Print Report

G744 Picea rubens - Abies balsamea - Betula papyrifera Forest Group

Type Concept Sentence: The vegetation is composed of red spruce-fir-hardwood forests and woodlands of northeastern North America where Picea rubens is generally dominant, and Abies balsamea, Betula papyrifera, Betula alleghaniensis, or Populus spp. are codominants, with characteristic shrubs including Vaccinium angustifolium and/or Vaccinium myrtilloides, Viburnum lantanoides, and Viburnum nudum var. cassinoides.

Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Red Spruce - Balsam Fir - Paper Birch Forest Group

Colloquial Name: Acadian-Appalachian Red Spruce - Fir - Hardwood Forest

Hierarchy Level:  Group

Type Concept: The vegetation comprises spruce-fir-hardwood forests and woodlands of northeastern North America within the range of Picea rubens, from the Acadian forests of southeastern Canada across northern New England and the Adirondacks and adjacent areas of New York and western Pennsylvania. Sites of this group occur in cool, mostly mesic settings on various glaciated landforms. Substrate geology also varies, although soils are generally acidic. They form the forest matrix in the coolest parts of this region, and they occur from sea level to treeline (below about 1370 m [4500 feet]). Picea rubens is generally present and often dominant. Following heavy disturbance from fire or timber harvesting, the canopy may be dominated by Abies balsamea, Betula papyrifera, or Populus spp. Typical canopy associates include Betula alleghaniensis, Betula papyrifera, Thuja occidentalis, and Acer rubrum. On less exposed sites in the southern part of this group''s range, Tsuga canadensis may be an important canopy associate. Characteristic shrubs include Vaccinium angustifolium and/or Vaccinium myrtilloides, Viburnum lantanoides, and Viburnum nudum var. cassinoides. Characteristic herbs include Clintonia borealis, Cornus canadensis, Mitchella repens, Oxalis montana, Trientalis borealis, and Trillium undulatum. Ferns include Dryopteris campyloptera, Dryopteris carthusiana, and Dryopteris intermedia, among others. The bryophyte layer is generally very well-developed, characterized by Bazzania trilobata, Pleurozium schreberi, Dicranum spp., and many others. Moist sites may support Sphagnum spp. Mosses and liverworts grow densely on fallen logs, tree trunks, and the forest floor, giving these forests a distinctive carpeted appearance.

Diagnostic Characteristics: Dominance of Picea rubens; or presence of Picea rubens with dominance of other (native) Picea spp. (especially Picea glauca) or Abies balsamea or at least 50% conifer cover with at least 20% Picea spp. or Abies balsamea and with any combination of the moderately diagnostic species Betula alleghaniensis, Betula papyrifera, Pinus strobus, or Thuja occidentalis.

Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available

Classification Comments: Forests characterized by Picea rubens occupy a regional transition between eastern North America''s cool temperate deciduous forest and southern parts of the eastern boreal forest. True boreal forests may also have Abies balsamea, but are characterized by Picea mariana or Picea glauca rather than Picea rubens. In turn Picea rubens often shares codominance with "northern hardwood" species such as Betula alleghaniensis. Older publications (e.g., Oosting and Billings 1951), and quite a few current publications directed at an amateur audience, refer to the red spruce - fir forests in the eastern United States as "boreal forest." Peinado et al. (1998) treat the Picea rubens - Abies balsamea stands as part of the eastern boreal (subalpine) but note that most of the plants also occur in the deciduous temperate forests of the eastern United States. Chapters in Barbour and Billings (2000) treat the red spruce - fir within the eastern deciduous forest region rather than boreal, following the treatment of Braun (1950). Here we place all stands with Picea rubens with other cool-temperate types. We restrict the term "boreal" to North American forests within Bailey''s (1997) subarctic "Tayga (boreal forest)" ecoregion, and will continue to review this issue with Canadian partners. Sites with a history of fire may support a canopy of early-successional hardwoods (Acer rubrum, Betula papyrifera, and/ or Populus spp.), but even in these stands spruce and fir are typically dominant in the understory. In Atlantic Canada, high-elevation/coastal fir - red spruce stands (with minor red spruce) may be classified as part of ~Laurentian Subboreal Mesic Balsam Fir - Spruce - Hardwood Forest Group (G048)$$. Seral pathways are an important consideration (S. Basquill pers. comm. 2015).

Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: These forests are mostly closed-canopy but may have patchy and extensive openings, particularly in the aftermath of a spruce budworm (Choristoneura fumiferana) outbreak; forests on rocky substrates or more extreme sites have an open or stunted canopy. Shrub layers are patchy. Herbs are well-distributed but variable in the amount of cover, tending to be more extensive on mesic sites. In some areas, standing dead stems of Abies balsamea (depending on the location) are common, with extensive patches of Abies seedlings in canopy gaps.

