Sumter National Forest Final Report - NatureServe

ASSOCIATIONS GROUPED BY ECOLOGICAL SYSTEMUPLANDS, VEGETATEDAPPALACHIAN HEMLOCK-HARDWOOD FORESTEASTERN HEMLOCK / GREAT RHODODENDRON - (MOUNTAIN SWEET-PEPPERBUSH, MOUNTAIN DOGHOBBLE)FORESTELEMENT IDENTIFIERSNVC association: Tsuga canadensis / Rhododendron maximum - (Clethra acuminata, Leucothoe fontanesiana) ForestDatabase Code: CEGL007136Formation: Conical-crowned temperate or subpolar needle-leaved evergreen forest (I.A.8.N.c)Alliance: Tsuga canadensis Forest Alliance (A.143)ELEMENT CONCEPTSummary: Forests of lower or protected slopes and terraces with Tsuga canadensis occurring over a dense to patchy shrub stratumof Rhododendron maximum. Other canopy species of minor importance may include Liriodendron tulipifera, Tilia americana var.heterophylla, Pinus strobus, Betula lenta, Magnolia fraseri, Acer rubrum, and Fraxinus americana; these would total less than 25%of the canopy cover. In the Southern Blue Ridge, Leucothoe fontanesiana is often a shrub component, and sometimes occurs densely.Other typical shrubs can include Ilex opaca, Clethra acuminata, and Kalmia latifolia. Herbs are sparse to moderate, depending on theshrub cover. Typical herbs include Chimaphila maculata, Goodyera pubescens, Medeola virginiana, Hexastylis shuttleworthii,Mitchella repens, Polystichum acrostichoides, Viola blanda, and Galax urceolata. Bryophyte cover is often dense. In the southernAppalachians, this forest occurs at elevations greater than 1800 feet. In Kentucky, disturbed areas may have abundant Betula lentaand Betula alleghaniensis in the subcanopy. Stands in the southern Cumberlands of Kentucky and Tennessee would lack Leucothoefontanesiana; instead, Clethra acuminata is a characteristic shrub of these stands.Environment: Forests of lower or protected slopes and terraces with Tsuga canadensis occurring over a dense to patchy shrubstratum of Rhododendron maximum. In the southern Appalachians, this forest occurs at elevations greater than 1800 feet.Vegetation: Forests with Tsuga canadensis occurring over a dense to patchy shrub stratum of Rhododendron maximum. Othercanopy species of minor importance may include Liriodendron tulipifera, Tilia americana var. heterophylla, Pinus strobus, Betulalenta, Magnolia fraseri, Acer rubrum, and Fraxinus americana; these would total less than 25% of the canopy cover. Leucothoefontanesiana is often a shrub component, and sometimes occurs densely. Other typical shrubs include Ilex opaca, Clethra acuminata,and Kalmia latifolia. Herbs are sparse to moderate, depending on the shrub cover. Typical herbs include Chimaphila maculata,Goodyera pubescens, Medeola virginiana, Hexastylis shuttleworthii, Mitchella repens, Polystichum acrostichoides, and Galaxurceolata. Bryophyte cover is often dense. In Kentucky, disturbed areas may have abundant Betula lenta and Betula alleghaniensis inthe subcanopy. Stands in the southern Cumberlands of Tennessee would lack Leucothoe fontanesiana.Dynamics: No informationSimilar Associations:• Pinus strobus - Tsuga canadensis / Rhododendron maximum - (Leucothoe fontanesiana) Forest (CEGL007102) -- dominated byPinus strobus or codominated by Pinus strobus and Tsuga canadensis.Related Concepts:• Canada Hemlock Forest (Typic Subtype) (Schafale 1998b) ?• Eastern Hemlock: 23 (Eyre 1980) B• Hemlock Community (Caplenor 1965) ?• Hemlock, BR (Pyne 1994) B• Hemlock, CUPL (Fleming and Coulling 2001) B• IA5b. Southern Appalachian Hemlock Cove Forest (Allard 1990) BClassification Comments: In Kentucky, this association occurs in the eastern part of the state (Appalachian plateaus, CumberlandMountains).CONSERVATION RANKING & RARE SPECIESGRank: G3G4 (1998-4-30): No informationHigh-ranked species: Monotropsis odorata (G3)ELEMENT DISTRIBUTIONRange: This community is found in the Southern Appalachians, from North Carolina west into Kentucky.Subnations: GA, KY, NC, SC, TNTNC Ecoregions: 50:C, 51:C, 52:CVegetation of Sumter National Forest April 30 2004Copyright © 2004 NatureServe34