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CEGL006198 Picea rubens - Acer rubrum / Ilex mucronata Swamp Forest
Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Red Spruce - Red Maple / Catberry Swamp Forest
Colloquial Name: Red Spruce - Red Maple Acidic Swamp Forest
Hierarchy Level: Association
Type Concept: This red spruce - red maple swamp occurs in the glaciated Northeast. It occurs most commonly in basins or low flats with poor drainage, characterized by soils that are poorly drained organic muck or shallow peat over clay loam. The substrate is characterized by pronounced hummock-and-hollow microtopography with abundant slowly decomposing leaf/needle litter. The tree canopy is closed to partly open, and the tall-shrub layer is often well-developed. Dwarf-shrubs are sparse, but herbs typically form high cover. The ground layer features extensive Sphagnum and other bryophytes. The canopy is codominated by Picea rubens and Acer rubrum, in association with other trees such as Betula alleghaniensis, Betula populifolia, Thuja occidentalis, Abies balsamea, and, occasionally, Tsuga canadensis. The most abundant shrubs are Vaccinium corymbosum, Ilex mucronata, Ilex verticillata, Spiraea alba, and Alnus incana. The herbaceous layer is generally dominated by the ferns Osmunda cinnamomea, Osmunda regalis, Onoclea sensibilis, and Thelypteris palustris. Associated herbs include Carex trisperma, Cornus canadensis, Doellingeria umbellata, Trientalis borealis, Oclemena acuminata, Carex intumescens, and others. The bryophyte layer is dominated by Sphagnum spp. including Sphagnum girgensohnii and Sphagnum magellanicum. This association is differentiated from ~Picea rubens - Abies balsamea / Gaultheria hispidula / Osmunda cinnamomea / Sphagnum spp. Swamp Forest (CEGL006312)$$ of the Northern Appalachian and adjacent ecoregions by its mixed canopy, lack of Abies balsamea and presence of Vaccinium corymbosum and Ilex verticillata. This association is differentiated from ~Picea rubens - Acer rubrum / Ilex verticillata Swamp Forest (CEGL006556)$$ of the Central Appalachians by the presence of Thuja occidentalis and Cornus canadensis. Although Nyssa sylvatica may be present in some occurrences of the southern range limit, this species is not characteristic of this type. This association is differentiated from those of ~Thuja occidentalis - Acer rubrum - Larix laricina Swamp Forest Alliance (A3720)$$ by its restriction to acidic wetlands and the lower importance of Thuja occidentalis. It can be compositionally similar to ~Acer rubrum / Ilex mucronata - Vaccinium corymbosum Swamp Forest (CEGL006220)$$, except in the reduced amount of red maple and the increased amount of conifers in the present type.
Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available
Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available
Classification Comments: No Data Available
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available
Floristics: The tree canopy is closed to partly open, and the tall-shrub layer is often well-developed. Dwarf-shrubs are sparse, but herbs typically form high cover. The ground layer features extensive Sphagnum and other bryophytes. The canopy is codominated by Picea rubens and Acer rubrum, in association with other trees such as Betula alleghaniensis, Betula populifolia, Thuja occidentalis, Abies balsamea, and, occasionally, Tsuga canadensis. The most abundant shrubs are Vaccinium corymbosum, Ilex mucronata (= Nemopanthus mucronatus), Ilex verticillata, Spiraea alba, and Alnus incana. The herbaceous layer is generally dominated by the ferns Osmunda cinnamomea, Osmunda regalis, Onoclea sensibilis, and Thelypteris palustris. Associated herbs include Carex trisperma, Cornus canadensis, Doellingeria umbellata (= Aster umbellatus), Trientalis borealis, Oclemena acuminata (= Aster acuminatus), Carex intumescens, and others. The bryophyte layer is dominated by Sphagnum spp. including Sphagnum girgensohnii and Sphagnum magellanicum.
Dynamics: No Data Available
Environmental Description: This spruce - red maple swamp occurs in the glaciated Northeast. It occurs most commonly in basins or low flats with poor drainage, characterized by soils that are poorly drained organic muck or shallow peat over clay loam. The substrate is characterized by pronounced hummock-and-hollow microtopography with abundant slowly decomposing leaf/needle litter.
Geographic Range: This community occurs in New England north to New Brunswick and south to New York.
Nations: CA,US
States/Provinces: CT, MA, ME, NB, NH, NY, QC?, VT
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.688437
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 | CEGL006198 Red Spruce - Red Maple / Catberry Swamp Forest | CEGL006198 | 1.B.3.Na.3.c |
Concept Lineage: No Data Available
Predecessors: No Data Available
Obsolete Names: No Data Available
Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: = Red Spruce Swamp (Sperduto and Nichols 2004)
- 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.
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- Metzler, K., and J. Barrett. 2006. The vegetation of Connecticut: A preliminary classification. State Geological and Natural History Survey, Report of Investigations No. 12. Connecticut Natural Diversity Database, Hartford, CT.
- Moore, B., and N. Taylor. 1927. An ecological study of the vegetation of Mount Desert Island, Maine. Brooklyn Botanical Garden Memoirs 3:1-151.
- 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.