Name:
Populus tremuloides / Vaccinium myrtilloides / Solidago uliginosa Forest
Reference:
Description:
This successional deciduous forested swamp occurs on moist to temporarily flooded soils in headwater basins of the Allegheny Mountains region of West Virginia, at elevations between 950 and 1200 m. This community is an outlier that occurs well south of the primary range of <i>Populus tremuloides</i> wetlands. It is a small-patch clonal type that occupies flat to very gently sloping land (0- to 1-degree slopes) in larger wetland mosaics, often surrounded by successional shrub swamps or peatlands. It is part of a natural (beaver-influenced) disturbance regime, although its natural extent would be less than the current extent, which has been enlarged due to extensive logging and burning about 1900, and subsequent grazing. Median stand age ranges from 30-40 years. This type represents important habitat that was once covered by <i>Picea rubens</i> swamps and is likely to eventually recover if natural succession is allowed to proceed unhindered. Soils are poorly drained, mottled silt or clay loam, underlain by clay or clay loam. Organic soils are absent, although a few centimeters of litter or duff cover the soil surface. The community is characterized by an open to closed canopy of clonal <i>Populus tremuloides</i> with diverse shrub and herb layers. The canopy is strongly dominated by <i>Populus tremuloides</i>, occasionally including very low cover of <i>Crataegus punctata, Picea rubens, Amelanchier laevis</i>, and <i>Crataegus macrosperma</i>. Canopy height is less than 20 m, and sometimes it is as low as 5 m, essentially crossing the transition between woodland and shrubland physiognomy. The shrub strata are dominated by young <i>Populus tremuloides, Vaccinium myrtilloides, Viburnum nudum var. cassinoides</i>, and <i>Viburnum recognitum</i>. <i>Spiraea alba</i> or <i>Photinia melanocarpa</i> may be locally abundant. The herbaceous layer is typically diverse, with high cover and constancy by <i>Solidago uliginosa, Rubus hispidus, Danthonia compressa, Solidago rugosa, Euthamia graminifolia var. graminifolia, Potentilla simplex, Doellingeria umbellata var. umbellata</i>, and <i>Juncus effusus</i>. The non-native species <i>Anthoxanthum odoratum ssp. odoratum</i> is often present with low cover. Nonvascular plants typically include <i>Polytrichum commune, Sphagnum</i> spp., and <i>Callicladium haldanianum</i>. Mean species richness of all vascular plants and any nonvascular plants with cover >1% ranges from 14-57 (mean=29) taxa per 400 square meters, with most of the diversity in the herb layer.
Accession Code:
VB.CC.37495.CEGL006594
Plot-observations of this Community Concept:
16
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