Name:
Quercus rubra - Acer rubrum - Betula spp. - Pinus strobus Ruderal Forest
Reference:
NatureServe Biotics 2019
Description:
This deciduous to mixed forest of northern New England is a broadly defined community, usually developing after severe disturbance, including clearing, pasturing, logging, fires, severe hurricanes, or simply heavily fragmented residential development. While in some cases it is a successional type, it may persist in some settings, particularly where soils are limited, for example along ridgelines. The canopy trees are mostly 40-100 years old. The canopy ranges from somewhat open to closed; the shrub, herb and bryoid layers are patchy and rarely extensive. Composition is variable depending on site history. The canopy is usually mostly deciduous, dominated by a heterogeneous mixture of <i>Quercus rubra, Acer rubrum, Pinus strobus</i>, and <i>Fagus grandifolia</i>. Typically these occur in association with light-requiring, wind-dispersed trees such as <i>Populus tremuloides, Populus grandidentata, Betula papyrifera, Betula populifolia, Fraxinus americana</i>, and <i>Prunus serotina</i>. Minor associates include <i>Picea rubens</i> and <i>Acer saccharum</i>. Understory species tend to reflect predisturbance conditions and include <i>Acer pensylvanicum, Corylus cornuta, Viburnum acerifolium</i>, or <i>Hamamelis virginiana</i> in the shrub layer. <i>Vaccinium angustifolium</i> is a typical low shrub, although it does not form a coherent layer. <i>Pteridium aquilinum</i> is characteristic and may be abundant in the herbaceous layer; other common herbs include <i>Trientalis borealis, Maianthemum canadense, Deschampsia flexuosa</i>, and <i>Aralia nudicaulis</i>. The bryophyte layer is of variable cover and may include <i>Polytrichum commune</i> and <i>Dicranum polysetum</i>. This association is differentiated from similar forests and woodlands by its thin canopy that usually includes early-successional species, particularly <i>Acer rubrum</i>, low abundance of tolerant hardwoods other than red oak, and the lack of a well-developed heath shrub layer (as is typical in oak-pine woodlands). Unlike oak and oak-pine forests to the south, <i>Quercus rubra</i> is the only oak species present in any abundance.
Accession Code:
urn:lsid:vegbank.org:commConcept:35137-{3275C0A7-1F05-4E4E-B738-2D8A7233A290}
Plot-observations of this Community Concept:
5
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