Print Report
CEGL006594 Populus tremuloides / Vaccinium myrtilloides / Solidago uliginosa Swamp Forest
Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Quaking Aspen / Velvetleaf Huckleberry / Bog Goldenrod Swamp Forest
Colloquial Name: Quaking Aspen / Velvetleaf Huckleberry / Bog Goldenrod Swamp Forest
Hierarchy Level: Association
Type Concept: This successional deciduous forested swamp occurs on moist to temporarily flooded soils in headwater basins of the Allegheny Mountains region of West Virginia, at elevations between 950 and 1200 m. This community is an outlier that occurs well south of the primary range of Populus tremuloides wetlands. It is a small-patch clonal type that occupies flat to very gently sloping land (0-1° slopes) in larger wetland mosaics, often surrounded by successional shrub swamps or peatlands. It is part of a natural (beaver-influenced) disturbance regime, although its natural extent would be less than the current extent, which has been enlarged due to extensive logging and burning about 1900, and subsequent grazing. Median stand age ranges from 30-40 years. This type represents important habitat that was once covered by Picea rubens swamps and is likely to eventually recover if natural succession is allowed to proceed unhindered. Soils are poorly drained, mottled silt or clay loam, underlain by clay or clay loam. Organic soils are absent, although a few centimeters of litter or duff cover the soil surface. The community is characterized by an open to closed canopy of clonal Populus tremuloides with diverse shrub and herb layers. The canopy is strongly dominated by Populus tremuloides, occasionally including very low cover of Crataegus punctata, Picea rubens, Amelanchier laevis, and Crataegus macrosperma. Canopy height is less than 20 m, and sometimes it is as low as 5 m, essentially crossing the transition between woodland and shrubland physiognomy. The shrub strata are dominated by young Populus tremuloides, Vaccinium myrtilloides, Viburnum nudum var. cassinoides, and Viburnum recognitum. Spiraea alba or Photinia melanocarpa may be locally abundant. The herbaceous layer is typically diverse, with high cover and constancy by Solidago uliginosa, Rubus hispidus, Danthonia compressa, Solidago rugosa, Euthamia graminifolia var. graminifolia, Potentilla simplex, Doellingeria umbellata var. umbellata, and Juncus effusus. The non-native species Anthoxanthum odoratum ssp. odoratum is often present with low cover. Nonvascular plants typically include Polytrichum commune, Sphagnum spp., and Callicladium haldanianum. Mean species richness of all vascular plants and any nonvascular plants with cover >1% ranges from 14-57 (mean=29) taxa per 400 m2, with most of the diversity in the herb layer.
Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available
Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available
Classification Comments: Sixteen plots represent this type, which was classified as part of a 2004-2006 study of high-elevation wetlands in West Virginia''s Allegheny Mountains region (Byers et al. 2007). Thirteen of the plots were sampled by Rentch and Anderson (2005). The type clusters and ordinates extremely well and has been sampled throughout its range in West Virginia.
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available
Floristics: This successional deciduous forest or woodland swamp occurs in the Allegheny Mountains region of West Virginia. The community is an outlier that occurs well south of the primary range of Populus tremuloides wetlands. It is characterized by an open to closed canopy of clonal Populus tremuloides with diverse shrub and herb layers. The canopy is strongly dominated by Populus tremuloides, occasionally including very low cover of Crataegus punctata, Picea rubens, Amelanchier laevis, and Crataegus macrosperma. Canopy cover ranges from 30-100% (mean = 55%). Canopy height is less than 20 m and sometimes it is as low as 5 m, essentially crossing the transition between woodland and shrubland physiognomy. The shrub strata average 35% cover, dominated by young Populus tremuloides, Vaccinium myrtilloides, Viburnum nudum var. cassinoides, and Viburnum recognitum. Spiraea alba or Photinia melanocarpa may be locally abundant. The herbaceous layer, with mean 70% cover, is typically diverse, with high cover and constancy by Solidago uliginosa, Rubus hispidus, Danthonia compressa, Solidago rugosa, Euthamia graminifolia var. graminifolia, Potentilla simplex, Doellingeria umbellata var. umbellata, and Juncus effusus. The non-native species Anthoxanthum odoratum ssp. odoratum is often present with low cover. Nonvascular plants average 20% cover with high constancy of Polytrichum commune, Sphagnum spp., and Callicladium haldanianum. Indicator species that help to distinguish this community from others within the forest/woodland physiognomies for high-elevation wetlands of the Allegheny Mountains region include Danthonia compressa, Doellingeria umbellata, Populus tremuloides, and Solidago uliginosa. Mean species richness of all vascular plants and any nonvascular plants with cover >1% ranges from 14-57 (mean=29) taxa per 400 m2, with most of the diversity in the herb layer (Rentch and Anderson 2005, Byers et al. 2007).
