Stand dynamics of relict red spruce in the Alarka Creek headwaters, North Carolina

Disjunct red spruce (Picea rubens Sarg.) forests in the southern Appalachians can serve as models for understanding past and future impacts of climate change and other perturbations for larger areas of high-elevation forests throughout the Appalachians. We conducted a vegetation and dendrochronological survey to determine the age, size class, and condition of extant red spruce and composition of co-occurring woody and herbaceous vegetation in the Alarka Creek headwaters basin on the Nantahala National Forest in Swain County, NC. Using 10-m-wide belt transects, we measured the diameter of overstory red spruce and nearby saplings and seedlings, cored them, and mapped their location. We also examined red spruce for evidence of insect infestation.