Volume 43 – Issue 4 (Dec 1978)

Notes and News: Sarracenia Rubra Walter, Painting, West Virginia, <em>Heterotheca Ruthii</em>, and <em>Leucothoe Fontanesiana</em>

ABSTRACT Rock face vegetation, that of ledges and crevices, occurring in the mountains of western South Carolina, was studied during the summer of 1976. Eleven precipitous granitic habitats were sought out and investigated using rappeling techniques. The data accumulated serve as baseline criteria for these lithophytic and chasmophytic communities, as nothing similar to this had been done in the South Carolina mountains and only a few studies have been carried out elsewhere. Fifty-three genera and sixty-three species were recorded. The principal dominants are <em>Selaginella tortipila</em>, <em>Krigia montana</em>, <em>Danthonia spicata</em>, and <em>Panicum tennesseense</em>. Their dominance was determined on the basis of percent frequency and density.

ABSTRACT The morphology and distribution of <em>Achnanthes subrostrata</em> var. <em>appalachiana</em>, an abundantly occurring diatom new to science was investigated. This diatom appears to be indigenous to mountainous streams and has been found in South Carolina, North Carolina, and Tennessee.

ABSTRACT Regrowth of shrubs after one, two and three growing seasons following prescribed burning of herb-shrub communities at 1600-1800 m elevation in the Balsam Mountains of North Carolina was studied to determine (1) whether fire could initiate or maintain grassy balds in the southern Appalachians and (2) how often the U. S. Forest Service will need to repeat prescribed burning to maintain wintering habitat for the endangered golden eagle (<em>Aquila chrysaetos</em>). Fire and browsing by native herbivores temporarily set back shrubs but cannot maintain grassy balds in the open condition in which they were found in the early 1900’s. The results support the hypothesis that grazing by cattle, possibly preceded by deliberate burning, is responsible for bald information and maintenance. A maximum interval of five to eight years between prescribed fires will be necessary to retard further development of the shrub stand.

ABSTRACT A cursory examination was made of aquatic macrophyte distribution along the 207 kilometer length of the Monongahela River, a 210 kilometer reach of the upper Ohio River, and the lower 116 kilometers of the Allegheny River where commercial navigation is maintained. Aquatic vascular plants were abundant and diverse in both the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers. Significant qualitative differences were observed in the aquatic macroflora of the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers that may be related to basic differences in the channel morphologies and the substrates of these two rivers. Aquatic plants, at least conspicuous emergent vegetation, were not abundant in the reach of the mainstem Ohio River that was examined.

ABSTRACT An undisturbed oak-chestnut forest in Shenandoah National Park, Virginia, had been surveyed by Braun (1950) before the chestnut blight. The same forest was resurveyed in 1977, about fifty years later. The present study tested the actual association of chestnut stumps with other canopy species. <em>Quercus borealis maxima</em>* was found to be the only species significantly associated with chestnut stumps. Although the blight created large gaps in the canopy, no new invaders were able to colonize these disturbed areas; species diversity therefore did not increase. The gaps were instead filled by <em>Q. borealis</em>, a later successional species. This may be explained by the close proximity of acorn-producing <em>Q. borealis</em> to clearings and the greater distances of other species better suited to germinate and grow in these openings.

ABSTRACT Selected multiple floral characters are more completely described, and morphometric studies done for the first time, to determine if flower characteristics in <em>Sarracenia</em> L. could play a greater taxonomic role than in the past, when pitcher leaf characters were emphasized almost exclusively. The data indicate that this is indeed the case, and that subjective and morphometric flower characters may also be of value in determining relationships of populations within the genus.

ABSTRACT Forest stands in south-central Ohio between Xenia and Wrightsville are described. Variation of species composition is graphically displayed using polar (Bray-Curtis) ordination. Although the stands include those from the Wisconsinan glacial region, the region of Illinoian drift, and the unglaciated region of Ohio, the structural data did not cluster into three distinct groups. A gradient of moisture availability sorted out stands between those of a more mesic phase dominated by <em>Acer saccharum</em> and <em>Fagus grandifolia</em> and xeric phase stands dominated by <em>Quercus alba</em>. Flood-plain stands and successionally immature variations are also described. Intra-stand species diversity and concentration of dominance patterns are described.