Fagus grandifolia, American beech
Coladonato, Milo. 1991. Fagus grandifolia, American beech. In: Fire Effects Information System, [Online]. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory (Producer). Available: https://research.fs.usda.gov/feis/species-reviews/faggra
| Abbreviation | Common Name | Scientific Name | Classification | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plants | ||||
| FAGGRA | American beech | Fagus grandifolia | Life Form: Plants/Tree Kingdom: Plantae Class: Dicot Order: Fagales Family: Fagaceae Genus: Fagus | Fed. Protected: No Nativity: Native Invasiveness: Noninvasive |
Taxonomy
The currently accepted scientific name of American beech is Fagus grandifolia (Ehrh.) Little [26]. Some authorities hold that the southern beeches vary and describe the southern form as F. grandifolia var. caroliniana (Loud) Fernald & Rehder [32]. The variety F. grandifolia var. mexicana (Martinez) is found in Mexico [26].
Synonyms
- None
Other Common Names
beech, Carolina beech, gray beech, red beech, ridge beech, white beech
General Distribution
American beech is distributed from Cape Brenton Island, Nova Scotia west to Maine, southern Quebec, southern Ontario, northern Michigan, and eastern Wisconsin; south to southern Illinois, southeastern Missouri, northwestern Arkansas, southeastern Oklahoma, and eastern Texas; east to northern Florida; and northeast to southeastern South Carolina. An isolated variety (var. mexicana) occurs in the mountains of northeastern Mexico [41,22].
States and Provinces
- United States: AL AR CT DE FL GA IL IN KY LA MA MD ME MI MN MO MS NC NH NJ NY OH OK PA SC TN TX VT VA WI WV
- Canada: NS ON PQ
- Mexico
Site Characteristics
Beech is found at low elevations in the North and relatively high elevations in the South. Local soil and climatic factors probably determine whether beech grows at the higher elevations. In the Adirondack Mountains, low temperatures and wind keep beech below 3,200 feet (975 m) in contrast to the Appalachian Mountains where on the warmer slopes it grows at elevations up to 6,000 (1,830 m) feet. At altitudes in the middle of its range, beech is more abundant on the cooler, moister, northern slopes than on the southern slopes [41].
Beech is usually found within two principal soil groups: the gray podzolic (Hapludalf) and the laterite (Acrothox) and is prevalent on podzols. It is seldom found on limestone soils except in the western edge of its range. Beech populations are higher on coarse textured, dry to mesic soils in the northern part of its range [2,41].
Plant Communities
American beech is either a dominant or codominant species in the northern hardwoods of the Northeast, Lake States, and the Appalachian Mountains. Common associates include sugar maple (Acer saccharum), red maple (A. rubrum), yellow birch (Betula alleghaniensis), American basswood (Tilia americana), black cherry (Prunus serotina), southern magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora), eastern white pine (Pinus strobus), red spruce (Picea rubens), hickories (Carya spp.), and oaks (Quercus spp.) [3,41].
Published classification schemes listing American beech as dominant or codominant in habitat types (hts) are listed below:
| Area | Classification | Authority |
|---|---|---|
| Northern Michigan, northeast Wisconsin | forest hts | Coffman, Alyanak & Rosovosky 1980 |
| Northern Wisconsin | forest hts | Kotar & others 1989 |
| Northern Wisconsin, northern Michigan | forest hts | Kotar 1986 |
Botanical Description
American beech in fall.
Beech is a large, native, deciduous tree. It normally grows 65 to 80 feet (20-25 m) tall but can can grow up to 130 feet (40 m) and can live to over 300 years old. The bark is blue gray. The leaves are yellow green during the growing season. The branches are stout and horizontal, or ascending, with interlocking leaves forming a dense crown. The root system is shallow and spreading. The fruit is a bur, usually containing two nuts [4,41].
Raunkiaer Life Form (Raunkiaer 1934)
- Phanerophyte
Seasonal Development
Flowering occurs from March to May. Fruiting occurs from September to October. Seeds are released in October or November after frost [33,42].
Regeneration Processes
Sexual reproduction
Beech begin producing seed when 40 years old and by 60 years old may produce large quantities. Beech produces seed at 2- to 8-year intervals. Beech seeds average about 1,600 per pound (3,500/kg) [41]. Most seeds drop to the ground. A few are carried by rodents but dispersal is limited. Blue jays may transport seeds several kilometers [9]. Most of the seeds will germinate in the 1st year; after that, the seeds lose viability [41].
Beech seeds germinate from early spring to early summer. Chilling is required to break dormancy. Germination is good on mineral soil or leafy litter, but poor on excessively wet sites. Seedlings grow best under a moderate canopy or in protected small openings where the soil does not dry out below the depth of the shallow roots [28].
Vegetative Reproduction
Beech can regenerate by root suckers or by stump sprouts [6]. Sprouts may develop on the trunk of a tree immediately below a wound and from the top of stumps. Adventitious buds develop in callus tissue of the cambial layers of stumps. Sprouts can also develop from the exposure of the roots to air or elevated temperatures. Sometimes root sprouts develop when no apparent injury has occurred [14].
The advance of beech bark disease, with its resultant mortality of overstory beech stems, is likely to result in an increase in root suckering [23]. Beech is more likely to develop by sprouting than by seedling establishment [19].
Successional Status
American beech is a climax species that grows slowly underneath an overstory of conifers or hardwoods. Beech grows faster in canopy openings and eventually ascends into the overstory [1,8]. In an old-growth forest in New Hampshire, beech replaced yellow birch and sugar maple and then was able to maintain itself via root suckering [36].
Immediate Fire Effects
Fire usually top-kills American beech. Mortality of young trees is related to fire severity: Cool fires kill 40 to 50 percent of the seedlings and saplings [16,36].
