Name:
Populus (tremuloides, grandidentata) - Betula (populifolia, papyrifera) Ruderal Woodland
Reference:
Eastern Ecology Working Group of...
Description:
This is a common successional deciduous woodland/forest of the northern Appalachian Mountains, from New England, New York and adjacent Canada across to the northern Great Lakes. Small patches of this type are found on the Coastal Plain but are dominated by one or more of the following: <i>Populus tremuloides, Populus grandidentata</i> or the non-native <i>Populus alba</i>, and <i>Betula populifolia</i>. It occurs in various settings, often over thin glacial till. Elevation and aspect vary. The community is broadly defined and includes vegetation developing after severe disturbance such as logging, fires, severe hurricanes, or simply heavily fragmented residential development. This community can occur as closed-canopy forest or open woodland; in a few very exposed areas, it has been seen to grade to shrubland. Understory shrub cover varies from sparse to well-developed depending primarily on canopy closure. Herbs are typically sparse but may be locally dense. Bryoids are typically minor. The tree canopy is a heterogeneous mixture of light-requiring, wind-dispersed trees usually composed of several codominant species, including <i>Populus tremuloides, Populus grandidentata, Betula papyrifera, Betula populifolia, Populus balsamifera, Acer rubrum, Prunus serotina</i>, and/or <i>Prunus pensylvanica</i>. More minor components can include <i>Pinus strobus, Picea rubens, Abies balsamea, Acer saccharum, Quercus rubra, Fraxinus americana, Fraxinus pennsylvanica</i>, or <i>Ulmus americana</i> in the northern portions of the range. Scattered individuals of <i>Juniperus virginiana</i> may occur in southern examples of this community. The shrub layer can include <i>Viburnum dentatum, Lonicera morrowii, Frangula alnus (= Rhamnus frangula), Rhus typhina, Rhus copallinum, Morella pensylvanica, Rubus</i> spp., and/or <i>Viburnum dentatum</i>, in the southern portion of the range, or <i>Sorbus americana, Acer pensylvanicum, Viburnum nudum var. cassinoides</i>, or <i>Hamamelis virginiana</i>. <i>Vaccinium angustifolium, Kalmia angustifolia, Gaylussacia baccata</i>, and <i>Comptonia peregrina</i> may form a dwarf-shrub layer in the northern portion of the range. Associated herbs to the north typically include <i>Pteridium aquilinum, Deschampsia flexuosa, Festuca trachyphylla (= Festuca ovina), Cornus canadensis, Doellingeria umbellata (= Aster umbellatus), Eurybia macrophylla (= Aster macrophyllus), Danthonia spicata, Carex lucorum</i> and related species, and <i>Maianthemum canadense</i>. Typical bryoids include <i>Polytrichum commune, Polytrichum juniperinum, Dicranum</i> spp., and <i>Cladonia</i> spp. Herbs in southern examples of this community are typically old-field grasses and <i>Solidago</i> spp. In the absence of major disturbance, these forests mostly succeed to northern hardwood, spruce-fir, mixed northern hardwood-spruce-fir, or red oak - northern hardwood forests in the northern portion of the range.
Accession Code:
VB.CC.31243.CEGL006303
Plot-observations of this Community Concept:
0
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