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CEGL006312 Picea rubens - Abies balsamea / Gaultheria hispidula / Osmunda cinnamomea / Sphagnum spp. Swamp Forest
Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Red Spruce - Balsam Fir / Creeping Snowberry / Cinnamon Fern / Peatmoss species Swamp Forest
Colloquial Name: Northern Appalachian Spruce - Fir Swamp Forest
Hierarchy Level: Association
Type Concept: These red spruce - balsam fir swamps occur on wetland flats and basins across the Northern Appalachians. They are typically found in small basins, or along the margins of larger drainage basins or lowland slopes, usually in areas with some surface seepage. The substrate is saturated mineral soils, sometimes with a shallow peat layer. Shrubs and herbs of boreal affinity reflect the cool environmental conditions. The canopy ranges from partial (50%) to dense, with shrub and herb layers sparse to well-developed depending on available light. Canopy gaps are common, and shrubs may be locally dense. The canopy is dominated by Picea rubens and Abies balsamea, with smaller amounts of Picea mariana, Picea glauca, or Larix laricina. Abies balsamea drops out at the southern end of the range. Characteristic shrubs are Ilex mucronata, Sorbus americana, Alnus viridis, and Viburnum nudum var. cassinoides. Heath shrubs such as Gaultheria hispidula, Vaccinium angustifolium, and Kalmia angustifolia are occasional, but not abundant. The most characteristic herb layer species are Osmunda cinnamomea and Carex trisperma; common associates include Dalibarda repens, Coptis trifolia, and Clintonia borealis. In coastal settings, Symplocarpus foetidus may be locally abundant. The bryophytes are dominated by Sphagnum spp. (typically including Sphagnum girgensohnii), but also include Bazzania trilobata, Pleurozium schreberi, and Aulacomnium palustre. This association is distinguished by the dominance of red spruce rather than black spruce, the mineral soil setting, and the low abundance of heath shrubs. ~Picea mariana - Picea rubens / Pleurozium schreberi Swamp Forest (CEGL006361)$$ is similar, but has black spruce abundant and occurs in more boreal settings, on poorly drained but not usually saturated soils.
Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available
Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available
Classification Comments: A continuum of Northern Appalachian acidic swamps, with very similar floristics, is expressed through three associations: the present type (coniferous), the mixed ~Picea rubens - Acer rubrum / Ilex mucronata Swamp Forest (CEGL006198)$$, and the deciduous ~Acer rubrum / Ilex mucronata - Vaccinium corymbosum Swamp Forest (CEGL006220)$$, with all gradations possible.
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available
Floristics: The canopy ranges from partial (50%) to dense, with shrub and herb layers sparse to well-developed depending on available light. Canopy gaps are common, and shrubs may be locally dense. The canopy is dominated by Picea rubens and Abies balsamea, with smaller amounts of Picea mariana, Picea glauca, or Larix laricina. Characteristic shrubs are Ilex mucronata (= Nemopanthus mucronatus), Sorbus americana, Alnus viridis, and Viburnum nudum var. cassinoides. Heath shrubs such as Gaultheria hispidula, Vaccinium angustifolium, and Kalmia angustifolia are occasional, but not abundant. The most characteristic herb layer species are Osmunda cinnamomea and Carex trisperma; common associates include Dalibarda repens, Coptis trifolia, and Clintonia borealis. In coastal settings, Symplocarpus foetidus may be locally abundant. The bryophytes are dominated by Sphagnum spp. (typically including Sphagnum girgensohnii), but also include Bazzania trilobata, Pleurozium schreberi, and Aulacomnium palustre.
Dynamics: No Data Available
Environmental Description: These red spruce - balsam fir swamps occur on wetland flats and basins across the Northern Appalachians. They are typically found in small basins, or along the margins of larger drainage basins or lowland slopes, usually in areas with some surface seepage. The substrate is saturated mineral soils, sometimes with a shallow peat layer. Shrubs and herbs of boreal affinity reflect the cool environmental conditions.
Geographic Range: This community occurs in New England and adjacent Canada south to Pennsylvania.
Nations: CA,US
States/Provinces: CT, MA, ME, NB, NH, NY, PA, QC?, VT
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.685116
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.3 Temperate Flooded & Swamp Forest Formation | F026 | 1.B.3 |
| Division | 1.B.3.Na Eastern North American-Great Plains Flooded & Swamp Forest Division | D011 | 1.B.3.Na |
| Macrogroup | 1.B.3.Na.3 <i>Tsuga canadensis - Fraxinus nigra - Larix laricina</i> Flooded & Swamp Forest Macrogroup | M504 | 1.B.3.Na.3 |
| Group | 1.B.3.Na.3.c Red Maple - Red Spruce - Eastern Hemlock Swamp Group | G045 | 1.B.3.Na.3.c |
| Alliance | A3418 Red Spruce Northern Appalachian Swamp Forest Alliance | A3418 | 1.B.3.Na.3.c |
| Association | CEGL006312 Red Spruce - Balsam Fir / Creeping Snowberry / Cinnamon Fern / Peatmoss species Swamp Forest | CEGL006312 | 1.B.3.Na.3.c |
Concept Lineage: CEGL006311 was merged with CEGL006312 as it was deemed to be merely a peripheral, southern expression.
Predecessors: No Data Available
Obsolete Names: No Data Available
Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: ? NNE Acidic Seepage Swamp (Rawinski 1984a)
< Red Spruce - Balsam Fir: 33 (Eyre 1980)
= Spruce - fir - cinnamon fern forest (Gawler and Cutko 2010)
< Red Spruce - Balsam Fir: 33 (Eyre 1980)
= Spruce - fir - cinnamon fern forest (Gawler and Cutko 2010)
- 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.
- Eyre, F. H., editor. 1980. Forest cover types of the United States and Canada. Society of American Foresters, Washington, DC. 148 pp.
- Fike, J. 1999. Terrestrial and palustrine plant communities of Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania Natural Diversity Inventory. Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Recreation, Bureau of Forestry, Harrisburg, PA. 86 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.
- Rawinski, T. 1984a. Natural community description abstract - southern New England calcareous seepage swamp. Unpublished report. The Nature Conservancy, Boston, MA. 6 pp.
- Reschke, C. 1990. Ecological communities of New York State. New York Natural Heritage Program, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, Latham, NY. 96 pp.
- 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.
- Swain, P. C., and J. B. Kearsley. 2014. Classification of the natural communities of Massachusetts. Version 2.0. Natural Heritage & Endangered Species Program, Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife. Westborough, MA. [http://www.mass.gov/nhesp/http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/dfg/dfw/natural-heritage/natural-communities/classification-of-natural-communities.html]
- 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.