The Natural Communities of Virginia
Classification of Ecological Community Groups
SECOND APPROXIMATION (Version 2.2)
Acidic Cove Forests
This group contains mixed hardwood and hardwood-hemlock forests of infertile, mesic, mountain-slope
habitats. In Virginia, these forests occur most extensively in the west-central and southwestern mountains, occupying moist
lower slopes, ravines, and coves underlain by sandstone, quartzite, or other acidic bedrock. Typical overstory trees include
tulip-poplar (
Liriodendron tulipifera), eastern hemlock (
Tsuga canadensis), red maple (
Acer rubrum), sweet and yellow birches
(
Betula lenta) and (
Betula alleghaniensis), eastern white pine (
Pinus strobus), cucumber magnolia (
Magnolia acuminata), and Fraser
magnolia (
Magnolia fraseri) in variable mixtures. American beech (
Fagus grandifolia) is an important overstory tree in northern Blue
Ridge and Cumberland Mountain stands.
Dense, evergreen shrub layers of great rhododendron (Rhododendron maximum) are characteristic, although spotty in northwestern Virginia and
largely absent from the northern Blue Ridge. On the southern half of the northern Blue Ridge, Catawba rhododendron (Rhododendron catawbiense)
is often abundant on sites where great rhododendron is scarce. Herbaceous species, limited by dense shade and poor soils, are sparser and
less diverse than in fertile cove habitats. Nevertheless, some Acidic Cove Forests have an "evergreen-lush" herb layer, with species such
as galax (Galax urceolata) and Christmas fern (Polystichum acrostichoides) forming large colonies.
The small orchid kidneyleaf twayblade (Listera smallii) frequently grows in deep shade under rhododendrons in these communities.
Composition of these forests appears to vary with elevation and physiographic region. They are closely related to communities of the
Eastern Hemlock – Hardwood Forests ecological group, but generally have more diverse composition of woody species and considerably
higher species richness. The hemlock component has been further reduced by past logging and, more recently, by outbreaks of the hemlock
woolly adelgid (Adelges tsugae), an introduced insect pest.
References: Stephenson and Adams (1991), Coulling and Rawinski (1999), Fleming and Coulling (2001), Fleming and Moorhead (1996), Fleming and Moorhead (2000), Rawinski et al. (1996).
Click on the images below to open a larger image in a separate window.
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A typical Southern Appalachian Acidic Cove Forest in the Iron Mountains, Smyth
County (George Washington and Jefferson National Forests). Great laurel (Rhododendron maximum) forms thick shrub tangles under a
mixed overstory of red maple (Acer rubrum), sweet birch (Betula lenta), tulip-poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera), Fraser magnolia
(Magnolia fraseri), and some eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis).
Photo © Gary P. Fleming
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Catawba rhododendron (Rhododendron catawbiense) is often abundant in acidic cove forests of
the northern Blue Ridge, where great rhododendron (R. maximum) is mostly absent. Riprap Hollow, Augusta County (Shenandoah National
Park).
Photo: Gary P. Fleming.
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REPRESENTATIVE COMMUNITY TYPES:
Although two of the Central Appalachian community types are fairly well supported by plot
data, there remain large geographic gaps in the documentation of this group in both southwestern and northwestern Virginia.
The Southern Appalachian community type is grossly under-represented by plot data, despite the fact that it is extremely common
in its southwestern Virginia range.
Click on any highlighted CEGL code below to view the global USNVC description provided by
NatureServe Explorer.
- Liriodendron tulipifera – Betula lenta – Tsuga canadensis / Rhododendron maximum Forest
Southern Appalachian Acidic Cove Forest (Typic Type)
USNVC:
= CEGL007543
Global/State Ranks:
G5/S5
- Pinus strobus – Quercus ( rubra , alba ) – Liriodendron tulipifera Forest
Central Appalachian Acidic Cove Forest (Mixed Type)
USNVC:
= CEGL006304
Global/State Ranks:
GNR/SNR
- Tsuga canadensis – ( Fagus grandifolia, Tilia americana var. heterophylla) / Magnolia tripetala Forest
Cumberland Mountains Acidic Cove Forest
USNVC:
= CEGL008407
State/Global Ranks:
G4/SNR
- Tsuga canadensis – Pinus strobus – Fagus grandifolia / Polystichum acrostichoides Forest
Central Appalachian White Pine – Eastern Hemlock Forest
USNVC:
= CEGL006019
State/Global Ranks:
G4?/S3?
- Tsuga canadensis – Quercus montana / Kalmia latifolia – Rhododendron ( catawbiense , maximum ) / Galax urceolata Forest
Central Appalachian Acidic Cove Forest (Eastern Hemlock – Chestnut Oak type)
USNVC:
= CEGL008512
Global/State Ranks:
G4?/S4
