Name:
Quercus rubra - Acer rubrum / Pyrularia pubera / Thelypteris noveboracensis Forest
Reference:
NatureServe Biotics 2019
Description:
This association includes <i>Quercus rubra</i> forests at intermediate elevations (mostly below 1067 m [3500 feet], ranging from 610-1220 m [2000-4000 feet]) occurring in the Southern Blue Ridge Escarpment, the Smoky Mountains and the Southern Blue Ridge. It may possibly range into adjacent areas of the Cumberland Plateau. These forests occur on mostly northern to eastern and southeastern, mid to upper, moderately steep slopes of intermediate exposure over acidic soils. The canopy is dominated by <i>Quercus rubra</i>, often with other oaks and <i>Acer rubrum</i> and/or <i>Liriodendron tulipifera</i> codominating. Other minor canopy species may include <i>Betula lenta, Carya tomentosa, Carya glabra, Halesia tetraptera, Quercus alba, Quercus montana</i>, and <i>Magnolia fraseri</i>. In some examples, hickories are sparse or absent. The subcanopy and sapling strata include the canopy species, as well as <i>Halesia tetraptera, Betula lenta, Tsuga canadensis, Cornus florida, Acer pensylvanicum</i>, and <i>Oxydendrum arboreum</i>. The shrub stratum is typically sparse but may have local dominance by <i>Gaylussacia ursina</i> or <i>Rhododendron maximum</i>. Herbaceous cover is sparse to moderate but can be species-rich. Ferns can be locally dominant, typically <i>Thelypteris noveboracensis</i> and <i>Athyrium filix-femina ssp. asplenioides</i>. This forest is distinguished from High Elevation Red Oak forests [see associations in ~<i>Quercus rubra - Quercus alba</i> Montane Forest Alliance (A3116)$$] by lack of species such as <i>Betula alleghaniensis, Ilex montana, Vaccinium simulatum</i>, and by lacking abundant <i>Hamamelis virginiana</i>, as well as its occurrence at generally lower elevations. It is also characterized by having a more mixed oak composition (versus nearly monospecific <i>Quercus rubra</i>). In the Southern Blue Ridge Escarpment region, these montane oak-hickory forests seem to occupy environments intermediate between more-protected forests dominated by <i>Quercus alba</i> and drier more-exposed <i>Quercus montana</i> forests.
Accession Code:
urn:lsid:vegbank.org:commConcept:34839-{2E671EE5-B2CD-4354-9E1C-1C261015F8F1}
Plot-observations of this Community Concept:
103
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