Upland Sweetgum - Red Maple Pond - Ecological Community of Great Smoky Mountains National Park

NatureServe Unique Identifier: CEGL007388: Liquidambar styraciflua - Acer rubrum / Carex spp. - Sphagnum spp. Forest

Park Vegetation Plot Summary

Tree Canopy: Liquidambar styraciflua

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 is designed to accommodate a variety of isolated, poorly understood seasonally flooded forests of upland depressions in the Southern Blue Ridge and the adjacent and submontane Piedmont.
- This includes an example in Cades Cove in the Great Smokies National Park, an example in the Piedmont portion of the Chattahoochee National Forest (Georgia), the Bankhead National Forest (Alabama), and possibly the Uwharrie National Forest (North Carolina).
- Some sites may have ground layers dominated by vascular plants (especially graminoids), others dominated by Sphagnum spp.
- One of the Sphagnum species associated with these forests may be a disjunct Coastal Plain species, ~~Sphagnum cuspidatum var. floridanum~~.
- The variable composition of stands assigned here and the lack of understanding of the dynamics of this type (successional trends, disturbance, hydrology) mean that the type is somewhat poorly defined.
- More information is needed.
Stands assigned to this concept are dominated by some combination of Liquidambar styraciflua and/or Acer rubrum var. trilobum, possibly with Nyssa sylvatica and/or Liriodendron tulipifera.
Some shrubs that may be found include Cornus amomum, ~~Cornus foemina~~, and Alnus serrulata.
Some woody vines which are possible components include ~~Berchemia scandens~~, Decumaria barbara, and ~~Smilax laurifolia~~.
Herbs (which may be abundant to sparse) include Carex intumescens, Carex spp., Chasmanthium sessiliflorum, Dichanthelium dichotomum var. dichotomum, Dichanthelium spp., Leersia spp., Rhynchospora capitellata, Mitchella repens, and Arisaema triphyllum.

PARK VEGETATION PLOT SUMMARY

The canopy (15-35 m) is strongly dominated by Liquidambar styraciflua but with occasional Acer rubrum var. trilobum and Nyssa sylvatica.
There is essentially no shrub cover, but Rhododendron maximum is present.
During the summer, when the pond is dry, ground cover is dominated by leaf litter, and herb cover is restricted to fallen logs and tip-up mounds.
- Herb density and composition probably vary from year to year.
- Herb species include Chasmanthium laxum, Dennstaedtia punctilobula, Microstegium vimineum, and Juncus effusus.
Scattered mosses include Sphagnum spp., Polytrichum commune, Atrichum spp., Hypnum spp., and Thuidium spp.

DISTRIBUTION

North America:

The full range of this association is unknown, but it is thought to occur in the Piedmont, Southern Blue Ridge, and Cumberland Plateau of Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, and Tennessee.

Click map to enlarge.
Potential	Occurs

Click map to view North American distribution.

In the Park:

This community was sampled from Gum Swamp, along the Cades Cove Loop Road, on the Cades Cove quadrangle and is most likely the only occurrence of this type within the park.

CONSERVATION STATUS

Global Status:

Global Conservation Status Rank: G2Q (Last reviewed: 03 29 2001).
There is an incomplete understanding of the ecological limits and acceptable variability of this association concept.
- It was originally based on only one site, but additional stands from several states have been assigned here.
- The variable composition of stands assigned here and the lack of understanding of the dynamics of this type (successional trends, disturbance, hydrology) mean that the type is somewhat poorly defined.
- More information is needed.

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:

K.D. Patterson

Web Page:

Charles Wilder.

Photographs:

NatureServe

Maps:

Charles Wilder.

REFERENCES

Dellinger, Bob. Personal communication. Ecologist. USDI National Park Service, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Gatlinburg, TN.

NatureServe Ecology - Southeastern United States. No date. Unpublished data. NatureServe, Durham, NC.

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.

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

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