Fire wounds may serve as entrance courts for a host of decaying fungi [41].
Postfire Regeneration Strategy (Stickney 1989)
- survivor species; on-site surviving root crown or caudex
- survivor species; on-site surviving rhizomes
- off-site colonizer; seed carried by animals or water; postfire yr 1 & 2
Fire Adaptations
Thin bark renders American beech highly vulnerable to injury by fire. Postfire colonization is through root suckering [39].
When fire is absent or of low frequency, beech frequently becomes a dominant species in mixed deciduous forests [5]. The transition from an open fire-dominated forest to a closed canopy deciduous forest favors the beech-magnolia type in the southern portion of beech's range [11].
Plant Response to Fire
Beech trees that survive a fire regenerate by root suckering or stump sprouting [29,41].
Fire Regimes
For fire regime information, search FEIS for this species by entering the species name or acronym on the home page and selecting “Fire Regime” as the publication type.
Fire Management Considerations
Fire could create favorable conditions for beech production. Fire could reduce the litter and humus layer, expose roots, or injure the parent tree, creating conditions for the production of sucker shoots [39].
Federal Status
None
Other Status
No entry.
Importance to Wildlife and Livestock
Beech mast is eaten by a variety of birds and mammals, including mice, squirrels, chipmunks, black bear, deer, foxes, ruffed grouse, ducks, and blue jays [41].
Palatability and Nutritional Value
Beech is regarded as a poor deer browse. The frequency of its use in some areas is due to the low availability of more preferable browse [7].
Cover Value
American beech provides cover for the Carolina chickadee (Parus carolinensis) and the black-capped chickadee (Parus atricapillus) [10].
Value for Rehabilitation or Restoration of Disturbed Sites
Beech grows relatively slowly and has a low tolerance to fire. Its value as a colonizer is limited [6,21,39].
Other Uses
Beechnuts are roasted and eaten or used a coffee substitute. The leaves and bark are used to make dyes [24].
Wood Products Value: Beech wood is used to make flooring, furniture, veneer plywood, and railroad ties. It is especially favored as fuel wood because of its high density and good burning qualities. Coal tar made from beech wood is used to protect wood from rotting. The creosote made from beech wood is used to treat various human and animal disorders [31,41].
Other Management Considerations
Even-aged silviculture adversely affects beech production and favors production of associated hardwoods. Beech seedlings may be overtopped in clearcuts by less shade-tolerant species such as birches (Betula spp.) and oaks, which respond vigorously to increased light. Repeated clearcutting at short intervals may eliminate beech. Shelterwood cuts allow beech to develop with little competition from more intolerant species [40,12,30].
Beech is seriously affected by beech bark disease. The saddled prominent is its most serious defoliator, and the forest tent caterpillar, gypsy moth, fall cankerworm, Bruce spanworm (Operophtera bruceata) occasionally cause heavy damage [41].
Table A1— Forest and range ecosystems, Bureau of Land Management (BLM) physiographic regions, Kuchler plant associations, Society for American Foresters (SAF) forest cover types, and Society for Rangeland Management (SRM) rangeland cover types in which this species occurs.
Forest and Range Ecosystems (Garrison et al. 1977)
- FRES10 White - red - jack pine
- FRES11 Spruce - fir
- FRES12 Longleaf - slash pine
- FRES13 Loblolly - shortleaf pine
- FRES14 Oak - pine
- FRES15 Oak - hickory
- FRES16 Oak - gum - cypress
- FRES17 Elm - ash - cottonwood
- FRES18 Maple - beech - birch
- FRES19 Aspen - birch
BLM Physiographic Regions (Bernard and Brown 1977)
- No entry.
Kuchler Plant Associations (Kuchler 1964)
- K081 Oak savanna
- K083 Cedar glades
- K084 Cross timbers
- K089 Black Belt
- K090 Live oaks - sea oats
- K093 Great Lakes - fir forest
- K094 Conifer bog
- K095 Great Lakes pine forest
- K096 Northeastern spruce - fir forest
- K097 Southeastern spruce - fir forest
- K098 Northern floodplain forest
- K099 Maple - basswood forest
- K100 Oak - hickory forest
- K101 Elm - ash forest
- K102 Beech - maple forest
- K103 Mixed mesophytic forest
- K104 Appalacian oak forest
- K106 Northern hardwoods
- K107 Northern hardwoods - fir forest
- K108 Northern hardwoods - spruce forest
- K109 Transition between K104 and K106
- K110 Northeastern oak - pine forest
- K111 Oak - hickory - pine forest
- K112 Southern mixed forest
- K113 Southern floodplain forest
- K115 Pocosin
- K116 Subtropical pine forest
SAF Cover Types (Eyre 1980)
- 20 White pine - northern red oak - maple
- 21 Eastern white pine
- 22 White pine - hemlock
- 23 Eastern hemlock
- 24 Hemlock - yellow birch
- 25 Sugar maple - beech - yellow birch
- 26 Sugar maple - basswood
- 27 Sugar maple
- 28 Black cherry - maple
- 30 Red spruce - yellow birch
- 31 Red spruce - sugar maple - beech
- 32 Red spruce
- 33 Red spruce - balsam fir
- 34 Red spruce - Fraser fir
- 35 Paper birch - red spruce - balsam fir
- 52 White oak - black oak - northern red oak
- 55 Northern red oak
- 57 Yellow poplar
- 58 Yellow poplar - eastern hemlock
- 59 Yellow poplar - white oak - northern red oak
- 60 Beech - sugar maple
- 108 Red maple
SRM Rangeland Cover Types (Shiflet 1994)
- No entry.
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