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A3358 Acer rubrum / Alnus serrulata - Ilex verticillata Appalachian-Piedmont Seepage Forest Alliance

Type Concept Sentence: These are wetland forested acidic seeps and saturated swamp forests of the southern Piedmont and Appalachian regions of the southeastern United States dominated by Acer rubrum and Nyssa sylvatica and found on hillsides, streamheads, floodplain edges, poorly drained depressions, and gentle slopes.

Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Red Maple / Hazel Alder - Common Winterberry Appalachian-Piedmont Seepage Forest Alliance

Colloquial Name: Southern Appalachian-Piedmont Red Maple - Blackgum Seepage Forest

Hierarchy Level:  Alliance

Type Concept: Vegetation of this alliance is found in forested acidic seeps and saturated swamp forests of the southern Piedmont and Appalachian regions of the southeastern United States. Forests in this alliance have variable canopy composition, but Acer rubrum and Nyssa sylvatica are common components. Canopy composition differs from the surrounding upland and varies with geography. Typical canopy species across the range of this alliance include Acer rubrum var. trilobum, Nyssa sylvatica, and Liriodendron tulipifera. One association contains Pinus strobus. Understory and shrub species include Alnus serrulata, Ilex opaca var. opaca, Ilex verticillata, Aronia arbutifolia, Rhododendron canescens, and Viburnum nudum var. nudum. Characteristic herbaceous species include Carex spp., Osmunda cinnamomea, Osmunda regalis, and Woodwardia areolata. In addition, Sphagnum spp. are typical. These wetland forests generally occur where the soils are saturated to the surface for extended periods during the growing season, but where surface water is seldom present. These forested, primarily acidic seeps are found on hillsides, streamheads, floodplain edges, poorly drained depressions, and gentle slopes where saturated conditions influence the vegetation.

Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available

Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available

Classification Comments: The nominal tree species (Acer rubrum) is found in a variety of habitats, so it is not sufficiently diagnostic. Shrubs have been added to make the name more geographically specific. Ilex verticillata is better distributed in the Piedmont and Appalachian regions, and in contrast is infrequent to rare in the Interior Low Plateau and Ouachitas, so its use as a nominal helps to distinguish this alliance from the related and equivalent one in those regions. The range (southern Piedmont and Appalachian) and habitat (forested acidic seeps, saturated swamp forests, etc.) are also part of the diagnostic criteria.

Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available

Floristics: Acer rubrum and Nyssa sylvatica are common components in examples of this association. Canopy composition differs from the surrounding upland and varies with geography. Typical canopy species across the range of this alliance include Acer rubrum var. trilobum, Nyssa sylvatica, and Liriodendron tulipifera. One association contains Pinus strobus. Understory and shrub species include Alnus serrulata, Ilex opaca var. opaca, Ilex verticillata, Aronia arbutifolia, Rhododendron canescens, and Viburnum nudum var. nudum. Characteristic herbaceous species include Carex spp., Osmunda cinnamomea, Osmunda regalis var. spectabilis, and Woodwardia areolata. Other herbaceous species which may be present include Aconitum uncinatum, Carex atlantica, Dichanthelium clandestinum, Dichanthelium dichotomum, Oxypolis rigidior, Pycnanthemum tenuifolium, Rhynchospora spp., Solidago uliginosa, and Viola cucullata. In addition, Sphagnum spp. are typical.

Dynamics:  Individual occurrences of these forests tend to be small in extent and can provide habitat for rare plant species. Surface fire, during dry periods, and other disturbances such as windstorms can affect the structure of the canopy. Examples with more open canopies have better-developed herbaceous layers.
Environmental Description:  These wetland forests generally occur where the soils are saturated to the surface for extended periods during the growing season, but where surface water is seldom present. These forested, primarily acidic seeps are found on hillsides, streamheads, floodplain edges, poorly drained depressions, and gentle slopes where saturated conditions influence the vegetation. One woodlands association has seepage areas of mineral soil derived from mafic or circumneutral bedrock.
Geographic Range: Vegetation of this alliance is primarily found in the southern Piedmont and Appalachian regions of the southeastern United States, from West Virginia and Pennsylvania south to Alabama and Georgia, including the southern Ridge and Valley and Cumberland Plateau. Some associations range peripherally into the adjacent Interior Low Plateau and Atlantic Coastal Plain, but these regions are not part of the primary range of this alliance.

Nations: US

States/Provinces:  AL, DE, GA, KY, MD, NC, NJ, PA, SC, TN, VA, WV


Confidence Level: Low - Poorly Documented

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.a Red Maple - Blackgum - Sweetgum Seepage Forest Group G044 1.B.3.Na.2.a
Alliance A3358 Red Maple / Hazel Alder - Common Winterberry Appalachian-Piedmont Seepage Forest Alliance A3358 1.B.3.Na.2.a
Association CEGL003667 Pitch Pine / Poison-sumac / Black Huckleberry / Skunk-cabbage Seep Woodland CEGL003667 1.B.3.Na.2.a
Association CEGL003737 Carolina Red Maple / Hazel Alder / Nuttall''s Reedgrass Seep Woodland CEGL003737 1.B.3.Na.2.a
Association CEGL004426 Carolina Red Maple / Possumhaw / Cinnamon Fern - Lizard''s-tail - Orange Jewelweed Seep Forest CEGL004426 1.B.3.Na.2.a
Association CEGL004551 Carolina Red Maple - Tuliptree / American Holly / Cinnamon Fern Seep Forest CEGL004551 1.B.3.Na.2.a
Association CEGL004781 Carolina Red Maple / Southern Bayberry - Blue Huckleberry / Bushy Bluestem - (Yellow Pitcherplant) Seep Woodland CEGL004781 1.B.3.Na.2.a
Association CEGL004994 Eastern White Pine - Red Maple / Broadleaf Meadowsweet / Canadian Burnet Woodland CEGL004994 1.B.3.Na.2.a
Association CEGL007031 Red Maple / Hazel Alder - Northern Spicebush / Fowl Mannagrass - Orange Jewelweed Seep Forest CEGL007031 1.B.3.Na.2.a
Association CEGL007041 Red Maple / Possumhaw - Red Chokeberry / Laurel Greenbrier / White-edge Sedge Seep Forest CEGL007041 1.B.3.Na.2.a
Association CEGL007046 Red Maple - Green Ash / Northern Spicebush / Royal Fern - Swamp Lousewort Seep Forest CEGL007046 1.B.3.Na.2.a
Association CEGL007388 Sweetgum - Red Maple / Sedge species - Peatmoss species Seep Forest CEGL007388 1.B.3.Na.2.a
Association CEGL007443 Carolina Red Maple - Blackgum / Cinnamon Fern - Greater Bladder Sedge / Yellow Peatmoss Seep Forest CEGL007443 1.B.3.Na.2.a
Concept Lineage: Four associations from A.348 (of 16 total), two from A.657, one from A.580, two had no old alliance assigned.

Predecessors: No Data Available

Obsolete Names: No Data Available

Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: No Data Available
Concept Author(s): M. Pyne, in Faber-Langendoen et al. (2013)

Author of Description: M. Pyne

Acknowledgements: No Data Available

Version Date: 01-08-14
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