Southern Appalachian spruce-fir forest
Encyclopedia
The Southern Appalachian spruce-fir forest is a type of montane coniferous forest that grows in the highest elevations in the southern Appalachian Mountains
of the eastern United States. The southern spruce-fir forest is the highest and coldest forest ecosystem in the Appalachian range, thriving in elevations above 5500 feet (1,676.4 m) where the climate is too harsh to support the broad-leaved hardwood forest
that dominates the region's lower elevations. A relict
of the last Ice Age, this forest type covers just over 100 mi2, and is considered the second-most endangered ecosystem in the United States.
Southern spruce-fir stands consist primarily of two needle-leaved evergreen species— the red spruce and the Fraser fir, nicknamed the "he-balsam" and "she-balsam," respectively. Regional entities sometimes refer to the southern spruce-fir forest as the "Canadian" or "boreal" forest due to its resemblance to the boreal forest
of Canada
. While southern spruce-fir forests are related to the boreal forests, and are home to a number of plant and animal species that are more common at northern latitudes, the southern spruce-fir is nevertheless a disjunct and unique ecosystem.
Over the past two centuries, the southern spruce-fir stands have been decimated by logging
, pollution
, and a European aphid
infestation. The southern spruce-fir forest is home to one endangered species, the spruce-fir moss spider
, and several threatened species. While red spruce is common throughout North America, the Fraser fir— a relative of the balsam fir— is found only in the spruce-fir stands of Southern Appalachia. In the second half of the 20th century, nearly all of the mature Fraser firs of Southern Appalachia were killed off by the balsam woolly adelgid
— a parasite introduced from Europe around 1900.
The Southern Appalachian spruce-fir forest consists of several stands covering a combined area of between 60000 acres (24,281.2 ha) and 70000 acres (28,328 ha), although less conservative estimates have placed the forest's coverage at around 90000 acres (36,421.7 ha). The largest southern spruce-fir stand is located atop the Great Smoky Mountains
on the Tennessee
-North Carolina
border, stretching from roughly Clingmans Dome
in the west to Mount Guyot
in the east. Another significant spruce-fir stand is found atop the Black Mountains
, and includes a large stand atop Mount Mitchell
. Other significant stands are found in the Great Balsam Mountains
(in southern North Carolina) and the Plott Balsams
(between the Great Balsams and the Great Smokies). The Great Craggy Mountains
and Mount Pisgah
contain stands of red spruce, but lack Fraser firs.
Further north, southern spruce-fir forests coat the upper elevations of Roan Mountain
, particularly the western part of the mountain between Roan High Knob and Roan High Bluff, and a smaller stand covers part of nearby Grandfather Mountain
. The northernmost southern spruce-fir stand of note is found atop Mount Rogers
and adjacent summits in Southwest Virginia
. Smaller pockets of spruce forest have been identified in colder areas of West Virginia
, although these are typically considered disjunct from the highland spruce-fir community.
lands, namely in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park
and in the Blue Ridge Parkway
corridor, or on state-owned lands, such as at Mount Mitchell State Park
or Grayson Highlands State Park
. The remaining 10% of publicly owned southern spruce-fir stands are located on lands controlled by the United States Forest Service
, namely the Pisgah National Forest
in North Carolina, the Cherokee National Forest
in Tennessee, and the Jefferson National Forest in Virginia.
Southern Appalachian spruce-fir zones are on average much cooler than their surrounding valleys. Winter temperatures can reach as low as -30 °F, and can feel much colder if wind chill
is taken into account. Strong thunderstorms and heavy rain showers are not uncommon in summertime, and spruce-fir zones are draped in clouds up to 25% of the time.
Being atop mountain summits or ridgecrests, southern spruce-fir forests are often subjected to hurricane-force winds, the strongest of which have been recorded at 175 miles (281.6 km) per hour. Spruce-fir forest floors are often littered with blowdown
s, and roads and trails that traverse spruce-fir forests require constant maintenance to remove downed trees and branches.
Red spruce and Fraser fir survive at the highest elevations in Southern Appalachia due to their ability to bear climatic conditions that are too extreme for most broad-leaved trees. Both have conical
shapes and flexible branches that make it less likely they will collapse under the weight of heavy snowfall, and both have a fatty substance in their needles that protects them from extreme cold. Red spruce occurs as low as 3500 feet (1,066.8 m) and normally becomes the dominant tree type at 5500 feet (1,676.4 m). Fraser fir appears at 5500 feet, and becomes the dominant tree type at 6200 feet (1,889.8 m). The two trees can be distinguished by their needles and cones
, with Fraser firs having blunt-shaped needles and upright cones and red spruces having prickly four-cornered needles and cones pointing downward. The oldest red spruces are over 300 years old, and the tallest grow to over 100 feet (30.5 m). The spruce-fir needles, when shed, can take up to ten years to decompose, and create a relatively acidic
humus layer known as "mor."
