Ecological Communities

Appalachian oak -hickory forest

A hardwood forest that occurs on well-drained sites, usually on flat
hilltops, upper slopes, or south and west facing slopes. Dominant trees
include one or more of red oak, white oak, and black oak. Mixed with
oaks, are one or more of pignut, shagbark, and sweet pignut hickory.
Common associates are white ash, red maple, and hop hornbeam. Small
trees include flowering dogwood, witch hazel, shadbush, and choke
cherry. Shrubs and groundlayer flora are diverse. Shrubs include
maple-leaf viburnum, blueberries, red raspberry, gray dogwood, and
beaked hazelnut.

Beech-maple mesic forest

A hardwood forest with sugar maple and beech codominant. Found on moist,
well-drained soils, on north and east facing slopes, and on gently
sloping hilltops of any aspect, this type rarely occurs in ravines.
Common associates are basswood, American elm, white ash, yellow birch,
hop hornbeam, and red maple. Characteristic species in the sub- canopy
are musclewood, striped maple, witch hazel, hobblebush, and
alternate-leaved dogwood. There typically are few herbs and shrubs, but
tree seedlings may be abundant. There are many spring ephemerals.

Hemlock-northern hardwood forest

A forest that typically occurs on lower slopes of ravines, on cool,
mid-elevation slopes, and at the edges of drainage divide swamps.
Hemlock is a codominant species with one to three others: beech, sugar
maple, red maple, black cherry, white pine, yellow birch, black birch,
red oak, and basswood. Shrubs have low abundance, but striped maple may
be present. Herbs characteristic of northern and montane areas are
common.