Dynamics: This is a small-patch successional woodland or forested swamp. It is maintained by high water tables in the larger headwater wetland mosaics of which it forms a part and by rainfall. On a scale of several decades, it is dependent on stand-replacing events such as fire or inundation by beaver dams. In the absence of stand-replacing disturbance, it is likely to succeed to more stable conifer-dominated swamp. Nutrient cycling occurs from the decay of fallen trees, litter, and herbaceous vegetation.
Environmental Description: This successional deciduous swamp occurs on moist to temporarily flooded soils in headwater basins of the Allegheny Mountains region of West Virginia, at elevations between 950 and 1200 m. It is a small-patch clonal type that occupies flat to very gently sloping land (0-1° slopes) in larger wetland mosaics, often surrounded by successional shrub swamps or peatlands. It is part of a natural (beaver-influenced) disturbance regime, although its natural extent would be less than the current extent, which has been enlarged due to extensive logging and burning about 1900, and subsequent grazing. Significant increases in stand initiation may have been related to changes in land use and reductions in herbivory pressures after the 1950s. Median stand age ranges from 30-40 years. This type represents important habitat that was once covered by Picea rubens swamps and is likely to eventually recover if natural succession is allowed to proceed unhindered. Bedrock may be limestone, shale, or sandstone. Soils are poorly drained, mottled silt or clay loam, underlain by clay or clay loam. Organic horizons are absent, although a few centimeters of litter or duff cover the soil surface. Hydric soil indicators include depleted matrix and redox depressions. Soil pH averages 4.0 (n=2). Pore water pH in one stand was 5.4 and electrical conductivity was 17 micromhos/cm. Soil chemistry is characterized by high Al, Fe, K, P; moderate B, Ca, Cu, and total exchange capacity; and low Mg, Mn, N, Na, S, Zn, and organic matter (n=2). The unvegetated surface is predominantly litter, with an average of 4% downed wood and a trace of standing water. Standing dead trees often comprise more than 20% of live basal area (Rentch and Anderson 2005, Byers et al. 2007).
Geographic Range: This community is currently known from the Allegheny Mountains region of West Virginia, at elevations between 950 and 1200 m.
Nations: US
States/Provinces: WV
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.800152
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.2 Pin Oak - Green Ash - Blackgum Swamp Forest Macrogroup | M503 | 1.B.3.Na.2 |
| Group | 1.B.3.Na.2.f Red Maple - Blackgum - Green Ash Swamp Forest Group | G902 | 1.B.3.Na.2.f |
| Alliance | A3417 Red Spruce Central Appalachian Swamp Forest Alliance | A3417 | 1.B.3.Na.2.f |
| Association | CEGL006594 Quaking Aspen / Velvetleaf Huckleberry / Bog Goldenrod Swamp Forest | CEGL006594 | 1.B.3.Na.2.f |
Concept Lineage: No Data Available
Predecessors: No Data Available
Obsolete Names: No Data Available
Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: < Populus (tremuloides, grandidentata) bottomland forest (Fortney 1975)
= Populus tremuloides / Vaccinium myrtilloides / Solidago uliginosa Swamp (Byers et al. 2007)
= Populus tremuloides grove forest (Fortney et al. 2005)
= Populus tremuloides / Vaccinium myrtilloides / Solidago uliginosa Swamp (Byers et al. 2007)
= Populus tremuloides grove forest (Fortney et al. 2005)
- Byers, E. A., J. P. Vanderhorst, and B. P. Streets. 2007. Classification and conservation assessment of high elevation wetland communities in the Allegheny Mountains of West Virginia. West Virginia Natural Heritage Program, West Virginia Division of Natural Resources, Elkins.
- Eastern Ecology Working Group of NatureServe. No date. International Ecological Classification Standard: International Vegetation Classification. Terrestrial Vegetation. NatureServe, Boston, MA.
- Fortney, R. H. 1975. The vegetation of Canaan Valley, West Virginia: A taxonomic and ecological study. Ph.D. dissertation, University of West Virginia, Morgantown.
- Fortney, R. H., S. L. Stephenson, and J. S. Rentch. 2005. Rare plant communities of Canaan Valley, West Virginia, USA. Unpublished manuscript.
- Rentch, J. S., and J. T. Anderson. 2005. Trembling aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx.) dynamics in Canaan Valley, West Virginia, USA. Draft report.
- WVNHP [West Virginia Natural Heritage Program]. No date. Unpublished data. West Virginia Natural Heritage Program, Elkins.