Southern Appalachian Forests: High Elevations

Oak-Chestnut Forest

• High elevation forests (4000-6684 ft)

  • northern hardwood forests

  • high-elevation red oak forest

  • spruce-fir forest

• Elevation, moisture, and topography are major factors that separate these types

Northern hardwood forests

• Really the southern northern hardwoods

• Beech, birch, and buckeye, and sugar maple

• Protected slopes; 3500-5000 ft

• structure similar to cove forest; rich understory, but less diverse

• 2 variants of this type; birch boulderfields and beech gaps

• Species found here:

  • yellow birch

  • American beech

  • beech gap subtype

  • buckeye (yellow buckeye)

  • sugar maple (northern species, source of maple sugar and maple syrup)

  • Carolina northern flying squirrels—federally listed sub-species lives here

    • Niche is northern hardwood forests ranging up to spruce forests

    • limited to that niche because of competition from southern flying squirrels

    • food source is lichens on yellow birch and fungi (truffles) on red spruce roots

    • As a wildlife biologist: look for habitat at elevation 4500 ft, protected slopes, yellow birch and sugar maple

High-elevation Red Oak Forest

• often open and parklike—harsh conditions sunt the canopy trees and they are spaced apart

• usually on open slopes or ridges; grades into northern hardwoods on north-facing slopes

• canopy often 100% Quercus rubra

• Disturbance: shaped by harsh weather and winter storms; possibly some element of fire

• Species found here:

  • northern red oak (broad distribution across many forest types, major component of montane oak forests at lower elevations, Weakley classifies red oak at higher elevations as a different variety—Quercus rubra var. ambigua but notes disagreement or Quercus rubra var. borealis

Spruce-Fir Forest

• highest elevations in southern Appalachians: above 5500 ft

• at high elevations, topography is not as important

• dense, even-aged canopy

• fog drip is a significant source of water

• sparse understory

• threatened by climate change and the balsam woolly adelgid

• wildlife

• Species found here:

  • Red spruce

    • at the southern edge of their range in NC

    • Niche slightly lower than Fraser fir

    • Grades into northern hardwood forest—ecotone (transition area between communities)

    • also grows in bogs in the far North

  • Fraser fir

    • narrow southern Appalachian endemic

    • found at the highest elevations and in pure stand above 6000 ft

    • cones held up right on branches

The highest peak east of the Mississippi is Mount Mitchell at 6684 ft.

How did the sky islands in the southern Appalachians get there?

Non-forested plant communities

• Why might we have non-forested plant communities?

  • high elevation rocky summits

  • granite domes

  • heath or shrub balds

  • grassy balds