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CEGL008558 Acer rubrum - Betula lenta - Magnolia fraseri / (Rhododendron maximum, Kalmia latifolia) Ruderal Forest
Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Red Maple - Sweet Birch - Mountain Magnolia / (Great Laurel, Mountain Laurel) Ruderal Forest
Colloquial Name: Southern Appalachian Acidic Mixed Hardwood Forest
Hierarchy Level: Association
Type Concept: This association includes submesic, potentially fire-exposed or heavily logged, mid and upper slopes in the Southern Appalachians north to the Cumberlands. Canopy dominance may be shared by a number of species, including Acer rubrum var. rubrum, Carya glabra, Magnolia fraseri, Halesia tetraptera var. monticola, Nyssa sylvatica, Betula alleghaniensis var. alleghaniensis, Betula lenta, Oxydendrum arboreum, and Tsuga canadensis, but the community''s most distinctive character is the relative lack of dominance by any one species and the lack of oak species in the canopy. This community may occasionally be dominated by Betula lenta and/or Betula alleghaniensis with an extremely dense understory of Rhododendron maximum; it may intergrade with acidic cove forests farther downslope. The understory shrub layer is composed of a combination of Kalmia latifolia and Rhododendron maximum, though the cover is not consistently 100%. The proportion of Kalmia to Rhododendron varies widely through this association, with more xeric sites having a higher concentration of Kalmia latifolia than Rhododendron maximum. In addition, drier versions of this association tend to contain abundant Sassafras albidum in the understory, whereas the more mesic versions have lower densities of Sassafras albidum. The herb layer is generally sparse but may sometimes be dominated by a dense cover of ferns such as Dennstaedtia punctilobula or Dryopteris marginalis.
Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available
Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available
Classification Comments: None of the communities listed as similar associations are very close to this association in canopy composition, but the understory of all of these associations is similar. Some examples of this community may resemble and even intergrade with acidic cove forest (CEGL007543) but usually occur high up on south- and even some north-facing slopes far from the concave cove areas. This community may begin to pick up species such as Picea rubens and Prunus pensylvanica at the highest parts of its elevational range in the Southern Appalachians. In the Cumberlands, it definitely can intergrade with acidic coves, and the line between these communities is often hard to draw.
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available
Floristics: The canopy of this association is typically shared by a wide range of species including Acer rubrum var. rubrum, Betula alleghaniensis var. alleghaniensis, Betula lenta, Magnolia fraseri, Oxydendrum arboreum, Nyssa sylvatica, and Tsuga canadensis. The understory includes some subcanopy trees such as Ilex opaca var. opaca or Ilex montana, and shrub species such as Kalmia latifolia and Rhododendron maximum can be very dense. The proportion of Kalmia to Rhododendron varies widely through this association, with more xeric sites having a higher concentration of Kalmia latifolia than Rhododendron maximum. In addition, drier versions of this association tend to contain abundant Sassafras albidum in the understory, whereas the more mesic versions have lower densities of Sassafras albidum. Although the herb layer is comprised mostly of small shrubs, seedlings, and evergreens, Trillium undulatum, Goodyera pubescens, and other acid-loving species can occasionally be found in this association.
Dynamics: It is assumed that these communities may have burned in the past. The lack of oak trees in this association is poorly understood. Some examples of this association occur in virgin forest areas, though there are areas where large chestnut stumps are present; these stands may represent a post-chestnut-blight or post-chestnut-blight logging replacement forest. Other stands occur in areas with a previous logging history, and may reflect stands developing after logging.
Environmental Description: This is a submesic forest found on moderate to steep terrain on upper slopes of many different aspects and positions in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park area at 760 to 1440 m (2500-4600 feet) in elevation and extending up the Blue Ridge into southern Virginia at the same altitude. Although tree sizes can be very large, this community is usually a late-successional community that developed in mid-elevation areas that were historically dominated by Castanea dentata. As the Castanea dentata senesced and logging proceeded in remote sections of the park, the tree species now seen in the canopy began to be released from the understory to the canopy. This may explain why the community is so variable in its slope position, moisture regime, and elevation. The areas were probably historically fire-exposed sites before the suppression of landscape-scale fires. Soils are usually very deep.
Geographic Range: This association is documented only from the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and Cumberland Gap National Historical Park, but it may occur throughout the mid- to higher elevation exposed slopes of eastern Tennessee and western North Carolina, and possibly also into adjacent parts of Virginia and West Virginia.
Nations: US
States/Provinces: KY, NC, TN, VA?
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.687321
Confidence Level: Low
Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available
Grank: GNA
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.3 Appalachian-Interior-Northeastern Mesic Forest Macrogroup | M883 | 1.B.2.Na.3 |
| Group | 1.B.2.Na.3.a American Beech - Tuliptree - Yellow Buckeye Forest Group | G020 | 1.B.2.Na.3.a |
| Alliance | A3304 Eastern Hemlock - Tuliptree Forest Alliance | A3304 | 1.B.2.Na.3.a |
| Association | CEGL008558 Red Maple - Sweet Birch - Mountain Magnolia / (Great Laurel, Mountain Laurel) Ruderal Forest | CEGL008558 | 1.B.2.Na.3.a |
Concept Lineage: No Data Available
Predecessors: No Data Available
Obsolete Names: No Data Available
Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: No Data Available
- NatureServe Ecology - Southeastern United States. No date. Unpublished data. NatureServe, Durham, NC.
- Southeastern Ecology Working Group of NatureServe. No date. International Ecological Classification Standard: International Vegetation Classification. Terrestrial Vegetation. NatureServe, Durham, NC.
- White, R. D., Jr. 2006. Vascular plant inventory and ecological community classification for Cumberland Gap National Historical Park. NatureServe, Durham, NC. 246 pp.