Classification of Vegetation Communities of Maryland: First Iteration

I. FOREST
I.C.3.N.a. Mixed needle-leaved evergreen - cold-deciduous forest
I.C.3.N.a.33. TSUGA CANADENSIS - LIRIODENDRON TULIPIFERA FOREST ALLIANCE
Eastern Hemlock - Tuliptree Forest Alliance

Concept: Forests in this alliance are dominated by Tsuga canadensis, occurring with various hardwood species of mesic forests, including Liriodendron tulipifera, Tilia americana var. heterophylla, Magnolia acuminata, Quercus rubra, Fraxinus americana, Betula lenta, Fagus grandifolia, Halesia tetraptera, and others. Common shrubs are Rhododendron maximum, Kalmia latifolia, and Leucothoe fontanesiana. Herbaceous cover is typically sparse and includes acid-loving species such as Polystichum acrostichoides, Goodyera pubescens, Thelypteris noveboracensis, Galax urceolata, Hexastylis sp., and Tiarella cordifolia. These forests occur in deep coves, moist flats, and ravines, but are occasionally found along larger stream bottoms, typically at elevations below 1060 m (3500 feet). Forests in this alliance include acidic cove forests and mesic successional forests, mostly of the southern and central Appalachians, but also occurring in the Cumberland Plateau and Cumberland Mountains of Kentucky, Tennessee, and Alabama, the Allegheny Plateau of West Virginia, and isolated occurrences in the Interior Low Plateau of Indiana and Tennessee.

Comments: Occurrences are threatened by the Hemlock Woolly Adelgid (Adelges tsugae), an exotic insect pest.

Range: Forests in this alliance include acidic cove forests and mesic successional forests, mostly of the southern and central Appalachians, but also occurring in the Cumberland Plateau and Cumberland Mountains of Kentucky, Tennessee, and Alabama, the Allegheny Plateau of West Virginia, and isolated occurrences in the Interior Low Plateau of Indiana and Tennessee. This alliance is found in Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Indiana, Ohio, and West Virginia.

States/Provinces: AL GA IN KY MD NC OH PA SC TN VA WV

TNC Ecoregions: 44:C, 45:C, 48:C, 49:C, 50:C, 51:C, 52:C, 58:C, 59:C, 61:C

USFS Ecoregions: 212:C, 221Db:CPP, 221Ea:CCC, 221Ec:CCC, 221Ed:CCC, 221Ee:CCC, 221Ef:CCC, 221Eg:CCC, 221Fa:CCC, 221Fb:CCC, 221Fc:CCC, 221Ha:CCC, 221Hb:CCC, 221Hc:CCC, 221He:CCC, 222De:C??, 222Eb:CCC, 222Ek:CCC, 222Em:CCC, 222Eo:CCC, 222Hb:CCC, 222Hf:CCC, 231Aa:CCC, 231Ap:CCP, 231Ca:CCC, 231Cc:CCP, 231Cd:CCC, 232Ad:CCC, 232Bt:CCC, M221Aa:CCC, M221Ab:CCC, M221Ca:CPP, M221Cb:CPP, M221Cc:CPP, M221Ce:CPP, M221Da:CCC, M221Db:CCC, M221Dc:CCC, M221Dd:CCC, M231Ad:CCC

Federal Lands: NPS (Carl Sandburg Home, Great Smoky Mountains, Mammoth Cave); USFS (Bankhead, Chattahoochee, Cherokee, Daniel Boone, George Washington, Jefferson, Nantahala, Pisgah, Sumter)

Synonymy: Acidic Cove Forest, in part (Schafale and Weakley 1990); Hemlock-Mixed Mesophytic HR (Pyne 1994); Yellow-Poplar - Eastern Hemlock: 58, in part (Eyre 1980)

References: Cooper and Hardin 1970, Eyre 1980, Fike 1999, Gettman 1974, Golden 1974, Malter 1977, McLeod 1988, Newell and Peet 1995, Newell et al. 1997, Patterson 1994, Pyne 1994, Schafale and Weakley 1990, Winstead and Nicely 1976

Authors: D. TAYLOR, RW, Southeast Identifier: A.413

Comments: This type appears to vary from pure evergreen to mixed evergreen-deciduous. Black and Mack (1976) suggest that this type contains more temperate species, such as several Dryopteris spp. (Dryopteris intermedia, Dryopteris marginalis) and Viburnum acerifolium when compared to more northern/boreal types, such as Tsuga canadensis - Fagus grandifolia - (Acer saccharum) Great Lakes Forest (CEGL005042), which contains Clintonia borealis, Coptis trifolia, and Cornus canadensis. One of their subtypes, the steep-walled sandstone gorges and talus, where Hydrangea arborescens, Kalmia latifolia, and Dryopteris marginalis may be indicative, has some conceptual and environmental overlap with Tsuga canadensis - (Fagus grandifolia, Tilia americana var. heterophylla) / Magnolia tripetala Forest (CEGL008407) of the southern Cumberland Plateau and Central Appalachians.

Range: This community is found in parts of the Interior Low Plateau and the Western Allegheny Plateau of the northeastern and east-central United States, ranging from Pennsylvania and Ohio, south to Maryland and West Virginia, and westward to a few stands in Indiana, and possibly Kentucky. Stands in Indiana are not part of the continuous range of Tsuga canadensis.

States/Provinces: IN:S?, KY:S?, MD:S?, OH:S3,S?, PA:S?, VA?, WV:S?

TNC Ecoregions: 44:C, 45:C, 48:C, 49:C, 50:?, 59:?

USFS Ecoregions: 212:C, 221Ea:CCC, 221Ec:CCC, 221Ed:CCC, 221Ee:CCC, 221Ef:CCC, 221Eg:CCC, 221Fa:CCC, 221Fb:CCC, 221Fc:CCC, 222De:C??, 222Ek:CCC, 222Em:CCC, 222Hb:CCC, 222Hf:CCC

Federal Lands: NPS (Mammoth Cave)

References: Anderson 1982, Black and Mack 1976, Campbell pers. comm., Fike 1999, Fleming pers. comm., Homoya pers. comm.

Authors: D. Faber-Langendoen, ECS Confidence: 2 Identifier: CEGL005043

Concept: This Coastal Plain hemlock ravine forest is known from the Wicomoco terrace of the eastern shore of Maryland and on the western shore in Calvert County. It occurs in shallow ravines with Tsuga canadensis occurring with Fagus grandifolia, Liriodendron tulipifera, Quercus prinus, Quercus velutina, and Quercus alba. The shrub layer is characterized by Ilex opaca, Lindera benzoin, Aralia spinosa, Kalmia latifolia, Viburnum acerifolium, and Vaccinium pallidum. The herbaceous layer is comprised of Mitchella repens, Uvularia sessilifolia, Epigaea repens, Gaultheria procumbens, Hieracium venosum, Polystichum acrostichoides, Botrychium virginianum, Lycopodium complanatum, and Lycopodium obscurum.

Range: This Coastal Plain hemlock ravine forest is known from the Wicomoco terrace of the eastern shore of Maryland and on the western shore in Calvert County.

States/Provinces: MD:S?

TNC Ecoregions: 52:P, 61:P

USFS Ecoregions: 221Db:PPP, 231Ap:PPP

Synonymy: Eastern Hemlock: 23 (Eyre 1980) B. in part

References: Eyre 1980, Shreve et al. 1910, Waggoner 1973

Authors: ECS Confidence: 3 Identifier: CEGL006600

- Maryland Vegetation Classification Subset Report I.C. Mixed evergreen-deciduous forest

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