ABSTRACT A review of the woody pla...

ABSTRACT

A review of the woody plants was course of lifeed at the Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area, a 49776 ha (123000 acre) natural area in succession the Cumberland Plateau in Tennessee and Kentucky The annotated catalogue consists of 216 (186 native) species and less taxa in 114 (102 native) genera and 55 (52 native) families. undivided hundred thirty-three taxa are shire records. Magnolia fraseri and Ilex ambigua var. ambigua, accumulateed in Scott County, are physiographic records for the Cumberland Plateau in Tennessee Twelve listed taxa of conservation relate to were documented including two Federally Threatened species (Conradina verticillata and Spiraea virginiana). The Big southern Fork National River and Recreation Area was compared to 12 other natural areas including the Obed Wild and Scenic River, Land Between the Lakes, Prentice Cooper State Forest and Wildlife Management Area, and the Great filled with smoke Mountain National Park. Results present to view that the Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area is among the greatest in number floristically rich natural areas in the Southern Appalachians.

INTRODUCTION

Established in 1974 the Big southern Fork National River and Recreation Area (BSF) is an impressive tract of land with incredible vistas, lush vegetation, remarkable stone formations, and countless whitewater phenomena including several falls. It is part of a large regulation land holding containing approximately 331842 ha (820000 acres) including itself, Scott State Forest, Pickett State Park, and Daniel Boone National Forest. a certain quantity of of the land within the BSF is privately confessed and under acquisition, after which, the BSF will contain 49776 ha (123000 acres). It is shared by way of Tennessee and Kentucky and is upon the Cumberland Plateau physiographic province between 36[degrees]19'30'' and 36[degrees]47'48''N and 84[degrees]30'10'' and 84[degrees]50'45''W in the greatest degree of the project area is within Scott shire Tennessee and McCreary County, Kentucky and less portions are inside Fentress, Morgan, and Pickett counties, Tennessee

The Cumberland Plateau physiographic province is vegetationally unique (Braun 1950 Clark 1966 Schmalzer 1978 Wofford et al. 1979) hardly any other temperate regions in the world rival its floristic richness (Braun 1950 Hinkle et al. 1993) Although the Cumberland Plateau has in extent been considered extraordinary, there have been many negative impacts forward the environment (Patrick 1979). These were outlined by way of DeSelm and Clark (1975) and include: (1) suburban disclosure and industrialization, (2) home establishment, (3) strip mining, (4) pine monoculture, (5) flooding of downrush plain habitat, (6) channelization, and (7) digging of plants of special relate to by nurseries and individuals. Considering the threats to the biota of the Cumberland Plateau, the BSF and adjoining defend ed lands serve as a relatively large Southern Appalachian refugium.

Floristic studies are important for regional biological inventories, impact assessment, research, management decisions, and policy formulation (Palmer et al. 1995) A floristic investigation should be prior to other investigations owing to the ecological significance of dominant plant life. In an area as large as the BSF a contemplation limited to the woody plants is a useful tool for gros interpretation of floristic richness and ecology because umbrageous plants are (1) an artificial assign places to with representatives from many plant families, (2) fairly conspicuous and with a hardly any exceptions readily identified, (3) relatively not many in number, therefore a clump convenient for study, and (4) an important assign places to economically (Little 1970). In addition, upper canopy vegetation is an efficient predictor of the understory vegetation and proceeds from woody plant floristics may apply to other plants with similar distribution patterns (Braun 1950 Little 1970)

The objectives of this application of mind of the BSF were to (1) compile an annotated list of the shady plants (trees, shrubs, and forest-covered vines); (2) locate and document state and federally listed sylvan plants of conservation concern known from the northern Cumberland Plateau in Tennessee (Comptonia peregrina, Thuja occidentalis, Spiraea virginiana, and Polygonella americana (Fisch, and C.A. Mey) Small; and (3) to compare the shady flora of the BSF with the floras of nearby natural areas of other physiographic provinces.

STUDY SITE

The BSF is an important part of the Cumberland River drainage. It directly encompasses the southerly Fork of the Cumberland River and its sum of two units major tributaries, the Clear Fork River and the recently made known River. The South Fork of the Cumberland River is the third largest tributary of the Cumberland River, having a total drainage area of 358000 ha (1382 sq mi.). Surface run-off is proper to the impermeability of expos protections steepness of the slopes, and thinness of the soils; this causes great variability of stream result The river system extends 124 km (77 mi.) northward by means of McCreary County, Kentucky to Lake Cumberland. Beginning at the throng of the Clear Fork River and strange River, the South Fork of the Cumberland River is at the bottom of a narrow gorge chop into the plateau. The gorge slowly widens northward to reveal river benches, overflow plains, and broadening bottomland, greatest in number of which are now artificially delugeed Many streams drop suddenly from the plateau surface into in a high degree entrenched valleys (Braun 1950). The gorge bottoms range from flat, sandy, and almost beach-like to extremely large boulder beds that create frequently whitewater. This riverine habitat supports a particularly unique flora.