Some northern hardwoods manage to survive amidst the spruce-fir ecosystem, namely yellow birch, American mountain ash
, and pin cherry, the latter being especially common in areas damaged by fire. A typical southern spruce-fir understory is home to shrubs such as Catawba rhododendron
, thornless blackberry
, mountain cranberry
, and witch-hobble
. The spruce-fir herbaceous layer contains ferns such as the mountain wood fern
, northern lady fern
, and clubmoss
, and over 280 species of moss
es. Wildflowers include Canada mayflower
, blue-bead lily, and mountain wood-sorrel
. The Rugels ragwort
is found only in the spruce-fir forest of the Great Smoky Mountains, and is one of eight plant species endemic to the Southern Appalachian spruce-fir ecosystem.
spruce-fir moss spider
, a tiny relative of the tarantula
that lives among the forests' rich variety of mosses. Another endangered species, the northern flying squirrel
, lives in the spruce-fir forests and adjacent northern hardwood stands. Southern spruce-fir forests are also the preferred habitat of the pigmy salamander, one of several salamander species endemic to Southern Appalachia. Bird species found in the spruce-fir forest include winter wren
s, black-capped chickadee
s, blackburnian warbler
s, brown creeper
s, golden-crowned kinglet
s, and northern saw-whet owl
s, all of which are more common in northern latitudes.
, the two predominant tree types— red spruce and Fraser fir— are not found in the boreal forests, and the Fraser fir is not found outside Southern Appalachia. The typical climate of the Southern Appalachian spruce-fir forest, while too extreme for most broad-leaved trees, is still warmer and wetter than Canada and Alaska, and allows for taller and faster-growing trees. The southern spruce-fir understory is also much denser, and contains plants such as the Catawba rhododendron, which is absent in the northern half of the range.
s of the last Ice Age didn't reach as far as the Southern Appalachians, their encroachment to the north brought lower temperatures to the region. Approximately 18,000 years ago, when the last Ice Age reached its peak, spruce-fir forests covered much of the southeastern United States, stretching westward to Missouri
and as far south as Louisiana
, while the deciduous forests were restricted to a few refuges in the coastal plains. An alpine zone— where the climate is too harsh for any trees to survive— existed in the Southern Appalachians at approximately 4950 feet (1,508.8 m), leaving the region's highest elevations coated with tundra
vegetation and permafrost
. Between 16,000 and 12,000 years ago, temperatures began warming, and the deciduous forest returned to the mountain valleys. By about 10,000 years ago, the alpine zones had disappeared, and the spruce-fir forest had retreated to the range's highest elevations.
and André Michaux
began making excursions into the diverse Southern Appalachian forests as early as the late 18th century. On one such trip, Michaux was accompanied by Scottish botanist John Fraser
, who discovered the fir tree that now bears his name. Early settlers gave the Fraser fir the nickname "she-balsam" due to the white blisters on the ends of its branches, which appeared to contain milk. The dark appearance of the spruce-fir canopy in contrast to the bright green canopy of the deciduous forest is the root of numerous mountain names across the Southern Appalachians, most notably the Black Mountains, as well as individual summits such as Old Black
in the Great Smokies. The nicknames of the red spruce and Fraser fir— he-balsam and she-balsam— also influenced the nomenclature of the Southern Appalachians, leading to names such as Richland Balsam
.
The general inaccessibility of the Southern Appalachian highlands left the spruce-fir forests largely undisturbed for most of the 19th century, with the exception of Mount Mitchell and Roan Mountain, which became seasonal resort sites for tourists seeking an escape from hot summer temperatures. While selective logging occurred as early as the 1880s, the early 20th century saw a logging boom across the spruce-fir forests of Southern Appalachia, especially during World War I
, as red spruce was a preferred wood for aircraft construction. While the Great Smokies' spruce-fir zones were largely spared (with the exception of some logging around Mount Collins
), nearly half the virgin spruce elsewhere in the southern Blue Ridge Mountains was either cut or destroyed by logging-related fires. This rapid devastation led to numerous conservation movements, including one spearheaded by North Carolina governor Locke Craig that culminated in the creation of Mount Mitchell State Park
in 1915. The creation of national forest
s during the same period brought control to the commercial logging in the region, and allowed much of the forest to begin healing.
The balsam woolly adelgid, the most noticeable threat to the southern spruce-fir forest, was introduced from Europe in the first half of the 20th century and quickly decimated the balsam fir stands in the northern Appalachians. In 1957, it was discovered atop Mount Mitchell, and by 1963, it had spread to Mount Sterling
in the Great Smoky Mountains. Over the next few decades, the balsam woolly killed off most all of the mature Fraser firs of Southern Appalachia. While new Fraser firs live long enough to seed, most new firs are attacked and killed after just a few years. Attempts to exterminate the balsam woolly by introducing species known to prey on it have largely failed. Fraser fir repopulation efforts are further complicated by the fact that the fir's cones are prized by tree growers (especially Christmas tree growers), and the United States Forest Service is under constant pressure to allow cone collecting.
