolia</i>. The herbaceous ground layer is variable and sparse; <i>Dryopteris intermedia</i> or <i>Thelypteris noveboracensis</i> may be locally abundant. Species with high constancy but low cover include <i>Osmunda cinnamomea var. cinnamomea, Maianthemum canadense, Clintonia</i> spp., and <i>Carex trisperma var. trisperma</i>. Nonvascular plants are dominated by <i>Bazzania trilobata</i>, which blankets the abundant downfall, and <i>Sphagnum</i> ssp. (<i>Sphagnum girgensohnii, Sphagnum fallax, Sphagnum palustre</i>, and <i>Sphagnum rubellum</i>), which carpet the mucky hollows; <i>Polytrichum</i> spp. and <i>Hypnum imponens</i> are also common. Indicator species that help to distinguish this community from others within the forest/woodland physiognomy for high-elevation wetlands of the Allegheny Mountains region include <i>Vaccinium erythrocarpum, Bazzania trilobata, Maianthemum canadense</i>, and <i>Clintonia</i> spp. Mean species richness of all vascular plants and any nonvascular plants with cover >1% is 24 taxa per 400 square meters.
Accession Code:
VB.CC.30979.CEGL006593
Plot-observations of this Community Concept:
0
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