Ecology of Red Maple Swamps in the Glaciated Northeast: A ...

Table 1.3. Principal tree species in upland and wetland forests of theglaciated Northeast, by forest region
(based primarily on Lull 1968; names modi%d after Little 1979).
Forest region
Spruce-fir
Beech-birchmaplen
White pinehendockhardwood
Upland forests
Red spruce
White spruce
Black spruce
Balsam fi
American beech
Yellow birch
Sugar maple
American beech
Yellow birch
Sugar maple
Eastern hemlock
Black birch
Red maple
Basswood
White ash
Northern red oak
White pine
Eastern hemlock
Northern red oak
Wetland forests
Black spruce
Tamarack
Northern white
cedar
Balsam fir
Red maple
Black ash
Northern white
cedar
Black spruce
Tamarack
Red maple
Black ash
nAlso frequently referred Lo us rlortliern hardwoods.
/
Pitch pine-
Red maple hardwood
Ashes
Eastern hemlock
I
I
Forest region
(continued)
Upland forests
-- - --
American beech
Yellow birch
Sugar maple
Other oaks
Yellow-poplar
Hickories
Red maple
White oak
Northern red oak
Black oak
Scarlet oak
Chestnut oak
Hickories
Yellow-poplar
Pitch pine
Bear oak
Wetland forests
White pine
Atlantic white
cedar
Fbd maple
Atlantic white
cedar
Black gum
Red maple
Black g um
Atlantic white
cedar
types occurring in the glaciated Northeast. Of the
five forest cover types in which it is a major component,
three (white pine-northern red oak-red maple,
gray birch-red maple, and black cherry-maple)
are upland forest types, one (black ash-American
elm-red maple) is a wetland type, and one (red
maple) may occur on either wetland or upland sites.
So, while red maple is the dominant tree in the vast
majority of broad-leaved deciduous wetland forests
in the Northeast, it is classified as a facultative
species, that is, one that occurs in wetlands from
one-third to two-thirds of the time (Reed 1988).
The distribution of red maple forested wetlands
generally coincides with the combined distributions
of the black ash-American elm-red maple cover
type (SAF type no. 39) and the red maple type (no.
108). The former type is found throughout the glaciated
Northeast and the Great Lakes States, and
from southern Manitoba to Newfoundland (Eyre
1980). In the Great Lakes States, black ash may be
as abundant as elm and red maple in t.his cover
type, but elsewhere it usually composes a small
percentage of the stand. American elm has greatly
declined in abundance due tcr Dutch elm disease, so
red maple has become the dominant species in the disturbed sites.
black ash-American elm-red maple type throughout
the Northeast.
The red maple cover type (SAF no. 108) is most
common in New England, the Middle Atlantic
States, the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, and
northeastern Wisconsin. Toward the western and
southern limits of its range, this type generally
occurs on wetland soils; in New England and the
Upper Peninsula of Michigan, it is found both in
wetlands and on dry, sandy, or rocky upland sites.
In Pennsylvania, most red maple stands are found
on mesic to dry upland sites (Eyre 1980).
The SAF established the red maple forest cover
type in 1988; before that, red maple was merely
listed as a codominant or associated species in a
number of other types. The dramatic increase in the
proportion of red maple in many stands since the
previous SAF classification (SAM' 1954) has been
attributed to disturbances such as logging and fwe
and the progressive elimination of American elm by
Dutch elm disease (Eyre 1980). Production of heavy
seed crops nearly every spring, rapid seed germination,
and vigorous sprouting from stumps m d dmaged
seedlings give red maple a competitive advantage
over associated species on a wide variety of