The demise of the mature Fraser firs has had a drastic impact on the southern spruce-fir ecosystem. The spruce-fir moss spider, which preferred mosses that thrived in the cool shade beneath the mature firs, is believed to be extirpated in all but a few places in North Carolina. The red spruce, likewise, which is easily damaged by high winds, depended on the sturdier Fraser firs for protection in the wind-blasted higher elevations. Air pollution and acid rain are also believed to be stunting the growth of red spruces (especially since the spruce-fir zones are often immersed in clouds), although to what extent is debatable.
In spite of their general remoteness, most southern spruce-fir forests are accessible via federal and state highways. The Blue Ridge Parkway passes through the spruce-fir regions in the Plott Balsams, the Great Balsams, the Black Mountains (N.C. State Highway 128 connects the parkway to Mount Mitchell), Grandfather Mountain, and Mount Rogers. In the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, U.S. Route 441
climbs to Newfound Gap
amidst the Great Smokies spruce-fir stand, where it intersects the 7 miles (11.3 km) Clingmans Dome Road. The Roan Mountain spruce-fir stand is accessed via state highway— designated as Highway 143 in Tennessee and Highway 261 in North Carolina— and a paved road accesses the gap between Roan High Knob and Roan High Bluff, where there is a large rhododendron garden.
The Appalachian Trail
traverses the southern spruce-fir forests in the Great Smokies and atop Roan Mountain and Mount Rogers. Other major trails in the southern spruce-fir zone include the Deep Gap Trail in the Black Mountains and the Balsam Mountain Trail and Boulevard Trail in the Great Smokies. Smaller trails (part of the Blue Ridge Parkway corridor) access the summits of Waterrock Knob
in the Plott Balsams and Richland Balsam in the Great Balsams.
Appalachian Mountains
The Appalachian Mountains #Whether the stressed vowel is or ,#Whether the "ch" is pronounced as a fricative or an affricate , and#Whether the final vowel is the monophthong or the diphthong .), often called the Appalachians, are a system of mountains in eastern North America. The Appalachians...
of the eastern United States. The southern spruce-fir forest is the highest and coldest forest ecosystem in the Appalachian range, thriving in elevations above 5500 feet (1,676.4 m) where the climate is too harsh to support the broad-leaved hardwood forest
Deciduous
Deciduous means "falling off at maturity" or "tending to fall off", and is typically used in reference to trees or shrubs that lose their leaves seasonally, and to the shedding of other plant structures such as petals after flowering or fruit when ripe...
that dominates the region's lower elevations. A relict
Relict
A relict is a surviving remnant of a natural phenomenon.* In biology a relict is an organism that at an earlier time was abundant in a large area but now occurs at only one or a few small areas....
of the last Ice Age, this forest type covers just over 100 mi2, and is considered the second-most endangered ecosystem in the United States.
Southern spruce-fir stands consist primarily of two needle-leaved evergreen species— the red spruce and the Fraser fir, nicknamed the "he-balsam" and "she-balsam," respectively. Regional entities sometimes refer to the southern spruce-fir forest as the "Canadian" or "boreal" forest due to its resemblance to the boreal forest
Taiga
Taiga , also known as the boreal forest, is a biome characterized by coniferous forests.Taiga is the world's largest terrestrial biome. In North America it covers most of inland Canada and Alaska as well as parts of the extreme northern continental United States and is known as the Northwoods...
of Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. While southern spruce-fir forests are related to the boreal forests, and are home to a number of plant and animal species that are more common at northern latitudes, the southern spruce-fir is nevertheless a disjunct and unique ecosystem.
Over the past two centuries, the southern spruce-fir stands have been decimated by logging
Logging
Logging is the cutting, skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or logs onto trucks.In forestry, the term logging is sometimes used in a narrow sense concerning the logistics of moving wood from the stump to somewhere outside the forest, usually a sawmill or a lumber yard...
, pollution
Pollution
Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into a natural environment that causes instability, disorder, harm or discomfort to the ecosystem i.e. physical systems or living organisms. Pollution can take the form of chemical substances or energy, such as noise, heat or light...
, and a European aphid
Aphid
Aphids, also known as plant lice and in Britain and the Commonwealth as greenflies, blackflies or whiteflies, are small sap sucking insects, and members of the superfamily Aphidoidea. Aphids are among the most destructive insect pests on cultivated plants in temperate regions...
infestation. The southern spruce-fir forest is home to one endangered species, the spruce-fir moss spider
Spruce-fir moss spider
The Spruce-fir moss spider, Microhexura montivaga, is an endangered species of spider found at high elevations in the southern Appalachian Mountains. First identified in 1923, they inhabit moss that grows on rocks underneath the forest canopy....
, and several threatened species. While red spruce is common throughout North America, the Fraser fir— a relative of the balsam fir— is found only in the spruce-fir stands of Southern Appalachia. In the second half of the 20th century, nearly all of the mature Fraser firs of Southern Appalachia were killed off by the balsam woolly adelgid
Balsam woolly adelgid
Balsam woolly adelgids are small wingless insects that infest and kill firs, especially Balsam Fir and Fraser Fir. They are an invasive species from Europe introduced to the United States around 1900....
