Print Report
CEGL006505 Picea rubens - Abies balsamea - Betula spp. - Acer rubrum Forest
Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Red Spruce - Balsam Fir - Birch species - Red Maple Forest
Colloquial Name: Successional Mixed Spruce - Fir - Hardwood Forest
Hierarchy Level: Association
Type Concept: 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 Picea rubens and/or Abies balsamea form a mixed canopy with Acer rubrum and other trees such as Populus tremuloides, Populus grandidentata, Betula papyrifera, Thuja occidentalis, or Pinus strobus. Less common associates include Quercus rubra, Acer saccharum, Betula alleghaniensis, Picea glauca, or Prunus serotina. The subcanopy and shrub layers are composed of Picea rubens, Abies balsamea, and Acer pensylvanicum. Dwarf-shrubs are usually absent or sparse; Vaccinium angustifolium or Vaccinium myrtilloides are typical species. The herbaceous layer is dominated by tree seedlings with herbs including Pteridium aquilinum, Trientalis borealis, Cornus canadensis, and Maianthemum canadense. In wetter spots, Osmunda cinnamomea and Symplocarpus foetidus (the latter usually only at near-coastal sites) may also be present. The bryophyte layer includes Bazzania trilobata, Dicranum polysetum, Leucobryum glaucum, Hypnum imponens, Pleurozium schreberi, and Sphagnum girgensohnii. This association has a mixed canopy, in contrast to the ecologically similar ~Picea rubens - Abies balsamea - Betula papyrifera Forest (CEGL006273)$$. It can have relatively deeper soils than ~Betula alleghaniensis - Picea rubens / Dryopteris campyloptera Forest (CEGL006267)$$, and usually lacks any appreciable amount of yellow birch.
Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available
Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available
Classification Comments: The global description is based on data from Acadia National Park. Rangewide information is needed, as this type is suspected to be more common than current state and subsection lists indicate.
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available
Floristics: The canopy is more-or-less closed, and the cover of the lower layers is variable, but rarely extensive. The boreal conifers Picea rubens and/or Abies balsamea form a mixed canopy with Acer rubrum and other trees such as Populus tremuloides, Populus grandidentata, Betula papyrifera, Thuja occidentalis, or Pinus strobus. Less common associates include Quercus rubra, Acer saccharum, Betula alleghaniensis, Picea glauca, or Prunus serotina. The subcanopy and shrub layers are composed of Picea rubens, Abies balsamea, and Acer pensylvanicum. Dwarf-shrubs are usually absent or sparse; Vaccinium angustifolium or Vaccinium myrtilloides are typical species. The herbaceous layer is dominated by tree seedlings with herbs including Pteridium aquilinum, Trientalis borealis, Cornus canadensis, and Maianthemum canadense. In wetter spots, Osmunda cinnamomea and Symplocarpus foetidus (the latter usually only at near-coastal sites) may also be present. The bryophyte layer includes Bazzania trilobata, Dicranum polysetum, Leucobryum glaucum, Hypnum imponens, Pleurozium schreberi, and Sphagnum girgensohnii.
Dynamics: No Data Available
Environmental 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.
Geographic Range: This association is found in northern New England and New York and adjacent Canada.
Nations: CA,US
States/Provinces: ME, NB, NH, NY, QC?, VT
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.684832
Confidence Level: Moderate
Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available
Grank: GNR
Greasons: No Data Available
| Type | Name | Database Code | Classification Code |
|---|---|---|---|
| Class | 1 Forest & Woodland Class | C01 | 1 |
| Subclass | 1.B Temperate & Boreal Forest & Woodland Subclass | S15 | 1.B |
| Formation | 1.B.2 Cool Temperate Forest & Woodland Formation | F008 | 1.B.2 |
| Division | 1.B.2.Na Eastern North American Forest & Woodland Division | D008 | 1.B.2.Na |
| Macrogroup | 1.B.2.Na.7 Sugar Maple - Yellow Birch - Eastern Hemlock Forest Macrogroup | M014 | 1.B.2.Na.7 |
| Group | 1.B.2.Na.7.d Red Spruce - Balsam Fir - Paper Birch Forest Group | G744 | 1.B.2.Na.7.d |
| Alliance | A4442 Red Spruce - Yellow Birch - Sugar Maple Forest Alliance | A4442 | 1.B.2.Na.7.d |
| Association | CEGL006505 Red Spruce - Balsam Fir - Birch species - Red Maple Forest | CEGL006505 | 1.B.2.Na.7.d |
Concept Lineage: No Data Available
Predecessors: No Data Available
Obsolete Names: No Data Available
Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: < Mixed conifer (Moore and Taylor 1927)
= Successional Spruce-Fir Forest (Lubinski et al. 2003)
= Successional Spruce-Fir Forest (Lubinski et al. 2003)
- CDPNQ [Centre de données sur le patrimoine naturel du Québec]. No date. Unpublished data. Centre de données sur le patrimoine naturel du Québec, Québec.
- Eastern Ecology Working Group of NatureServe. No date. International Ecological Classification Standard: International Vegetation Classification. Terrestrial Vegetation. NatureServe, Boston, MA.
- Edinger, G. J., D. J. Evans, S. Gebauer, T. G. Howard, D. M. Hunt, and A. M. Olivero, editors. 2014a. Ecological communities of New York state. Second edition. A revised and expanded edition of Carol Reschke''s ecological communities of New York state. New York Natural Heritage Program, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, Albany, NY.
- Gawler, S. C. 2000. Vegetation mapping of Acadia National Park: Classification, key, and vegetation types. A report from the Maine Natural Areas Program to The Nature Conservancy. Department of Conservation, Augusta, ME. 156 pp.
- Gawler, S. C. 2002. Natural landscapes of Maine: A guide to vegetated natural communities and ecosystems. Maine Natural Areas Program, Department of Conservation, Augusta, ME.
- Gawler, S. C., and A. Cutko. 2010. Natural landscapes of Maine: A classification of vegetated natural communities and ecosystems. Maine Natural Areas Program, Department of Conservation, Augusta.
- Küchler, A. W. 1956. Notes on the vegetation of southeastern Mount Desert Island, Maine. University of Kansas Science Bulletin 38:335-392.
- Lubinski, S., K. Hop, and S. Gawler. 2003. Vegetation Mapping Program: Acadia National Park, Maine. Report produced by U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey, Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center, and Maine Natural Areas Program in conjunction with M. Story (NPS Vegetation Mapping Coordinator) NPS, Natural Resources Information Division, Inventory and Monitoring Program, and K. Brown (USGS Vegetation Mapping Coordinator), USGS, Center for Biological Informatics and NatureServe. [http://biology.usgs.gov/npsveg/ftp/vegmapping/acad/reports/acadrpt.pdf]
- Moore, B., and N. Taylor. 1927. An ecological study of the vegetation of Mount Desert Island, Maine. Brooklyn Botanical Garden Memoirs 3:1-151.
- Sperduto, D. D., and W. F. Nichols. 2004. Natural communities of New Hampshire: A guide and classification. New Hampshire Natural Heritage Bureau, DRED Division of Forests and Lands, Concord. 242 pp.
- Thompson, E. H., and E. R. Sorenson. 2005. Wetland, woodland, wildland: A guide to the natural communities of Vermont. The Nature Conservancy and the Vermont Department of Fish and Wildlife. University Press of New England, Hanover, NH. 456 pp.