Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available

Floristics: This needle-leaved evergreen forest has greater than 75% canopy coverage by Abies fraseri. Abies fraseri in the canopy are 17-23 cm in diameter and 10-11 m tall, giving these forests a stunted appearance. Other species that may occur with low coverage in the canopy or subcanopy are Picea rubens, Sorbus americana, Betula alleghaniensis, Prunus pensylvanica. The tall-shrub stratum is dominated by evergreen species and, although there may be considerable variation, is usually quite dense. Typical shrub dominants include Rhododendron catawbiense, Rhododendron carolinianum, and Rhododendron maximum. Herbaceous cover is typically sparse. On steep, rocky, northerly slopes, coverage by mosses, liverworts, and lichens can approach 100%. Bryophyte species include Hylocomium splendens, Ptilium crista-castrensis, Sphagnum spp., and Polytrichum ohioense. Rare or regionally rare vascular plant species associated with this community include Abies fraseri, Betula papyrifera var. cordifolia, Cardamine clematitis, Glyceria nubigena, Phegopteris connectilis, Poa palustris, Rhododendron vaseyi, Stachys clingmanii, and Streptopus amplexifolius. Rare nonvascular plants include Bazzania nudicaulis, Brachydontium trichodes, Leptodontium excelsum, Metzgeria consanguinea (= Metzgeria temperata), Nardia scalaris, Plagiochila exigua (= Plagiochila corniculata), and Sphenolobopsis pearsonii.

Dynamics:  This community is affected by debris avalanches, wind disturbance and lightning fire. Because of the shallow soils and extreme wind exposure, this forest is susceptible to large blowdowns. Logging and damage by the balsam woolly adelgid has greatly increased the effect of natural windfall. An exotic insect, the balsam woolly adelgid (Adelges piceae), invaded the Southern Appalachians in the late 1950s and has drastically altered the last undisturbed remnants of this community. This exotic pest kills mature Abies fraseri within seven years of infestation. This community is a late-successional type, but it is subject to repeated disturbance. Prunus pensylvanica is a dominant species immediately following disturbance. In later successional stages, Betula alleghaniensis increases in dominance. In areas where mature Abies fraseri has been lost to woolly adelgid infestation, thickets of Rubus spp., Abies fraseri seedlings and saplings, Betula alleghaniensis, and Sorbus americana are dominant. Over time, Picea rubens, Betula alleghaniensis, Abies fraseri, Acer spicatum, and Sorbus americana increase in the tree layer, while Abies fraseri, Menziesia pilosa, Rubus idaeus ssp. strigosus, and Sambucus racemosa increase in the shrub layer (White et al. 1993). Succession is especially slow after severe disturbance such as logging and slash fires. The most severely disturbed sites are predominately Prunus pensylvanica and Rubus spp. and may remain in a non-forested stage of succession for 60 years or more.