— a parasite introduced from Europe around 1900.
Occurrence
Great Smoky Mountains
The Great Smoky Mountains are a mountain range rising along the Tennessee–North Carolina border in the southeastern United States. They are a subrange of the Appalachian Mountains, and form part of the Blue Ridge Physiographic Province. The range is sometimes called the Smoky Mountains or the...
on the Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
-North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
border, stretching from roughly Clingmans Dome
Clingmans Dome
Clingmans Dome is a mountain in the Great Smoky Mountains of Tennessee and North Carolina, in the southeastern United States. At an elevation of , it is the highest mountain in the Smokies, the highest point in the state of Tennessee, and the highest point along the Appalachian Trail...
in the west to Mount Guyot
Mount Guyot (Great Smoky Mountains)
Mount Guyot is a mountain in the eastern Great Smoky Mountains, located inthe southeastern United States. At above sea level, Guyot is the fourth-highestsummit in the eastern U.S., and the second-highest in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park...
in the east. Another significant spruce-fir stand is found atop the Black Mountains
Black Mountains (North Carolina)
The Black Mountains are a mountain range in western North Carolina, in the southeastern United States. They are part of the Blue Ridge Province of the Southern Appalachian Mountains. The Blacks are the highest mountains in the Eastern United States...
, and includes a large stand atop Mount Mitchell
Mount Mitchell
Mount Mitchell can refer to:* Mount Mitchell, the highest point in the eastern United States* Mount Mitchell , in Jasper National Park of Canada* Mount Mitchell * Mount Mitchell , in Queensland...
. Other significant stands are found in the Great Balsam Mountains
Great Balsam Mountains
The Great Balsam Mountains, or Balsam Mountains, are in the mountain region of western North Carolina, United States. The Great Balsams are a subrange of the Blue Ridge Mountains, which in turn are a part of the Appalachian Mountains...
(in southern North Carolina) and the Plott Balsams
Plott Balsams
The Plott Balsams are a mountain range in western North Carolina, in the southeastern United States. They are part of the Blue Ridge Mountain Province of the Southern Appalachian Mountains. The Plott Balsams stretch from the city of Sylva in the Tuckasegee River valley to the southwest to Maggie...
(between the Great Balsams and the Great Smokies). The Great Craggy Mountains
Great Craggy Mountains
The Great Craggy Mountains, commonly called the Craggies, are a mountain range in western North Carolina, United States. They are a subrange of the Blue Ridge Mountains and encompass an area of approx. 194 sq mi . They are situated in Buncombe County, North Carolina, 14 miles northeast of Asheville...
and Mount Pisgah
Mount Pisgah (North Carolina)
Mount Pisgah is a mountain in the Appalachian Mountain Range and part of the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, United States. The mountain's height is 5,721 feet and it sits approximately 15 miles southwest of Asheville near the crossing of the boundaries of Buncombe, Haywood, Henderson...
contain stands of red spruce, but lack Fraser firs.
Further north, southern spruce-fir forests coat the upper elevations of Roan Mountain
Roan Mountain (Roan Highlands)
Roan Mountain is the highpoint of the Roan-Unaka Range of the Southern Appalachian Mountains, located in the Southeastern United States. The mountain is clad in a dense stand of Southern Appalachian spruce-fir forest, and includes the world's largest natural rhododendron garden, and the longest...
, particularly the western part of the mountain between Roan High Knob and Roan High Bluff, and a smaller stand covers part of nearby Grandfather Mountain
Grandfather Mountain
Grandfather Mountain is a mountain, a non-profit attraction, and a North Carolina state parknear Linville, North Carolina. At 5,946 feet , it is the highest peak on the eastern escarpment of the Blue Ridge Mountains, one of the major chains of the Appalachian Mountains. The Blue Ridge Parkway...
. The northernmost southern spruce-fir stand of note is found atop Mount Rogers
Mount Rogers
Mount Rogers is the highest natural point in the state of Virginia, USA, with a summit elevation of above mean sea level. It lies in Grayson County and Smyth County, Virginia, about WSW of Troutdale, Virginia, within the Mount Rogers National Recreation Area and Jefferson National Forest.The...
and adjacent summits in Southwest Virginia
Southwest Virginia
Southwest Virginia, often abbreviated as SWVA, is a mountainous region of Virginia in the westernmost part of the commonwealth. Southwest Virginia has been defined alternatively as all Virginia counties on the Appalachian Plateau, all Virginia counties west of the Eastern Continental Divide, or...
. Smaller pockets of spruce forest have been identified in colder areas of West Virginia
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...
, although these are typically considered disjunct from the highland spruce-fir community.
