Print Report
A3297 Acer saccharum - Tilia americana Rocky Woodland Alliance
Type Concept Sentence: This alliance is composed of mostly deciduous woodlands of limestone pavement or colluvial slopes. Acer saccharum is the most constant species, but a variety of deciduous trees may also be present, including Tilia americana and Quercus rubra. Conifer such as Tsuga canadensis, Thuja occidentalis, and Abies balsamea are also present in some stands.
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Acer saccharum - Tilia americana Rocky Woodland Alliance
Colloquial Name: Northern Hardwoods Rocky Woodland
Hierarchy Level: Alliance
Type Concept: This alliance is composed of mostly rich, mesic deciduous woodlands of limestone pavement or colluvial slopes. Acer saccharum is the most constant species, but a variety of deciduous trees may also be present, including Tilia americana and Quercus rubra. Conifers, such as Tsuga canadensis, Thuja occidentalis, and Abies balsamea, are also present in some stands. The canopy is variable, ranging from open to closed (40-80% cover). The ground layer may contain a range of mesic herbaceous and shrub indicators.
Diagnostic Characteristics: Deciduous, patchy woodlands of moist limestone pavement or slopes; Acer saccharum generally present and often dominant. Rich indicators are present in the herb layer, including Carex buxbaumii, Geranium robertianum, Polystichum braunii, Waldsteinia fragarioides, and others.
Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available
Classification Comments: Perhaps this alliance is better placed in ~Laurentian-Acadian Hardwood Forest Group (G743)$$, next to ~Acer saccharum - Tilia americana - Fraxinus americana Forest Alliance (A3240)$$. The two alliances probably share many ground layer and overstory species.
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: The canopy is variable, ranging from open to closed (40-80% cover).
Floristics: This alliance is composed of mostly deciduous woodlands of limestone pavement or colluvial slopes. Acer saccharum is the most constant species, but a variety of deciduous trees may also be present, including Tilia americana, Carya ovata (more southern), and Quercus rubra. Conifers, such as Tsuga canadensis, Thuja occidentalis, and Abies balsamea, are also present in some stands. The ground layer may contain a range of mesic herbaceous and shrub indicators.
Dynamics: No Data Available
Environmental Description: This alliance contains woodlands occurring on rich, moist calcareous or circumneutral limestone flats or talus composed of large boulders, or on rock outcrops. In New York, this type may represent the mesic component of the "limestone woodland" type in Jefferson County (USFS subsection 211Ee) (Edinger et al. 2002). More information is needed from Canadian ecologists on the range of this type elsewhere in the Laurentian-Acadian region of Canada.
Geographic Range: This alliance ranges from Ontario east to Atlantic Canada and from Michigan to northern and central New England.
Nations: CA,US
States/Provinces: CT, MA, ME, NB, NH, NJ?, NS?, NY, ON, QC, VT
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.899421
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.6 Eastern White Pine - Jack Pine - Northern Pin Oak Forest & Woodland Macrogroup | M159 | 1.B.2.Na.6 |
| Group | 1.B.2.Na.6.e Laurentian-Acadian Limestone Woodland Group | G655 | 1.B.2.Na.6.e |
| Alliance | A3297 <i>Acer saccharum - Tilia americana</i> Rocky Woodland Alliance | A3297 | 1.B.2.Na.6.e |
| Association | CEGL005058 Sugar Maple - American Basswood - White Ash / Hophornbeam / Robert''s Geranium Talus Woodland | CEGL005058 | 1.B.2.Na.6.e |
| Association | CEGL005059 Sugar Maple - Hophornbeam - Shagbark Hickory - Northern Red Oak Limestone Woodland | CEGL005059 | 1.B.2.Na.6.e |
| Association | CEGL006584 Yellow Birch - Northern Red Oak / Rock Polypody Talus Woodland | CEGL006584 | 1.B.2.Na.6.e |
Concept Lineage: A.628; CEGL005190 from A.3507
Predecessors: No Data Available
Obsolete Names: No Data Available
Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: No Data Available
- Edinger, G. J., D. J. Evans, S. Gebauer, T. G. Howard, D. M. Hunt, and A. M. Olivero, editors. 2002. Ecological communities of New York state. Second edition. A revised and expanded edition of Carol Reschke''s ecological communities of New York state. (Draft for review). New York Natural Heritage Program, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, Albany, NY.
- Faber-Langendoen, D., J. Drake, M. Hall, G. Kittel, S. Menard, C. Nordman, M. Pyne, M. Reid, M. Russo, K. Schulz, L. Sneddon, K. Snow, and J. Teague. 2013-2019b. Screening alliances for induction into the U.S. National Vegetation Classification: Part 1 - Alliance concept review. NatureServe, Arlington, VA.
- Sneddon, L., M. Anderson, and K. Metzler. 1996. Community alliances and elements of the Eastern Region. Unpublished report. The Nature Conservancy, Eastern Heritage Task Force, Boston, MA. 235 pp.
- Swain, P. C., and J. B. Kearsley. 2001. Classification of natural communities of Massachusetts. September 2001 draft. Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program, Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife, Westborough, MA.