David Vandermast, assistant professor of biology and environmental studies, and Monica Poteat' 10, published "On the scarcity of red spruce (Picea rubens) and Fraser fir (Abies fraseri) in the beech gaps of Great Smoky Mountains National Park," in the Journal of the North Carolina Academy of Science.
The article provides evidence that spruce and fir trees are inhibited from colonizing beech forests because of chemicals produced by the beech trees.
Citation:
Poteat, Monica, and David Vandermast. 2010. On the scarcity of red spruce (Picea rubens) and Fraser fir (Abies fraseri) in the beech gaps of Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Journal of the North Carolina Academy of Science 126(3): 98-104.