Ownership
Roughly 95% of existing southern spruce-fir stands are owned by federal and state entities, with the remaining 5% privately owned. Approximately 85% of southern spruce-fir stands are found on National Park ServiceNational Park Service
The National Park Service is the U.S. federal agency that manages all national parks, many national monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations...
lands, namely in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Great Smoky Mountains National Park is a United States National Park and UNESCO World Heritage Site that straddles the ridgeline of the Great Smoky Mountains, part of the Blue Ridge Mountains, which are a division of the larger Appalachian Mountain chain. The border between Tennessee and North...
and in the Blue Ridge Parkway
Blue Ridge Parkway
The Blue Ridge Parkway is a National Parkway and All-American Road in the United States, noted for its scenic beauty. It runs for 469 miles , mostly along the famous Blue Ridge, a major mountain chain that is part of the Appalachian Mountains...
corridor, or on state-owned lands, such as at Mount Mitchell State Park
Mount Mitchell State Park
Mount Mitchell State Park is a North Carolina state park in Yancey County, North Carolina in the United States. Established in 1915 by the state legislature, it became the first state park of North Carolina...
or Grayson Highlands State Park
Grayson Highlands State Park
Grayson Highlands State Park is located in Virginia, United States, adjacent to Mount Rogers National Recreation Area. The park lies within Jefferson National Forest. The park was established in 1965 and contains a total of 4,822 acres...
. The remaining 10% of publicly owned southern spruce-fir stands are located on lands controlled by the United States Forest Service
United States Forest Service
The United States Forest Service is an agency of the United States Department of Agriculture that administers the nation's 155 national forests and 20 national grasslands, which encompass...
, namely the Pisgah National Forest
Pisgah National Forest
Pisgah National Forest is a National Forest in the Appalachian Mountains of western North Carolina. It is administered by the United States Forest Service, part of the United States Department of Agriculture. The Pisgah National Forest is completely contained within the state of North Carolina...
in North Carolina, the Cherokee National Forest
Cherokee National Forest
The Cherokee National Forest is a large National Forest created on July 19, 1936, by U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt, operated by the U.S. Forest Service and encompassing some 640,000 acres .-Location:...
in Tennessee, and the Jefferson National Forest in Virginia.
Climate
Wind chill
Wind chill is the felt air temperature on exposed skin due to wind. The wind chill temperature is always lower than the air temperature, and the windchill is undefined at the higher temps...
is taken into account. Strong thunderstorms and heavy rain showers are not uncommon in summertime, and spruce-fir zones are draped in clouds up to 25% of the time.
Being atop mountain summits or ridgecrests, southern spruce-fir forests are often subjected to hurricane-force winds, the strongest of which have been recorded at 175 miles (281.6 km) per hour. Spruce-fir forest floors are often littered with blowdown
Windthrow
In forestry, windthrow refers to trees uprooted or broken by wind. Breakage of the tree bole instead of uprooting is sometimes called windsnap.- Causes :...
s, and roads and trails that traverse spruce-fir forests require constant maintenance to remove downed trees and branches.
Flora
Cone (geometry)
A cone is an n-dimensional geometric shape that tapers smoothly from a base to a point called the apex or vertex. Formally, it is the solid figure formed by the locus of all straight line segments that join the apex to the base...
shapes and flexible branches that make it less likely they will collapse under the weight of heavy snowfall, and both have a fatty substance in their needles that protects them from extreme cold. Red spruce occurs as low as 3500 feet (1,066.8 m) and normally becomes the dominant tree type at 5500 feet (1,676.4 m). Fraser fir appears at 5500 feet, and becomes the dominant tree type at 6200 feet (1,889.8 m). The two trees can be distinguished by their needles and cones
Conifer cone
A cone is an organ on plants in the division Pinophyta that contains the reproductive structures. The familiar woody cone is the female cone, which produces seeds. The male cones, which produce pollen, are usually herbaceous and much less conspicuous even at full maturity...
, with Fraser firs having blunt-shaped needles and upright cones and red spruces having prickly four-cornered needles and cones pointing downward. The oldest red spruces are over 300 years old, and the tallest grow to over 100 feet (30.5 m). The spruce-fir needles, when shed, can take up to ten years to decompose, and create a relatively acidic
Soil acidification
Soil acidification is the buildup of hydrogen cations, also called protons, reducing the soil pH. This happens when a proton donor is added to the soil. The donor can be an acid, such as nitric acid and sulfuric acid . It can also be a compound such as aluminium sulfate, which reacts in the soil to...
humus layer known as "mor."
Some northern hardwoods manage to survive amidst the spruce-fir ecosystem, namely yellow birch, American mountain ash
Sorbus americana
The tree species Sorbus americana is commonly known as the American Mountain-ash. It is a relatively small deciduous perennial tree, native to eastern northern North America....
, and pin cherry, the latter being especially common in areas damaged by fire. A typical southern spruce-fir understory is home to shrubs such as Catawba rhododendron
Rhododendron catawbiense
Rhododendron catawbiense is a species of Rhododendron native to the eastern United States, growing mainly in the Appalachian Mountains from Virginia south to northern Alabama....
, thornless blackberry
Rubus
Rubus is a large genus of flowering plants in the rose family, Rosaceae, subfamily Rosoideae. Raspberries, blackberries, and dewberries are common, widely distributed members of the genus. Most of these plants have woody stems with prickles like roses; spines, bristles, and gland-tipped hairs are...
