Sumter National Forest Final Report - NatureServe

canadensis. These cliffs are typically dry, although small seepages may occur. They are usually shaded by trees rooted on ledges andby the surrounding forest.Environment: This community includes vertical rock faces associated with felsic, metamorphic and igneous geologies. Someoccurrences attributed to this type appear to be on subcalcareous substrates. These cliffs are typically dry, although small seepagesmay occur. They are usually shaded by trees rooted on ledges and by the surrounding forest.Vegetation: This community has little vegetative cover, often with 90% of the rock surface unvegetated. Mosses (e.g., Thuidiumspp., Fissidens spp., Campylium sp., Bryoandersonia sp., Plagiomnium sp.) and lichens can have moderate coverage, and vascularplants occur on ledges and rooted in cracks. Asplenium montanum and Heuchera villosa are characteristic components. Other typicalspecies include Agrostis perennans, Arisaema triphyllum, Aristolochia macrophylla, Asplenium trichomanes, Eurybia divaricata (=Aster divaricatus), Cystopteris protrusa, Dryopteris marginalis, Hydrangea arborescens, Parthenocissus quinquefolia, Polypodiumappalachianum, and Rubus canadensis. An example of a shaded rock outcrop from the Chattahoochee National Forest (Georgia)which is assigned here contains low coverages of the woody plants Hydrangea arborescens, Kalmia latifolia, Vaccinium arboreum,and Vaccinium simulatum, along with the herbs Campanula divaricata, Dryopteris marginalis, Galax urceolata, Iris cristata,Muhlenbergia tenuiflora, Polygonatum biflorum, Silene stellata, and Solidago sphacelata. An example in Great Smoky MountainsNational Park (Tennessee) consisted of Heuchera villosa, Pilea pumila, Impatiens pallida, Sedum ternatum, and various moss speciesbut did not contain Asplenium montanum.Dynamics: These cliffs are typically dry, although small seepages may occur. They are usually shaded by trees rooted on ledges andby the surrounding forest.Similar Associations:Related Concepts:• Montane Cliff (Acidic Herb Subtype) (Schafale 1998b) ?Classification Comments:CONSERVATION RANKING & RARE SPECIESGRank: G3G4 (1998-1-4): No informationHigh-ranked species: Cardamine clematitis (G2G3), Hymenophyllum tayloriae (G2), Krigia montana (G3), Saxifraga careyana(G3), Saxifraga caroliniana (G2), Trichomanes intricatum (G3G4)ELEMENT DISTRIBUTIONRange: This community occurs in the Blue Ridge and upper Piedmont of Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, andVirginia.Subnations: GA, NC, SC, TN, VA?TNC Ecoregions: 51:C, 52:CUSFS Ecoregions: 231Aa:CCC, M221Dc:CCC, M221Dd:CCCFederal Lands: NPS (Great Smoky Mountains); USFS (Chattahoochee, Cherokee, George Washington, Jefferson, Nantahala,Pisgah, Sumter)ELEMENT SOURCESReferences: NatureServe Ecology - Southeastern U.S. unpubl. data, Peet et al. unpubl. data 2002, Schafale 1998b, Schafale andWeakley 1990, Southeastern Ecology Working Group n.d.SOUTHERN APPALACHIAN MONTANE PINE FOREST AND WOODLANDTABLE MOUNTAIN PINE - PITCH PINE - (ROCK CHESTNUT OAK) / MOUNTAIN LAUREL - HILLSIDE BLUEBERRYWOODLANDELEMENT IDENTIFIERSNVC association: Pinus pungens - Pinus rigida - (Quercus prinus) / Kalmia latifolia - Vaccinium pallidum WoodlandDatabase Code: CEGL007097Formation: Rounded-crowned temperate or subpolar needle-leaved evergreen woodland (II.A.4.N.a)Alliance: Pinus pungens - (Pinus rigida) Woodland Alliance (A.521)ELEMENT CONCEPTSummary: This association includes mostly evergreen woodlands dominated by Pinus pungens and/or Pinus rigida, occurring over adense ericaceous shrub stratum, on sharp ridges, mostly above 2000 feet elevation in the Southern Blue Ridge. This type is also foundin limited areas of the inner Piedmont. This woodland occurs across a wide elevational range (1600-4000 feet), on exposed ridges andupper slopes with southerly and westerly exposures, over thin, excessively drained, nutrient-poor soils, and can be associated withrock outcroppings. Canopy coverage can often approach that of a forest, especially in areas where fire has been excluded anddeciduous species have significant coverage. Deciduous species that can be important, particularly in the subcanopy, include Quercusprinus, Quercus coccinea, Quercus stellata, Nyssa sylvatica, Acer rubrum, and Oxydendrum arboreum. Pinus virginiana and PinusVegetation of Sumter National Forest April 30 2004Copyright © 2004 NatureServe58