Name:
Picea rubens - Tsuga canadensis - Fagus grandifolia / Dryopteris intermedia Forest
Reference:
NatureServe Biotics 2019
Description:
This community is the transitional red spruce - northern hardwood forest of the Central Appalachians. It occupies cool, moist midslopes and ridges on well-drained to somewhat poorly drained acidic soils at elevations above 850 m (2800 feet). It generally occurs at lower elevations within the Central Appalachian red spruce zone, and is transitional to Central Appalachian northern hardwood forest. However, this forest type may also dominate at higher elevations, especially where organic soils and red spruce seedbanks have been removed by severe or repeated burning. While most stands occur on acidic substrates, a variant of this type extends into the middle and upper elevations of the red spruce zone along slightly richer substrates underlain by shale and limestone. The community is a closed-canopy mixed forest dominated by <i>Picea rubens, Tsuga canadensis, Betula alleghaniensis</i>, and <i>Acer rubrum</i>. <i>Picea rubens</i> comprises at least 15% of the canopy and may be dominant or codominant in the stand. Common associates include <i>Fagus grandifolia, Prunus serotina, Betula lenta, Acer saccharum</i>, and <i>Acer pensylvanicum</i>. Slightly less common are <i>Magnolia fraseri, Acer spicatum, Liriodendron tulipifera, Magnolia acuminata, Fraxinus americana, Amelanchier laevis</i>, and <i>Tilia americana</i>. The variable and often sparse shrub layer generally contains regenerating tree saplings and may also include <i>Ilex montana, Rhododendron maximum, Kalmia latifolia, Viburnum lantanoides, Vaccinium erythrocarpum, Smilax rotundifolia, Menziesia pilosa</i>, and <i>Sambucus racemosa</i>. The herb layer is strongly dominated by <i>Dryopteris intermedia</i>. Other common herbaceous species include <i>Maianthemum canadense, Oxalis montana, Mitchella repens, Dennstaedtia punctilobula, Trillium undulatum, Medeola virginiana, Oclemena acuminata, Dryopteris campyloptera, Anemone quinquefolia, Lycopodium dendroideum, Arisaema triphyllum, Carex debilis var. rudgei, Clintonia borealis, Dryopteris carthusiana, Danthonia compressa, Galium triflorum, Huperzia lucidula, Lycopodium clavatum, Lycopodium obscurum, Platanthera orbiculata, Polypodium appalachianum</i>, and <i>Tiarella cordifolia</i>. The dominant bryophytes are <i>Bazzania trilobata</i> and <i>Hypnum imponens</i>.
Accession Code:
urn:lsid:vegbank.org:commConcept:34679-{FF9CD779-F93B-4F2F-9385-72ACB55ED530}
Plot-observations of this Community Concept:
36
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