, mountain cranberry
Vaccinium vitis-idaea
Vaccinium vitis-idaea is a short evergreen shrub in the heath family that bears edible sour fruit, native to boreal forest and Arctic tundra throughout the Northern Hemisphere from Eurasia to North America. In the past it was seldom cultivated, but fruit was commonly collected in the wild. ...
, and witch-hobble
Viburnum lantanoides
Viburnum lantanoides is a perennial shrub of the family Adoxaceae growing 2–4 meters high with pendulous branches that take root where they touch the ground...
. The spruce-fir herbaceous layer contains ferns such as the mountain wood fern
Dryopteris campyloptera
Dryopteris campyloptera, also known as the mountain wood fern, is a large American fern of higher elevations and latitudes. It was once known as Dryopteris spinulosa var. Americana. This species also has been referred to as D. austriaca and D. dilatata...
, northern lady fern
Athyrium filix-femina
Athyrium filix-femina is a large, feathery species of fern native throughout most of the temperate Northern Hemisphere, where it is often abundant in damp, shady woodland environments and is often grown for decoration.The plant is caespitose Athyrium filix-femina (Lady Fern or Common Lady-fern)...
, and clubmoss
Lycopodiopsida
Lycopodiopsida is a class of plants often loosely grouped as the fern allies. Traditionally the group included not only the clubmosses and firmosses, but also the spikemosses and the quillworts...
, and over 280 species of moss
Moss
Mosses are small, soft plants that are typically 1–10 cm tall, though some species are much larger. They commonly grow close together in clumps or mats in damp or shady locations. They do not have flowers or seeds, and their simple leaves cover the thin wiry stems...
es. Wildflowers include Canada mayflower
Maianthemum canadense
Maianthemum canadense Maianthemum canadense Maianthemum canadense (Canadian May-lily, Canada Mayflower, False Lily-of-the-valley, Canadian Lily-of-the-valley, Wild Lily-of-the-valley, Two-leaved Solomonseal; syn. Maianthemum canadense var. interius Fern., Maianthemum canadense var...
, blue-bead lily, and mountain wood-sorrel
Oxalis
Oxalis is by far the largest genus in the wood-sorrel family Oxalidaceae: of the approximately 900 known species in the Oxalidaceae, 800 belong here...
. The Rugels ragwort
Rugelia nudicaulis
Rugelia nudicaulis, or Rugels ragwort, a member of the genus Rugelia which blooms in summer, is a wildflower found only at higher elevations in the Great Smoky Mountains. It is a rare species in Tennessee. It was first placed in the genus Senecio, then moved to Cacalia and finally placed in a...
is found only in the spruce-fir forest of the Great Smoky Mountains, and is one of eight plant species endemic to the Southern Appalachian spruce-fir ecosystem.
Fauna
The Southern Appalachian spruce-fir forests are home to the endangeredEndangered species
An endangered species is a population of organisms which is at risk of becoming extinct because it is either few in numbers, or threatened by changing environmental or predation parameters...
spruce-fir moss spider
Spruce-fir moss spider
The Spruce-fir moss spider, Microhexura montivaga, is an endangered species of spider found at high elevations in the southern Appalachian Mountains. First identified in 1923, they inhabit moss that grows on rocks underneath the forest canopy....
, a tiny relative of the tarantula
Tarantula
Tarantulas comprise a group of often hairy and often very large arachnids belonging to the family Theraphosidae, of which approximately 900 species have been identified. Some members of the same Suborder may also be called "tarantulas" in the common parlance. This article will restrict itself to...
that lives among the forests' rich variety of mosses. Another endangered species, the northern flying squirrel
Northern Flying Squirrel
The Northern flying squirrel is one of two species of the genus Glaucomys, the only flying squirrels found in North America . Unlike most members of their family, flying squirrels are strictly nocturnal...
, lives in the spruce-fir forests and adjacent northern hardwood stands. Southern spruce-fir forests are also the preferred habitat of the pigmy salamander, one of several salamander species endemic to Southern Appalachia. Bird species found in the spruce-fir forest include winter wren
Winter Wren
The Winter Wren is a very small North American bird and a member of the mainly New World wren family Troglodytidae. It was once lumped with Troglodytes pacificus of western North America and Troglodytes troglodytes of Eurasia under the name Winter Wren.It breeds in coniferous forests from British...
s, black-capped chickadee
Black-capped Chickadee
The Black-capped Chickadee is a small, North American songbird, a passerine bird in the tit family Paridae. It is the state bird of both Maine and Massachusetts in the United States, and the provincial bird of New Brunswick in Canada...
s, blackburnian warbler
Blackburnian Warbler
The Blackburnian Warbler, Dendroica fusca , is a small New World warbler. They breed in eastern North America, from southern Canada, westwards to the southern Canadian Prairies, the Great Lakes region and New England, to North Carolina....
