A comparison of the status of spruce in high-elevation forests on public and private land in the southern and central Appalachian Mountains
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Red spruce (Picea rubens Sarg.) is the most important component of the high-elevation forest ecosystems of the southern and central Appalachian Mountains. These communities are characterized by mixed hardwood/coniferous forests often with overstory dominance by red spruce. Due to their restricted geographic and elevation ranges, all community types in this ecological group are rare. Red spruce forests provide the only viable habitats for the northern flying squirrel (Glaucomys sabrinus fuscus), a federally and state-listed endangered species, as well as for other animals of global and regional significance. Due to a variety of stressors, including exotic pests and pathogens, airborne pollution, wind shear, and climate change, these high-elevation spruce forests face an uncertain future. We use U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) plot data from Tennessee, North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania to analyze the distribution of the red spruce trees, saplings, and seedlings across forest types, elevation classes, and ownerships.