Name:
Picea rubens - Abies balsamea - Betula spp. - Acer rubrum Forest
Reference:
NatureServe Biotics 2019
Description:
This association is a mixed forest of northern New England and New York in which the typical spruce and fir are mixed with earlier successional species. This forest occurs at various landscape positions and aspects but in general is more common on gentle to moderate slopes and low flats. Soils are loamy to sandy till and, in general, are deeper than those of pure spruce-fir forests. The canopy is more-or-less closed, and the cover of the lower layers is variable, but rarely extensive. The boreal conifers <i>Picea rubens</i> and/or <i>Abies balsamea</i> form a mixed canopy with <i>Acer rubrum</i> and other trees such as <i>Populus tremuloides, Populus grandidentata, Betula papyrifera, Thuja occidentalis</i>, or <i>Pinus strobus</i>. Less common associates include <i>Quercus rubra, Acer saccharum, Betula alleghaniensis, Picea glauca</i>, or <i>Prunus serotina</i>. The subcanopy and shrub layers are composed of <i>Picea rubens, Abies balsamea</i>, and <i>Acer pensylvanicum</i>. Dwarf-shrubs are usually absent or sparse; <i>Vaccinium angustifolium</i> or <i>Vaccinium myrtilloides</i> are typical species. The herbaceous layer is dominated by tree seedlings with herbs including <i>Pteridium aquilinum, Trientalis borealis, Cornus canadensis</i>, and <i>Maianthemum canadense</i>. In wetter spots, <i>Osmunda cinnamomea</i> and <i>Symplocarpus foetidus</i> (the latter usually only at near-coastal sites) may also be present. The bryophyte layer includes <i>Bazzania trilobata, Dicranum polysetum, Leucobryum glaucum, Hypnum imponens, Pleurozium schreberi</i>, and <i>Sphagnum girgensohnii</i>. This association has a mixed canopy, in contrast to the ecologically similar ~<i>Picea rubens - Abies balsamea - Betula papyrifera</i> Forest (CEGL006273)$$. It can have relatively deeper soils than ~<i>Betula alleghaniensis - Picea rubens / Dryopteris campyloptera</i> Forest (CEGL006267)$$, and usually lacks any appreciable amount of yellow birch.
Accession Code:
urn:lsid:vegbank.org:commConcept:35136-{1998B3D0-43F1-459C-87B7-0A09FDF75199}
Plot-observations of this Community Concept:
12
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