The Natural Communities of Virginia
Classification of Ecological Community Groups
SECOND APPROXIMATION (Version 2.2)
High-Elevation Cove Forests
Protected, concave slopes and ravines at elevations from 1,070 m (3,500 ft) to about 1,460 m (4,800 ft.) on the highest mountains of Virginia support the mixed mesophytic hardwood or coniferous-deciduous forests of this ecological group. The elevation range extends somewhat lower, to around 900 m (3,000 ft), in the Allegheny Mountains. This is a group of very localized communities that are restricted in Virginia to the Mount Rogers - Whitetop Mountain area of the southern Blue Ridge, the highest elevations of the Ridge and Valley and Cumberland Mountains, and Allegheny Mountain in Highland County. Similar communities are found throughout higher elevations of the North Carolina and Tennessee Blue Ridge. Habitats are characterized by cool, moist microclimates and frigid, organic-rich soils. Soil fertility is variable and relates strongly to compositional variation within the group. Soils with moderately high levels of calcium, magnesium, and/or manganese support communities that are transitional between northern hardwood forests and rich cove forests of the lower elevations. Soils with low base status and somewhat higher organic matter content support species-poor forests dominated by acidiphiles.
Overstory dominants in richer high-elevation cove forests include sugar maple (
Acer saccharum var. saccharum), yellow birch (
Betula allegheniensis), basswoods (
Tilia americana var. americana and var.
heterophylla), American beech (
Fagus grandifolia), white ash (
Fraxinus americana), and yellow buckeye (
Aesculus flava). Stands typically have lush herb layers with patch-dominance of mountain bugbane (
Cimicifuga americana), ramps (
Allium tricoccum), filmy angelica (
Angelica triquinata), two-leaved toothwort (
Cardamine diphylla), blue cohosh (
Caulophyllum thalictroides), Goldie's wood-fern (
Dryopteris goldiana), Canada waterleaf (
Hydrophyllum canadense), wood nettle (
Laportea canadensis), fringed scorpion-weed (
Phacelia fimbriata), clustered snakeroot (
Sanicula odorata), broad-leaved goldenrod (
Solidago flexicaulis), furrowed wakerobin (
Trillium sulcatum), sweet white violet (
Viola blanda var. blanda), Canada violet (
Viola canadensis var. canadensis), and other nutrient-demanding species. High-elevation acidic cove forests typically have overstories of yellow birch (
Betula alleghaniensis), eastern hemlock (
Tsuga canadensis), and sometimes red spruce (
Picea rubens), with dense shrub layers of great laurel (
Rhododendron maximum). The herb layer is sparse and contains a number of northern species that are restricted to the higher elevations in Virginia.
References: Adams (1991), Fleming and Coulling (2001), Fleming and Moorhead (1996), Rheinhardt and Ware (1984).
Click on the images below to open a larger image in a separate window.
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High-elevation acidic cove forest along Laurel Fork in the Allegheny Mountains of
Highland County (George Washington and Jefferson National Forests).
Photo: Gary P. Fleming.
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High-elevation acidic cove forest along Fox Creek, in the valley between Mount Rogers and the
Iron Mountains, Smyth County (George Washington and Jefferson National Forests). Yellow birch (Betula alleghaniensis) dominates
the overstory, while great laurel (Rhododendron maximum) forms a nearly continuous shrub layer.
Photo: Gary P. Fleming.
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A lush herbaceous assemblage of wood nettle (Laportea canadensis), white monkshood (Aconitum reclinatum),
filmy angelica (Angelica triquinata), and other species covers the floor of a high-elevation rich cove forest on Hawksbill, Page
County (Shenandoah National Park).
Photo: © Gary P. Fleming.
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REPRESENTATIVE COMMUNITY TYPES:
The three "rich cove" types in this group all need additional quantitative sampling and analysis, in order to better identify the range of variation and appropriate nominal species for each unit. Click on any highlighted CEGL code below to view the global USNVC description provided by NatureServe Explorer.
- Acer saccharum - Betula alleghaniensis / Acer pensylvanicum / Laportea canadensis - Angelica triquinata Forest
Central Appalachian High-Elevation Rich Cove Forest
USNVC: =
CEGL006237, in part
Global/State Ranks:
G4?/S?
- Acer saccharum - Tilia americana - Fagus grandifolia / Caulophyllum thalictroides - Viola blanda - ( Allium tricoccum ) Forest
Northern Appalachian Rich Cove Forest
USNVC: =
CEGL005008, in part
Global/State Ranks:
G4?/S1
- Acer saccharum - Tilia americana var. heterophylla - Fraxinus americana / Cimicifuga americana - Sanicula odorata - ( Phacelia fimbriata ) Forest
Southern Appalachian High-Elevation Rich Cove Forest
USNVC:
CEGL007695
State/Global Ranks: G3G4/S2
- Betula alleghaniensis - Tsuga canadensis - ( Picea rubens ) / Rhododendron maximum Forest
High-Elevation Acidic Cove Forest
USNVC: =
CEGL007861
Global/State Ranks:
G3G4Q/S3
