Sumter National Forest Final Report - NatureServe

fires occur rarely. In the Southern Blue Ridge, these forests are found on valley flats, narrow ravines, and north- to east-facing slopes,at elevations from 1800-3500 feet (550-1060 m).Related Concepts:• Canada Hemlock Forest (Schafale and Weakley 1990) I• Eastern Hemlock: 23 (Eyre 1980) I• Hemlock (white pine) - northern hardwood forest (Fike 1999) ?• Hemlock - Yellow Birch: 24 (Eyre 1980) I• Hemlock CUPL, BR (Pyne 1994) ?• Hemlock Ravine Community (Swain and Kearsley 2001) ?• Hemlock-mixed forest (Evans 1991) I• Northern Hardwood - Conifer Forest (Smith 1991) ? habitat type 4 (Barnes 1991) ?Classification Comments: NoneALLIANCE DISTRIBUTIONRange: This alliance is found in Michigan, southwestern Wisconsin, Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York (?),New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Virginia (?), West Virginia, Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee. Italso occurs in Canada in southern Ontario.Subnations: GA, KY, MI, NC, ON, SC, TN, VT, WITNC Ecoregions: 46:C, 47:C, 48:C, 50:C, 51:C, 52:C, 58:C, 59:CUSFS Ecoregions: 212Hb:CC?, 212Hh:CCP, 212Hl:CCC, 212Ia:CCC, 212Ja:CCC, 212Jb:CCC, 212Jc:CCC, 212Je:CCC,212Jf:CCC, 212Jj:CCC, 212Jl:CCC, 212Jm:CCC, 212Jn:CCP, 212Jo:CCP, 212Js:CCC, 212K:CC, 221Ha:CCC, 221Hc:CCC,221He:CCC, 221Ja:C??, 221Jb:C??, 221Jc:C??, 222D:C?, 222Ja:CCC, 222Je:CCC, 222Ka:CCC, 222Lb:CCC, 222Lc:CCC,222Ld:CCC, 231Cd:CC?, 232Bt:PPP, M221Aa:CCC, M221Ba:CPP, M221Bb:CPP, M221Bd:CPP, M221Cc:CCC, M221Cd:CCC,M221Ce:CCC, M221Da:CCC, M221Db:CCC, M221Dc:CCC, M221Dd:CCCFederal Lands: NPS (Cumberland Gap, Great Smoky Mountains); USFS (Chattahoochee, Cherokee, Daniel Boone, GeorgeWashington?, Jefferson?, Nantahala, Pisgah, Sumter)ALLIANCE SOURCESReferences: Barnes 1991, Burns and Honkala 1990a, Coffman and Willis 1977, Evans 1991, Eyre 1980, Faber-Langendoen et al.1996, Fike 1999, Frelich and Lorimer 1991a, Golden 1974, Golden 1981, Hinkle 1978, Lorimer 1980, Martin 1959a, McLeod 1988,Newell et al. 1997, Oosting and Bourdeau 1955, Patterson 1994, Pyne 1994, Racine and Hardin 1975, Rawinski et al. 1996, Rogers1980, Schafale and Weakley 1990, Segars et al. 1951, Smith 1991, Swain and Kearsley 2001, Whittaker 1956I.B.2.N.a. Lowland or submontane cold-deciduous forestI.B.2.N.A. FAGUS GRANDIFOLIA - QUERCUS RUBRA - QUERCUS ALBA FOREST ALLIANCE(A.229)AMERICAN BEECH - NORTHERN RED OAK - WHITE OAK FOREST ALLIANCEALLIANCE CONCEPTSummary: Forests in this alliance occur in non-montane or low-elevation montane mesic situations and are dominated by Fagusgrandifolia typically with some combination of Quercus rubra and/or Quercus alba. Associated canopy and subcanopy species caninclude Liriodendron tulipifera, Acer saccharum, Magnolia tripetala, Magnolia acuminata (Ozarks), Tilia americana var. americana(Ozarks), Tilia americana var. heterophylla, Quercus muehlenbergii, Acer rubrum, Cornus florida, Ostrya virginiana, Aesculussylvatica, and Ilex opaca. Some of these forests, particularly in the Piedmont of South Carolina, the southern Ridge and Valley ofAlabama, or in Arkansas, may contain Acer barbatum instead of Acer saccharum. Shrubs in this alliance include Vacciniumstamineum, Viburnum rafinesquianum, Euonymus americana, and, in some occurrences, Kalmia latifolia. The herb layer can berelatively lush with such species as Polystichum acrostichoides, Galium circaezans, Hexastylis arifolia, Hexastylis minor, Desmodiumnudiflorum, Erythronium umbilicatum ssp. umbilicatum, Hepatica nobilis var. obtusa, Epifagus virginiana, Tiarella cordifolia var.collina, Trillium spp., Heuchera americana, Stellaria pubera, Podophyllum peltatum, Botrychium virginianum, and others present.These forests often occur on concave and sheltered landforms such as north-facing slopes, low slopes, high terraces along streams,and possibly other situations. The core concept of the range of this alliance includes areas inland from the Coastal Plain, as Quercusrubra is absent from large areas of the Coastal Plain (as in North Carolina). Forests in this alliance occur in the Cumberlands andSouthern Ridge and Valley, Piedmont and Interior Low Plateau, and on protected slopes and ravines in the Ozarks, central OuachitaMountains, and Arkansas Valley.Related Concepts:• Appalachian mesophytic forest (Evans 1991) I• Beech - Sugar Maple: 60 (Eyre 1980) I• Beech RV (Pyne 1994) ?• Coastal Forest/Woodland (Swain and Kearsley 2001) ?• IA5g. Typic Mesic Piedmont Forest (Allard 1990) IVegetation of Sumter National Forest April 30 2004Copyright © 2004 NatureServe8