Login | Datasets | Logout
 

View Community Concepts - Detail

Picea rubens - (Tsuga canadensis) / Rhododendron maximum Swamp Forest | NatureServe Biotics 2019
  click to update datacart
Name: Picea rubens - (Tsuga canadensis) / Rhododendron maximum Swamp Forest
Reference: NatureServe Biotics 2019
Description: This spruce-hemlock wetland forest of the central and southern Appalachian Mountains occurs on relatively flat terrain in poorly drained bottomlands of small streams at high elevations (above 1067 m [3500 feet] elevation in the Southern Blue Ridge to above 610 m [2000 feet] in the Central Appalachians). Small patches of this community also occur in the High Alleghany Plateau of Pennsylvania and New York. It historically occurred in Tennessee. Soils are seasonally to semipermanently saturated due to a high water table or seepage from adjacent slopes. The tree canopy is dominated by <i>Picea rubens</i> or mixtures of <i>Picea rubens</i> and <i>Tsuga canadensis</i>. Other tree species that may occur in the canopy or subcanopy include <i>Tsuga canadensis, Betula alleghaniensis, Acer rubrum var. rubrum, Taxus canadensis</i>, and <i>Amelanchier arborea</i>. This forest often has a dense shrub layer dominated by <i>Rhododendron maximum</i>, with other associates often including <i>Kalmia latifolia, Ilex verticillata, Ilex collina, Viburnum nudum var. cassinoides, Aronia melanocarpa</i>, and <i>Vaccinium</i> spp. The herbaceous layer is sparse, with the majority of herbaceous species restricted to openings, and includes <i>Carex trisperma, Carex folliculata, Glyceria melicaria, Osmunda cinnamomea, Osmunda regalis</i>, and <i>Maianthemum canadense</i>. <i>Listera smallii, Oclemena acuminata, Huperzia lucidula</i>, and <i>Dryopteris campyloptera</i> are characteristic herbs. The bryophyte layer is of variable cover but is dominated by <i>Sphagnum</i>. The absence of <i>Abies balsamea</i> and the importance of <i>Rhododendron maximum</i> differentiate this forest from ~<i>Picea rubens - Abies balsamea / Gaultheria hispidula / Osmunda cinnamomea / Sphagnum</i> spp. Swamp Forest (CEGL006312)$$. 
Accession Code: urn:lsid:vegbank.org:commConcept:34924-{0234860D-B259-4B68-BEB2-BD87F49A5B18}
Plot-observations of this Community Concept: 0
      Party Perspective according to: NatureServe (organization)
Perspective from: 27-Oct-2014 to: ongoing
      Names:   UID: ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.685562 NatureServe ExplorerNatureServe Explorer logo
  Code: CEGL006277
  Translated: Red Spruce - (Eastern Hemlock) / Great Laurel Swamp Forest
  Common: Swamp Forest - Bog (Spruce Type)
  Scientific: Picea rubens - (Tsuga canadensis) / Rhododendron maximum Swamp Forest
(convergence) and Synonyms:
(similar) CEGL006277
(similar) Picea rubens - (Tsuga canadensis) / Rhododendron maximum Saturated Forest
(similar) Picea rubens - (Tsuga canadensis) / Rhododendron maximum Saturated Forest