Eastern White Pine Successional Forest - Ecological Community of Great Smoky Mountains National Park

NatureServe Unique Identifier: CEGL007944: Pinus strobus Successional Forest

Park Vegetation Plot Summary

Tree Canopy: Pinus strobus

Tree subcanopy: N/A

Tall Shrubs and Saplings: N/A

Short Shrubs and Saplings: N/A

Herb (field): N/A

Nonvascular: N/A

Click photo to enlarge.
Photo provided by NatureServe.

GLOBAL COMMUNITY CONCEPT

This forest is an early-successional forest dominated by Pinus strobus, typically with a very dense canopy and little understory.
- This successional forest is commonly associated with anthropogenic disturbance and could potentially occur anywhere within the range of the ~Pinus strobus Forest Alliance (CEGL007944, CEGL007100, CEGL007102, CEGL007519, and CEGL007517).
- Associated woody and herbaceous species vary with geography.
- The understory is typically ruderal or exotic species that favor openings or disturbance.
- In this ecoregion, it occurs in former old fields and on formerly cleared flats along streams.
- In the Daniel Boone National Forest of Kentucky, Pinus strobus is spreading from plantings, especially in the Red River Gorge.
In the northeastern states, the tree canopy is often monotypic and even-aged, with occasional associates including Acer rubrum or scattered Quercus rubra or Quercus velutina.
- The understory is poorly developed or characterized by scattered individuals found in the canopy.
In the Southern Blue Ridge, where this association was originally defined, typical canopy and subcanopy associates include Liriodendron tulipifera, Acer rubrum, Pinus rigida, and Liquidambar styraciflua, with Tsuga canadensis often forming a dense shrub stratum.
The herbaceous layer is typically sparse and may include individuals of Aralia nudicaulis, Maianthemum canadense, Trientalis borealis, Mitchella repens, and Lycopodium spp..
- The substrate is usually covered by a thick layer of pine needle duff.

PARK VEGETATION PLOT SUMMARY

The canopy is dominated by Pinus strobus and is sometimes codominated by other ruderal species such as Liriodendron tulipifera.
Understory varies with age and stand characteristics.

DISTRIBUTION

North America:

This weedy type may be expected to occur throughout the range of the alliance (i.e., from Michigan, northern Wisconsin, northern and eastern Minnesota, extreme northeastern Iowa, Maine and New Hampshire south to North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky (?), and Virginia, as well as in Ontario, Canada).
- It has only been documented in areas where project-specific needs have required it.

Click map to view distribution.
Potential	Occurs

Click map to view North American distribution.

In the Park:

This community exists throughout the low elevations of the park that have been previously cleared and allowed to grow back with time.
- Examples of this community sampled in this project were from areas near Oconaluftee River and Abrams Creek.

CONSERVATION STATUS

Global Status:

Global Conservation Status Rank: GNA (ruderal) (Last reviewed: 02 11 2001).
This forest represents early successional vegetation and is thus not of conservation concern and does not receive a conservation status rank.

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:

R. White

Web Page:

Charles Wilder.

Photographs:

NatureServe

Maps:

N/A

REFERENCES

Fleming, G. P., and W. H. Moorhead, III. 1996. Ecological land units of the Laurel Fork Area, Highland County, Virginia. Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, Division of Natural Heritage. Natural Heritage Technical Report 96-08. Richmond. 114 pp. plus appendices.

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

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

The DLIA/ATBI site is hosted and supported by

and