Southern Appalachian Cove Forest (Typic Foothills Type) - Ecological Community of Great Smoky Mountains National Park

NatureServe Unique Identifier: CEGL007291: Liriodendron tulipifera - Tilia americana var. heterophylla - (Aesculus flava) / Actaea racemosa Forest

Park Vegetation Plot Summary

Tree Canopy: Liriodendron tulipifera

Tree subcanopy: N/A

Tall Shrubs and Saplings: N/A

Short Shrubs and Saplings: N/A

Herbs (field): N/A

Nonvascular: N/A

GLOBAL COMMUNITY CONCEPT

This association encompasses mixed mesophytic forests of the low mountains and foothills, mostly below 610 m (2,000 feet) elevation in the Southern Blue Ridge escarpment and adjacent Piedmont.
- This forest occurs on moderately steep, protected slopes and in coves, over nutrient-rich soils formed from colluvium.
- This association can have species with Piedmont affinities and lacks species typical of higher elevation cove forests, such as Acer saccharum, Impatiens pallida, Clintonia umbellulata, Prosartes maculatum, Polygonatum pubescens, Streptopus lanceolatus var. roseus, Astilbe biternata, Veratrum viride, and Maianthemum canadense.
This forest is dominated by Liriodendron tulipifera, but other canopy species typically include Tilia americana var. heterophylla, Fraxinus americana, Carya alba, Aesculus flava, Halesia tetraptera var. monticola, Fagus grandifolia, Quercus alba, and Acer rubrum. Tsuga canadensis is not dominant.
Shrubs are sparse, if present.
- In the vicinity of the Chauga River, South Carolina, Acer leucoderme may dominate the understory.
The herb stratum is diverse and coverage is often scattered.
- Typical species include Actaea pachypoda, Asarum canadense Carex plantaginea, Carex austrocaroliniana, Actaea racemosa, Collinsonia canadensis, Goodyera pubescens, Hepatica nobilis var. acuta, Viola blanda, Galium latifolium, Galium circaezans, Trillium catesbaei, Maianthemum racemosum, Sanguinaria canadensis, Thalictrum thalictroides, and Monarda clinopodia.
- Ferns are often locally dominant, typically Thelypteris noveboracensis, Polystichum acrostichoides, Adiantum pedatum, Phegopteris hexagonoptera and Athyrium filix-femina ssp. asplenioides.

PARK VEGETATION PLOT SUMMARY

N/A

DISTRIBUTION

North America:

This community occurs in the escarpment region of the Southern Blue Ridge in western North Carolina, northern South Carolina, and Georgia.
- Stands have been tentatively attributed to this type from Tennessee and Virginia; these assignments needs to be confirmed.

Click map to enlarge.
Potential	Occurs

Click map to view North American distribution.

In the Park:

N/A

CONSERVATION STATUS

Global Status:

Global Conservation Status Rank: G4? (Last reviewed: 2004/09/30).
Issues remain with the precise geographic limits of this type and its relation to similar types in adjacent regions.
- It was originally defined from the Chattooga Basin Project data, and additional examples are known from low escarpment and foothills areas of the Southern Blue Ridge.
- Within this range, it is restricted to protected, concave, topographic positions.
- Although relatively secure and not highly threatened today, many stands have recovered from past episodes of timber removal and remain threatened by future timber harvests because of excellent site productivity.
- Much of the remaining acreage which is not formally protected is not of high quality.
- There are some protected stands on Federal lands (national parks, national forests) in the region. Invasive exotics, including Ailanthus altissima (a tree which can become established in canopy gaps, mimicking the niche of Liriodendron), pose a serious threat to the integrity of this community's flora.

Park Status:

Picking, digging, or otherwise damaging plants is prohibited in the Park. Collection is allowed only by special permit for research or educational purposes.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Field Work:

NatureServe

Supporting Institutions:

N/A

Forest Association Described By:

Web Page:

Charles Wilder.

Photographs:

NatureServe

Maps:

Charles Wilder.

REFERENCES

Allard, D. J. 1990. Southeastern United States ecological community classification. Interim report, Version 1.2. The Nature Conservancy, Southeast Regional Office, Chapel Hill, NC. 96 pp.

Ambrose, J. 1990a. Georgia's natural communities--A preliminary list. Unpublished document. Georgia Natural Heritage Inventory. 5 pp.

Nelson, J. B. 1986. The natural communities of South Carolina: Initial classification and description. South Carolina Wildlife and Marine Resources Department, Division of Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries, Columbia, SC. 55 pp.

Peet, R. K., T. R. Wentworth, M. P. Schafale, and A.S. Weakley. 2002. Unpublished data of the North Carolina Vegetation Survey. University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.

Schafale, M. 1998b. Fourth approximation guide. High mountain communities. March 1998 draft. North Carolina Natural Heritage Program, Raleigh.

Schafale, M. P., and A. S. Weakley. 1990. Classification of the natural communities of North Carolina. Third approximation. North Carolina Department of Environment, Health, and Natural Resources, Division of Parks and Recreation, Natural Heritage Program, Raleigh. 325 pp.

Simon, Steve. Personal communication.

Southeastern Ecology Working Group of NatureServe. No date. International Ecological Classification Standard: International Vegetation Classification. Terrestrial Vegetation. NatureServe, Durham, NC.

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