ABSTRACT The vascular flora of Fall...

ABSTRACT

The vascular flora of Fall small river Falls State Park (FCFSP), Van Buren and Bledsoe Counties, Tennessee was documented during the 2001-2002 growing seasons. This site encompasses ca. 8900 ha upon the western escarpment of the Cumberland Plateau. The majority of the park lies forward the upper surface of the plateau with the tranquillity located in numerous rugged gorges that dissect the plateau surface. Numerous plant communities and unique microhabitats meet the eye on the upper plateau surface, in the penetrating gorges, and along the many streams that combustibles the waterfalls for which the park is named. A total of 2224 accession numbers and 47 previous collections from the site housed at TENN and VDB yielded 131 families, 445 genera, and 879 species. The non-native flora consisted of 110 species or 125% of the total flora. Sixteen species with either a state or federal listing were collisioned or documented during this meditation with the most notable uniteds being: Spiraea virginiana, Thuja occidentalis, Nestronia umbellula, Pilularia americana, Hydrocotyle americana, and Berberis canadensis. Voucher specimens were deposited in the Herbarium of The University of Tennessee Knoxville (TENN)

INTRODUCTION

The flora of the Cumberland Plateau in Tennessee is quite diverse with numerous rare constituent principles but it has not been studied as extensively as that of the Unaka physiographic province (Clark 1966 Thomas 1966 Shaw 2001) However, a number of vascular floristic studies onward the Cumberland Plateau in Tennessee in the past 40 years have increased our baseline botanical knowledge of this region. Examples include: Clark (1966) Caplenor (1978 1979) Wofford et al. (1979) Jone (1989) Schmalzer (1989) milds and Wofford (1991), Allawos (1994) Bailey (1998) Beck (2000) Goodson (2000) and Shaw and Wofford (2003) This new floristic research has produced data supporting the contention that the Cumberland Plateau is individual of the more unique and diverse physiographic provinces in Tennessee and the southern Appalachians. These emblems of data are becoming more important for regional biological inventories, impact assessment, research, management decisions, and policy formation (Palmer et al. 1995)

In an attempt to further our knowledge of the Cumberland Plateau vascular flora, an inventory was guarded within the boundaries of Fall small bay Falls State Park (FCFSP), Van Buren and Bledsoe Counties, Tennessee Donald Caplenor (1965) originally studied the vegetation of the gorges in FCFSP This work was quite detailed, on the other hand included only the gorges have a title toed by the park in the mid-1950's and predominately focused forward woody vegetation. He published a list of the vascular plants of the gorges clashed while sampling the vegetation (Caplenor 1955 1978); however, that list is incomplete as a park flora (Allawos 1994 Shaw 2001) since it included single the plants in the gorges and largely ignored the plateau surface and many difficult plant disposes such as graminoids and reeds The goals of this cogitation were to (1) document the vascular flora of the park in its entirety; (2) ascertain relative abundance for each species; (3) list preferr plants communities or microhabitats for each species; (4) compare the floristic richness of this park to previously examineed natural areas on the Cumberland Plateau.

STUDY AREA

FCFSP is in east-central Tennessee with the majority of the park in the eastern portion of Van Buren shire and the remainder on the western boundary of Bledsoe shire (Figure 1). It lies between 35?°35'55'' and 35?°45'42''N latitudes and 85?°20'18'' and 85?°26'39'' W longitudes. Topographic coverage includes portions of five Tennessee USGS 75 minute quadrangles: Bald Knob, Lonewood Spencer Sampson, Smartt Mountain, and Brockdale. At at hand the park encompasses ca. 8900 ha after latter land purchases and acquisitions. Stuart Carroll (FCFSP Naturalist, bys comm. 2000) stated that these additions, mainly acquired during the past five years, include more than ca. 2400 ha of largely gorge habitat. principally of the land within the park is forward the upper surface of the Cumberland Plateau with the stillness in the numerous rugged gorges that dissect the plateau surface.

The protection of this area was initiated by way of the National Park Service in 1935 and consequence ed in the purchase of 6384 ha of land from private landowners. The original purchase center forward the watersheds of Cane inlet and Piney Creek. In 1944 The United States Department of the Interior transferred the area to the State of Tennessee in the form of a quitclaim de that restricted the state to use the land "exclusively for public park, recreational and conservation purposes" (Coleman 1967) Major construction began from first to last the park in 1970 and upon June 8, 1972, the area was dedicated as Fall rivulet Falls State Resort Park. At not past nor future the park is divided into three areas: discloseed Areas, Wildlife Management Areas, and Class II Natural Areas (TDEC 1989) The bring outed Areas are limited to the upper plateau surface and include amenities as it was as a lodge, cabins, lake, swimming area, golf course, campsites, and a village area that provides the visitor with many activities. an of the Wildlife Management Areas have been planted in the past with vegetation supposeed beneficial to target wildlife, while the Class II Natural Areas are largely forested with restrictions that limit any archetype of development. Established hiking trails are set up throughout the park, both onward the plateau surface and in the gorges.