The Natural Communities of Virginia
Classification of Ecological Community Groups
SECOND APPROXIMATION (Version 2.2)
Southern Appalachian Northern Hardwood Forests
The group consists of mixed hardwood forests occurring at elevations above 1,100 m (3,600 ft) in southwestern Virginia. These forests are endemic to the higher elevations of North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. In the Commonwealth, stands are prevalent throughout the high-elevation Mount Rogers–Whitetop Mountain area of the Blue Ridge (Grayson, Smyth, and Washington Counties), with very local outliers at the highest elevations of the Iron Mountains (Grayson and Smyth Counties), Clinch Mountain (Russell, Smyth, Tazewell, and Washington Counties), and Stone Mountain (Wise County).
Co-dominant trees in Southern Appalachian Northern Hardwood Forests are sugar maple (
Acer saccharum var. saccharum), American beech (
Fagus grandifolia), yellow birch (
Betula alleghaniensis), and yellow buckeye (
Aesculus flava) in variable proportions. Overall floristic composition varies with specific site conditions, and two community types have been recognized by VANHP ecologists. The first is widespread throughout the higher elevations of the southern Virginia Blue Ridge and also represents outliers of the global type in the adjacent Ridge and Valley. Sugar maple and yellow buckeye are prominent in the overstory, along with yellow birch and beech. Black cherry (
Prunus serotina var. serotina), white ash (
Fraxinus americana), and northern red oak (
Quercus rubra) are very minor overstory associates. Sapling sugar maple, striped maple (
Acer pensylvanicum) and, more locally, mountain maple (
Acer spicatum) are abundant understory species. Smooth blackberry (
Rubus canadensis) is the only common shrub. Herb layers are moderately dense and usually contain nutrient-demanding species such as blue cohosh (
Caulophyllum thalictroides) and wood nettle (
Laportea canadensis) at low cover. However, the most abundant and constant herbs of this type are Appalachian white snakeroot (
Ageratina altissima var.
roanensis), southern lady fern (
Athyrium filix-femina var. asplenioides), evergreen wood-fern (
Dryopteris intermedia), and sweet white violet (
Viola blanda var. blanda). This unit generally occurs on straight to concave slopes with west, north, or east aspects, and soils with slightly higher base status (particularly manganese levels) than those of the following. The second community type is also widespread but is somewhat more localized and found only on the Blue Ridge. This subtype is typically associated with convex, often southerly slopes and ridge spurs with very infertile soils. Beech is the clear (sometimes overwhelming) overstory dominant, although yellow birch and sugar maple are constant, less abundant overstory associates. Yellow buckeye is essentially absent from this unit, while Fraser magnolia (
Magnolia fraseri), eastern hemlock (
Tsuga canadensis), and red spruce (
Picea rubens) are locally important overstory associates. Understory tree layers are dominated by young beech and sugar maple, in addition to striped maple and mountain maple. This subtype often has a well-developed shrub layer with hobblebush (
Viburnum lantanoides) dominant. Herb layers are moderately sparse to moderately dense and graminoid-rich; large patches of Blue Ridge sedge (
Carex lucorum var.
austrolucorum) are particularly characteristic. Other frequent or abundant herbs are roundleaf violet (
Viola rotundifolia), mountain wood-aster (
Eurybia chlorolepis,
= Aster chlorolepis), mountain wood-fern (
Dryopteris campyloptera), mountain rattlesnake-root (
Prenanthes roanensis), whorled aster (
Oclemena acuminata = Aster acuminatus), shining clubmoss (
Huperzia lucidula), mountain wood-sorrel (
Oxalis montana), New York fern
(
Thelypteris noveboracensis), hayscented fern (
Dennstaedtia punctilobula), summer sedge (
Carex aestivalis),
white-edge sedge (
Carex debilis var. rudgei), and northern shorthusk (
Brachyelytrum septentrionale). Communities in this group are similar to those of the Central Appalachian Northern Hardwood Forests, but have geographically distinct global ranges and separate clearly in quantitative analyses. Moreover, they contain a number of prominent Southern Appalachian species
with ranges that do not extend, or barely extend, into the Central Appalachian region.
References: Adams et. al . (2003), Fleming and Coulling (2001), Rheinhardt and Ware (1984).
Click on the images below to open a larger image in a separate window.
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Southern Appalachian Northern Hardwood Forest dominated by yellow buckeye
(Aesculus flava), sugar maple (Acer saccharum), and Appalachian white snakeroot (Ageratina altissima var.
roanensis). Elk Garden Ridge, Balsam Mountains, Grayson County (George Washington and Jefferson National Forests).
Photo: Gary P. Fleming.
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A northern hardwood forest of beech (Fagus grandifolia , without leaves), northern
red oak (Quercus rubra , with leaves), and some red spruce (Picea rubens) on Big Spring Ridge in the southern Blue
Ridge of Grayson County (Grayson Highlands State Park).
Photo Gary P. Fleming.
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Beech (Fagus grandifolia) and mountain wood-fern (Dryopteris campyloptera ) in
a northern hardwood forest on Whitetop, Balsam Mountains, Grayson County (George Washington and Jefferson National Forests).
Photo: Gary P. Fleming.
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REPRESENTATIVE COMMUNITY TYPES:
This group of forests has been well sampled, especially in the Mount Rogers-Whitetop area of the southern Blue Ridge.
Issues regarding the relationship of the units classified in Virginia to those in the USNVC remain to be resolved.
Click on any highlighted CEGL code below to view the global USNVC description provided by
NatureServe Explorer.
Acer saccharum – Aesculus flava – Betula alleghaniensis / Athyrium filix-femina ssp.
asplenioides – Ageratina altissima var. roanensis Forest
Southern Appalachian Northern Hardwood Forest (Sugar Maple – Yellow Buckeye Type)
USNVC: =
CEGL007285, in part
Global/State Ranks:
G3G4/S3
- Fagus grandifolia – Betula alleghaniensis – Acer saccharum / Viburnum lantanoides / Carex lucorum var. austrolucorum – Viola rotundifolia Forest
Southern Appalachian Northern Hardwood Forest (Beech – Yellow Birch Type)
USNVC: = CEGL007285, in part
Global/State Ranks: G3G4/S2