s, brown creeper
Brown Creeper
-Description:Adults are brown on the upperparts with light spotting, resembling a piece of tree bark, with white underparts. They have a long thin bill with a slight downward curve and a long tail. The male creeper has a slightly larger bill than the female...
s, golden-crowned kinglet
Golden-crowned Kinglet
The Golden-crowned Kinglet, Regulus satrapa, is a very small songbird.Adults are olive-gray on the upperparts with white underparts, with thin bills and short tails. They have white wing bars, a black stripe through the eyes and a yellow crown surrounded by black...
s, and northern saw-whet owl
Northern Saw-whet Owl
The Northern Saw-whet Owl is a small owl native to North America.-Description:The scientific description of one of the sub-species of this owl is attributed to the Rev. John Henry Keen who was a missionary in Canada in 1896. Adults are long with a wingspan. They can weigh from with an average...
s, all of which are more common in northern latitudes.
Comparison to northern spruce-fir forests
While the predominance of spruce and fir gives southern spruce-fir forests a resemblance to the boreal forests of Canada and AlaskaAlaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
, the two predominant tree types— red spruce and Fraser fir— are not found in the boreal forests, and the Fraser fir is not found outside Southern Appalachia. The typical climate of the Southern Appalachian spruce-fir forest, while too extreme for most broad-leaved trees, is still warmer and wetter than Canada and Alaska, and allows for taller and faster-growing trees. The southern spruce-fir understory is also much denser, and contains plants such as the Catawba rhododendron, which is absent in the northern half of the range.
History
Natural history
While the expanding glacierGlacier
A glacier is a large persistent body of ice that forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. At least 0.1 km² in area and 50 m thick, but often much larger, a glacier slowly deforms and flows due to stresses induced by its weight...
s of the last Ice Age didn't reach as far as the Southern Appalachians, their encroachment to the north brought lower temperatures to the region. Approximately 18,000 years ago, when the last Ice Age reached its peak, spruce-fir forests covered much of the southeastern United States, stretching westward to Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
and as far south as Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
, while the deciduous forests were restricted to a few refuges in the coastal plains. An alpine zone— where the climate is too harsh for any trees to survive— existed in the Southern Appalachians at approximately 4950 feet (1,508.8 m), leaving the region's highest elevations coated with tundra
Tundra
In physical geography, tundra is a biome where the tree growth is hindered by low temperatures and short growing seasons. The term tundra comes through Russian тундра from the Kildin Sami word tūndâr "uplands," "treeless mountain tract." There are three types of tundra: Arctic tundra, alpine...
vegetation and permafrost
Permafrost
In geology, permafrost, cryotic soil or permafrost soil is soil at or below the freezing point of water for two or more years. Ice is not always present, as may be in the case of nonporous bedrock, but it frequently occurs and it may be in amounts exceeding the potential hydraulic saturation of...
. Between 16,000 and 12,000 years ago, temperatures began warming, and the deciduous forest returned to the mountain valleys. By about 10,000 years ago, the alpine zones had disappeared, and the spruce-fir forest had retreated to the range's highest elevations.
Recorded history
Botanists such as John BartramJohn Bartram
*Hoffmann, Nancy E. and John C. Van Horne, eds., America’s Curious Botanist: A Tercentennial Reappraisal of John Bartram 1699-1777. Memoirs of the American Philosophical Society, vol. 243. ....
and André Michaux
André Michaux
André Michaux was a French botanist and explorer.-Biography:Michaux was born in Satory, now part of Versailles, Yvelines. After the death of his wife within a year of their marriage he took up the study of botany and was a student of Bernard de Jussieu...
began making excursions into the diverse Southern Appalachian forests as early as the late 18th century. On one such trip, Michaux was accompanied by Scottish botanist John Fraser
John Fraser (botanist)
John Fraser was a Scottish botanist, born at Tomnacross, the Aird, Inverness-shire. He moved to London, where he started work as a draper working with linen, but then, together with his son, took up botanical collecting, sending his collections to his plant nursery in London and to other clients,...
, who discovered the fir tree that now bears his name. Early settlers gave the Fraser fir the nickname "she-balsam" due to the white blisters on the ends of its branches, which appeared to contain milk. The dark appearance of the spruce-fir canopy in contrast to the bright green canopy of the deciduous forest is the root of numerous mountain names across the Southern Appalachians, most notably the Black Mountains, as well as individual summits such as Old Black
Old Black (Great Smoky Mountains)
Old Black is a mountain in the Great Smoky Mountains, located in the Southeastern United States. While often overshadowed by Mount Guyot, its higher neighbor to the south, Old Black is the 4th-highest mountain in...
in the Great Smokies. The nicknames of the red spruce and Fraser fir— he-balsam and she-balsam— also influenced the nomenclature of the Southern Appalachians, leading to names such as Richland Balsam
Richland Balsam
Richland Balsam is a mountain in the Great Balsam Mountains in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Rising to an elevation of , it is the highest mountain in the Great Balsam range and is among the 20 highest summits in the Appalachian range. The Blue Ridge Parkway reaches an elevation of —...
.
