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CEGL004983 Picea rubens - (Betula alleghaniensis, Aesculus flava) / Rhododendron (maximum, catawbiense) Forest
Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Red Spruce - (Yellow Birch, Yellow Buckeye) / (Great Laurel, Catawba Rosebay) Forest
Colloquial Name: Red Spruce - Northern Hardwood Forest (Shrub Type)
Hierarchy Level: Association
Type Concept: This association occurs in the broad elevational transition zone between spruce-fir and northern hardwoods in the Southern Blue Ridge (approx. 1400-1550 m [4600-5100 feet]). Sites are steep to very steep, slopes often associated with cliff faces, rock outcroppings, or bouldery situations, and subject to disturbance by wind, ice, and landslides. The canopy is composed of Picea rubens codominating with deciduous species Betula alleghaniensis, Fagus grandifolia, and Aesculus flava, occurring singly or in combination. At higher elevations, Abies fraseri may be a minor canopy component. The shrub layer is well-developed and dominated by Rhododendron maximum or Rhododendron catawbiense. In the Great Smoky Mountains, Leucothoe fontanesiana can be the dominant shrub. Other minor shrubs include Ilex montana, Viburnum lantanoides, Vaccinium erythrocarpum, and Rubus allegheniensis. The thick, evergreen shrub layer precludes the establishment of seedlings or herbaceous plants and creates a heavy, slowly decomposing litter layer. Bryophyte cover can be high (over 50%), and the ground is covered with downed and decaying logs.
Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available
Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available
Classification Comments: This association should be compared with other vegetation farther north in the Appalachians. Examples of this community on more exposed, rocky sites may transition to heath shrublands. At high elevations, this community grades into Picea rubens-dominated forests. Similar vegetation has been observed and sampled on Beartown, Clinch Mountain in Tazewell County, Virginia (1433 m [4700 feet] elevation), and this association was added to the Virginia State Classification (Fleming and Patterson 2012) based on that observation. Data collected by Steve Adams and Steve Stephenson in the 1980s from spruce forests with a Rhododendron catawbiense shrub layer on Beartown, Clinch Mountain in Russell County, Virginia (1403 m [4600 feet] elevation) also seem to match this type and will be targeted for inventory by Virginia DNH ecologists. These sites are out of the range of Abies fraseri and have considerable hardwood codominance in places, so ~Picea rubens - (Abies fraseri) / (Rhododendron catawbiense, Rhododendron maximum) Forest (CEGL007130)$$ was not applicable, though it has been documented on Whitetop Mountain, Virginia.
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available
Floristics: Virginia stands on Clinch Mountain are codominated by Picea rubens (most abundant), with variable codominance by Betula alleghaniensis and Fagus grandifolia. In some areas, Picea rubens dominates the canopy and hardwoods dominate a lower, subcanopy layer. Sorbus americana is a minor understory tree. The shrub layer is dense with Rhododendron maximum generally dominant and Rhododendron catawbiense codominant in many areas. Other shrubs occurring at low cover include Acer pensylvanicum, Kalmia latifolia, and Vaccinium simulatum. The ground is thickly covered by coarse woody debris and bryophytes, with few herbaceous species present.
Dynamics: No Data Available
Environmental Description: In southwestern Virginia, the type occurs at the highest elevations (1340-1433 m [4400-4700 feet]) of the Ridge and Valley on summits and upper slopes of Clinch Mountain. Soils are organic and shallow to bedrock.
Geographic Range: This association is known from the Great Smoky Mountains of Tennessee, Clinch Mountain in southwestern Virginia, and the Blue Ridge of North Carolina.
Nations: US
States/Provinces: NC, TN, VA
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.685035
Confidence Level: Low
Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available
Grank: G1?
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.e Red Spruce - Fraser Fir - Yellow Birch Forest Group | G632 | 1.B.2.Na.7.e |
| Alliance | A0138 Red Spruce - Yellow Birch - Yellow Buckeye Forest Alliance | A0138 | 1.B.2.Na.7.e |
| Association | CEGL004983 Red Spruce - (Yellow Birch, Yellow Buckeye) / (Great Laurel, Catawba Rosebay) Forest | CEGL004983 | 1.B.2.Na.7.e |
Concept Lineage: No Data Available
Predecessors: No Data Available
Obsolete Names: No Data Available
Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: No Data Available
- Fleming, G. P., K. D. Patterson, and K. Taverna. 2017. The natural communities of Virginia: A classification of ecological community groups and community types. Third approximation. Version 3.0. Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, Division of Natural Heritage, Richmond, VA. [http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/natural-heritage/natural-communities/]
- Golden, M. S. 1974. Forest vegetation and site relationships in the central portion of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Ph.D. dissertation, University of Tennessee, Knoxville. 275 pp.
- Golden, M. S. 1981. An integrated multivariate analysis of forest communities of the central Great Smoky Mountains. The American Midland Naturalist 106:37-53.
- Livingston, D., and C. Mitchell. 1976. Site classification and mapping in the Mt. LeConte growth district, Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Unpublished report. Great Smoky Mountains National Park Library.
- NatureServe Ecology - Southeastern United States. No date. Unpublished data. NatureServe, Durham, NC.
- Peet, R. K., T. R. Wentworth, M. P. Schafale, and A.S. Weakley. No date. Unpublished data of the North Carolina Vegetation Survey. University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.
- Schafale, M. P. 2012. Classification of the natural communities of North Carolina, 4th Approximation. North Carolina Department of Environment, Health, and Natural Resources, Division of Parks and Recreation, Natural Heritage Program, Raleigh.
- Southeastern Ecology Working Group of NatureServe. No date. International Ecological Classification Standard: International Vegetation Classification. Terrestrial Vegetation. NatureServe, Durham, NC.
- TDNH [Tennessee Division of Natural Heritage]. 2018. Unpublished data. Tennessee Division of Natural Heritage, Nashville, TN.