Floristics: Picea rubens is generally present and often dominant, but the canopy may be dominated by Abies balsamea, particularly at higher elevations or on recently disturbed sites. Typical canopy associates include Betula alleghaniensis and Betula papyrifera. On less exposed sites, Tsuga canadensis may be an important canopy associate. Characteristic shrubs include Vaccinium angustifolium and/or Vaccinium myrtilloides, Viburnum lantanoides, and Viburnum nudum var. cassinoides. Characteristic herbs include Clintonia borealis, Cornus canadensis, Mitchella repens, Oxalis montana, Trientalis borealis, and Trillium undulatum. Ferns include Dryopteris campyloptera, Dryopteris carthusiana, and Dryopteris intermedia, among others. The bryophyte layer is generally very well-developed, characterized by Bazzania trilobata, Pleurozium schreberi, Dicranum spp., and many others. Mosses and liverworts grow densely on fallen logs, tree trunks, and the forest floor, giving these forests a distinctive carpeted appearance.

Dynamics:  These forests are affected by wind disturbance, debris avalanches, ice loading, insect outbreaks, and lightning-ignited fire. Periodic outbreaks of spruce budworm (Choristoneura fumiferana), which preferentially feeds on Abies balsamea, can convert large patches (hundreds to thousands of acres) into early-successional stands dominated by mixed conifers. Where soils are shallow, as they typically are, these forests are susceptible to large blowdowns. Across the range of the group, gap replacement is the most common pattern for canopy regeneration.
Environmental Description:  Sites present a mesic character due to soil conditions, a landscape setting that leads to a cool, moist microclimate (cold-air drainage accumulation, frequent fog, etc.), or both. Sites occur across the spectrum from the immediate coastline to over 1000 m in elevation. Climate: Cool-temperate to sub-boreal. Soil/substrate/hydrology: Soils are generally shallow and rocky, with well-developed humus and A horizons. They are low in base saturation, relatively high in organic matter, and are acidic in reaction (pH 3-5). Spodosols and Inceptisols.
Geographic Range: Southeastern Ontario and southern Quebec east to the Atlantic, and south across western Pennsylvania, northern New York, and New England.

Nations: CA,US

States/Provinces:  LB, MA, ME, NB, NF, NH, NS, NY, ON, PA, PE?, QC, VT


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.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.7 Sugar Maple - Yellow Birch - Eastern Hemlock Forest Macrogroup M014 1.B.2.Na.7
Group 1.B.2.Na.7.d Red Spruce - Balsam Fir - Paper Birch Forest Group G744 1.B.2.Na.7.d
Alliance A3314 Red Spruce / Lowbush Blueberry Rocky Woodland Alliance A3314 1.B.2.Na.7.d
Alliance A4442 Red Spruce - Yellow Birch - Sugar Maple Forest Alliance A4442 1.B.2.Na.7.d
Alliance A4443 Red Spruce - Balsam Fir - Yellow Birch Forest Alliance A4443 1.B.2.Na.7.d
Concept Lineage: G024 split into 2 new groups.

Predecessors: No Data Available

Obsolete Names: No Data Available

Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: < Red Spruce - Fir Forest Group (Faber-Langendoen and Menard 2006)
>< Spruce - Fir - Northern Hardwood Forest Formation (Thompson and Sorenson 2000)
> Spruce-Fir Forest (Davis 1966)
Concept Author(s): H.J. Oosting and W.D. Billings (1951)

Author of Description: S.C. Gawler and D. Faber-Langendoen

Acknowledgements: Andy Cutko and Sean Basquill

Version Date: 05-05-15
  • Barbour, M. G., and W. D. Billings, editors. 2000. North American terrestrial vegetation. Second edition. Cambridge University Press, New York. 434 pp.
  • Braun, E. L. 1950. Deciduous forests of eastern North America. Hafner Press, New York. 596 pp.
  • Davis, R. B. 1966. Spruce-fir forests of the coast of Maine. Ecological Monographs 36:79-94.
  • Faber-Langendoen, D., J. Drake, S. Gawler, M. Hall, C. Josse, G. Kittel, S. Menard, C. Nordman, M. Pyne, M. Reid, L. Sneddon, K. Schulz, J. Teague, M. Russo, K. Snow, and P. Comer, editors. 2010-2019a. Divisions, Macrogroups and Groups for the Revised U.S. National Vegetation Classification. NatureServe, Arlington, VA. plus appendices. [in preparation]
  • Faber-Langendoen, D., and S. Menard. 2006. A key to eastern forests of the United States: Macrogroups, groups, and alliances. September 15, 2006. NatureServe, Arlington, VA.
  • Oosting, H. J., and W. D. Billings. 1951. A comparison of virgin spruce-fir forest in the Northern and Southern Appalachian system. Ecology 32:84-103.
  • Thompson, E. H., and E. R. Sorenson. 2000. 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.