The general inaccessibility of the Southern Appalachian highlands left the spruce-fir forests largely undisturbed for most of the 19th century, with the exception of Mount Mitchell and Roan Mountain, which became seasonal resort sites for tourists seeking an escape from hot summer temperatures. While selective logging occurred as early as the 1880s, the early 20th century saw a logging boom across the spruce-fir forests of Southern Appalachia, especially during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, as red spruce was a preferred wood for aircraft construction. While the Great Smokies' spruce-fir zones were largely spared (with the exception of some logging around Mount Collins
Mount Collins
Mount Collins is a mountain in the Great Smoky Mountains, located in the Southeastern United States. It has an elevation of above sea level. Located along the Appalachian Trail between Clingmans Dome and Newfound Gap, the mountain is a popular destination for thru-hikers. A backcountry shelter...
), nearly half the virgin spruce elsewhere in the southern Blue Ridge Mountains was either cut or destroyed by logging-related fires. This rapid devastation led to numerous conservation movements, including one spearheaded by North Carolina governor Locke Craig that culminated in the creation of Mount Mitchell State Park
Mount Mitchell State Park
Mount Mitchell State Park is a North Carolina state park in Yancey County, North Carolina in the United States. Established in 1915 by the state legislature, it became the first state park of North Carolina...
in 1915. The creation of national forest
United States National Forest
National Forest is a classification of federal lands in the United States.National Forests are largely forest and woodland areas owned by the federal government and managed by the United States Forest Service, part of the United States Department of Agriculture. Land management of these areas...
s during the same period brought control to the commercial logging in the region, and allowed much of the forest to begin healing.
Environmental threats
Mount Sterling
Mount Sterling may refer to several places in the United States:* Mount Sterling, Illinois* Mount Sterling, Iowa* Mount Sterling, Kentucky* Mount Sterling, Missouri* Mount Sterling, Ohio* Mount Sterling, Wisconsin* Mount Sterling...
in the Great Smoky Mountains. Over the next few decades, the balsam woolly killed off most all of the mature Fraser firs of Southern Appalachia. While new Fraser firs live long enough to seed, most new firs are attacked and killed after just a few years. Attempts to exterminate the balsam woolly by introducing species known to prey on it have largely failed. Fraser fir repopulation efforts are further complicated by the fact that the fir's cones are prized by tree growers (especially Christmas tree growers), and the United States Forest Service is under constant pressure to allow cone collecting.
The demise of the mature Fraser firs has had a drastic impact on the southern spruce-fir ecosystem. The spruce-fir moss spider, which preferred mosses that thrived in the cool shade beneath the mature firs, is believed to be extirpated in all but a few places in North Carolina. The red spruce, likewise, which is easily damaged by high winds, depended on the sturdier Fraser firs for protection in the wind-blasted higher elevations. Air pollution and acid rain are also believed to be stunting the growth of red spruces (especially since the spruce-fir zones are often immersed in clouds), although to what extent is debatable.
Access
U.S. Route 441
U.S. Route 441 is a spur route of U.S. Route 41. It currently runs for 939 miles from U.S. Route 41 in Miami, Florida to U.S. Route 25W in Lake City, Tennessee. Between its termini, US 441 passes through the states of Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, and Tennessee...
climbs to Newfound Gap
Newfound Gap
Newfound Gap is a mountain pass located near the center of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park of the southern Appalachian Mountains in the United States of America. Situated along the border of Tennessee and North Carolina, the state line crosses the gap, as does U.S...
amidst the Great Smokies spruce-fir stand, where it intersects the 7 miles (11.3 km) Clingmans Dome Road. The Roan Mountain spruce-fir stand is accessed via state highway— designated as Highway 143 in Tennessee and Highway 261 in North Carolina— and a paved road accesses the gap between Roan High Knob and Roan High Bluff, where there is a large rhododendron garden.
The Appalachian Trail
Appalachian Trail
The Appalachian National Scenic Trail, generally known as the Appalachian Trail or simply the AT, is a marked hiking trail in the eastern United States extending between Springer Mountain in Georgia and Mount Katahdin in Maine. It is approximately long...
traverses the southern spruce-fir forests in the Great Smokies and atop Roan Mountain and Mount Rogers. Other major trails in the southern spruce-fir zone include the Deep Gap Trail in the Black Mountains and the Balsam Mountain Trail and Boulevard Trail in the Great Smokies. Smaller trails (part of the Blue Ridge Parkway corridor) access the summits of Waterrock Knob
Waterrock Knob
Waterrock Knob is a mountain peak in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the highest peak in the Plott Balsams and is the 16th highest mountain in the Eastern United States. It is the 15th highest of the 40 mountains in North Carolina over 6000 feet....
in the Plott Balsams and Richland Balsam in the Great Balsams.
See also
- Appalachian baldsAppalachian baldsIn the Appalachian Mountains of the eastern United States, balds are mountain summits or crests covered primarily by thick vegetation of native grasses or shrubs occurring in areas where heavy forest growth would be expected....
- Index: Flora of Appalachia
- List of ecoregions in the United States (WWF)