Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available

Floristics: The community is characterized by a stunted, open canopy of Picea rubens, with abundant heath shrubs and lichens. The canopy averages 40% cover, strongly dominated by Picea rubens, with much lower cover of Pinus rigida, Acer rubrum, Betula alleghaniensis var. alleghaniensis, Amelanchier laevis, Sorbus americana, and Tsuga canadensis. The tall-shrub layer is dominated by Kalmia latifolia with Ilex mucronata (= Nemopanthus mucronatus), Rhododendron maximum, and regenerating tree saplings. The short-shrub layer is diverse and often includes Vaccinium angustifolium, Menziesia pilosa, Gaylussacia baccata, Ilex mucronata, Photinia melanocarpa, Rhododendron maximum, and Vaccinium erythrocarpum. Occasional shrubs include Ribes rotundifolium, Prunus pensylvanica var. pensylvanica, Gaultheria procumbens, Ribes glandulosum, Vaccinium myrtilloides, Ilex montana, Acer pensylvanicum, Acer spicatum, Hamamelis virginiana, Rhododendron prinophyllum, and Viburnum nudum var. cassinoides. The herbaceous layer is sparse, often including Maianthemum canadense, Pteridium aquilinum, and Polypodium appalachianum. Additional herbaceous species with lower constancy include Deschampsia flexuosa var. flexuosa, Aralia nudicaulis, Epigaea repens, and Carex brunnescens. The nonvascular stratum has significant diversity, much of which occurs as abundant crustose lichens on the rocky substrate. The crustose lichens have not been thoroughly documented for this type. In addition to crustose lichens, the nonvascular layer often includes Cladonia rangiferina, Umbilicaria muhlenbergii, Hypnum imponens, Leucobryum glaucum, Pleurozium schreberi, and Lasallia papulosa. Along the Allegheny Front at Red Creek Plains and Helmick Run in West Virginia, a variant of this woodland occurs with Pinus rigida codominant in the canopy. Species richness averages 24 species per 400-m2 plot, with most of the diversity in the shrub strata.

Dynamics:  In some areas, this community was probably maintained by fire (for blueberry production) in the period following European settlement. Native Americans may also have practiced burning in this community. Soils are slowly accumulating again in the absence of widespread fires, with both in-situ organic matter deposition and windblown soil deposits as likely mechanisms, and in some areas this community is following a slow successional pathway back to red spruce forest. Shallow, infertile, and sometimes waterlogged soils and bedrock outcrops appear to maintain this community in some areas even in the absence of fire. In 1746, Thomas Lewis surveyed across one present location of this community and wrote: "When we had gained the summit there was a level as far as we could see to right and left clear of timber about a quarter of a mile wide, covered with large flat rocks and marshy" (Lewis 1746). Along the Allegheny Front in West Virginia, a variant of this woodland occurs with a taller Picea rubens canopy mixed with Pinus rigida. The Pinus rigida appears to have expanded outward from adjacent Pinus rigida-heath peatlands during severe fire episodes from 1900-1920.