Red Spruce - Northern Hardwood Forest (Shrub Type) - Ecological Community of Great Smoky Mountains National Park

NatureServe Unique Identifier: CEGL004983: Picea rubens - (Betula alleghaniensis, Aesculus flava) / Rhododendron (maximum, catawbiense) Forest

Park Vegetation Plot Summary

Tree Canopy: Betula alleghaniensis, Picea rubens

Tree subcanopy: N/A

Tall Shrubs and Saplings: Leucothoe fontanesiana

Herbs (field): N/A

Nonvascular: N/A

Click photo to enlarge.
Photo provided by NatureServe.

GLOBAL COMMUNITY CONCEPT

This association occurs in the broad elevational transition zone between spruce-fir and northern hardwoods in the Southern Blue Ridge (approx. 4,600-5,100 feet).
- Sites are steep to very steep, slopes often associated with cliff faces, rock outcroppings, or bouldery situations, and subject to disturbance by wind, ice, and landslides.
The canopy is comprised of Picea rubens codominating with deciduous species Betula alleghaniensis, Fagus grandifolia, and Aesculus flava, occurring singly or in combination.
- At higher elevations, Abies fraseri may be a minor canopy component.
The shrub layer is well-developed and dominated by Rhododendron maximum or Rhododendron catawbiense.
- In the Great Smoky Mountains, Leucothoe fontanesiana can be the dominant shrub. Other minor shrubs include Ilex montana, Viburnum lantanoides, Vaccinium erythrocarpum, and Rubus allegheniensis.
- The thick, evergreen shrub layer precludes the establishment of seedlings or herbaceous plants and creates a heavy, slowly decomposing litter layer.
Bryophyte cover can be high (over 50%), and the ground is covered with downed and decaying logs.

PARK VEGETATION PLOT SUMMARY

The tree canopy is dominated by Picea rubens and Betula alleghaniensis.
- Other trees that can occur with minor coverage in the canopy and subcanopy include Acer rubrum, Prunus serotina, and Tsuga canadensis.
Shrub cover is dense and dominated by Leucothoe fontanesiana.
- Other shrubs include Ilex montana, Viburnum lantanoides, Vaccinium erythrocarpum, Rhododendron catawbiense, and Rubus allegheniensis.
Herbaceous cover is absent or sparse and consists of scattered ferns and other forbs such as Dryopteris intermedia, Dennstaedtia punctilobula, Oxalis montana, Rugelia nudicaulis, Circaea alpina, Arisaema triphyllum, and Trillium undulatum.
Bryophyte cover can be high (over 50%), and the ground is covered with downed and decaying logs.

DISTRIBUTION

North America:
N/A

In the Park:
This community was sampled on the Mount Le Conte quadrangle and the Bunches Bald quadrangle and was not found on the Cades Cove quadrangle. It was sampled in the vicinity of Alum Cave on steep slopes at 4,850 and 5,350 feet elevation and along Balsam Road at an elevation of approximately 4,500 feet. It should be sought in other high-elevation areas of the park, between 4,500 and 5,300 feet elevation.

CONSERVATION STATUS

Global Status:

Global Conservation Status Rank: G1? (Last reviewed: 04 30 1998).
The community is geographically and environmentally restricted to the highest elevations of the Southern Blue Ridge.
- Very few occurrences are known to exist, and it has only been described from the Great Smoky Mountains.

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, MOD. R. White

Web Page:

Charles Wilder.

Photographs:

NatureServe

Maps:

to be provided

REFERENCES

Golden, M. S. 1974. Forest vegetation and site relationships in the central portion of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Ph.D. dissertation, University of Tennessee, Knoxville. 275 pp.

Golden, M. S. 1981. An integrated multivariate analysis of forest communities of the central Great Smoky Mountains. The American Midland Naturalist 106:37-53.

Livingston, D., and C. Mitchell. 1976. Site classification and mapping in the Mt. LeConte growth district, Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Unpublished report. Great Smoky Mountains National Park Library.

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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