Southern and Central Appalachian Cove Forest

Macrogroup: Northern Hardwood & Conifer your State Natural Heritage Ecologist for more information about this habitat. this about information more for Ecologist Heritage State Natural your Contact based inventory. field for substitute a not data is and current based on distribution a mapmodeled is This

Description: A hardwood or mixed forest with a high diversity of mesophytic (moisture loving but non-wetland) trees. Canopy species commonly include yellow buckeye, sugar maple, white ash, basswood, tuliptree, cucumber tree, and American beech, sometimes in a single stand. Hemlock is sometimes present, mostly in acidic coves. Shrub and herb layers are similarly rich, and calcium-bearing and circumneutral bedrock tends to support the richest examples. This forest is typical of sheltered, shady places in the Blue Ridge and central Appalachian Mountains, forming large patches (tens to hundreds of acres) on concave slopes that accumulate nutrients and moisture. These are State Distribution: MD, VA, WV communities of high diversity and often great structural complexity. Total Habitat Acreage: 1,014,832 Ecological Setting and Natural Processes: Percent Conserved: 33.0% Found on sheltered coves and concave slopes. Soils are State State GAP 1&2 GAP 3 Unsecured often rocky and may be coarse or fine-textured, and may be State Habitat % Acreage (acres) (acres) (acres) residual, alluvial, or colluvial. Single tree gap-phase WV 56% 571,349 25,693 118,872 426,784 regeneration drives stand dynamics; occasional more VA 44% 443,212 84,241 105,502 253,469 extreme wind or ice disturbance may operate at a larger scale. Fire is probably not often a significant factor. MD 0% 271 47 47 177

Similar Habitat Types: The South-Central Interior Mesophytic Forest system is similar to this one but occurs west of the Allegheny Mountains. Dry-mesic forests like Appalachian (Hemlock- )Northern Hardwood and Southern Appalachian Oak tend to occur immediately above, and riparian or floodplain systems just below cove landforms.

Crosswalk to State Wildlife Action Plans: Crosswalk to State Name Examples: Mesic Deciduous Forests (MD), Forest Habitat - Deciduous Mesic Deciduous Forests (MD), Appalachian Rich Cove Forest Forest (VA), Mixed Mesophytic Forest (WV) (VA), Mixed Mesophytic Forest (WV) Places to Visit this Habitat: Habitat Patch Distribution Blue Ridge Parkway National Park | VA 600,000 George Washington and Jefferson National Forest | VA 500,000 Holly River State Park | WV 400,000 Kumbrabow State Forest | WV 300,000

Acres 200,000 Monongahela National Forest | WV 100,000 0

Associated Species: Appendix lists scientific names 0 to 1 1 to 5 5 to 10 1000+ BIRDS: acadian flycatcher, black-throated blue warbler, 10 to 100 cerulean warbler, hooded warbler, louisiana waterthrush, scarlet 100 to 1000 tanager, blue-headed vireo, swainson's warbler, wood thrush, Patch Size Classes worm-eating warbler, yellow-throated vireo The average patch size for this habitat is 7 acres and the largest single patch is 1,905 acres. This chart shows the proportion of the habitat that is in each patch-size MAMMALS: allegheny woodrat, appalachian cottontail, eastern class. small-footed myotis, indiana myotis, long-tailed shrew, southern pygmy shrew, southern rock vole, virginia big-eared bat, virginia Age Class Distribution northern flying squirrel 50 40 HERPTILES: common map turtle, eastern hog-nosed snake, 30 eastern ribbonsnake, eastern wormsnake, mountain earth 20 snake, northern coal skink, spiny softshell 10 0 PLANTS: Loesel's Twayblade (Liparis loeselii), Ostrich Fern Percent of Habitat (Matteuccia struthiopteris), Herb-Robert (Geranium 1 to 20 20 to 40 40 to 60 60 to 80 robertianum), Linear-leaved Willowherb (Epilobium leptophyllum) 80 to 100100 to 140 Age (Years)

This chart shows the average age of trees associated with this habitat based on forest Inventory data. For non-forested systems or small habitats the average age is Species of Concern (G1-G4): Appendix lists scientific names influenced by the surroundings. HERPTILES: big levels salamander, black mountain salamander, blue ridge two-lined salamander, bog turtle, cheat Predicted Habitat Loss to Development mountain salamander, common black-bellied salamander, green salamander, midland mud salamander, northern pygmy 1,020,000 salamander, peaks of otter salamander, red salamander, 1,015,000 shenandoah salamander, shovelnose salamander, upland 1,010,000 chorus frog, white-spotted salamander

Acreage 1,005,000 INSECTS: American emerald, northern spreadwing 1,000,000 2010 2020 2030 2040 2050 2060 PLANTS: appalachian blue violet (Viola appalachiensis), appalachian gentian (Gentiana austromontana), blue ridge Decade bittercress (Cardamine flagellifera), blue wild indigo (Baptisia australis), fire-pink (Silene virginica) running buffalo clover This chart shows the predicted loss of habitat over the next five decades (8,843 (Trifolium stoloniferum), smoke hole bergamot (Monarda acres) if loss continues at the same rate as 1990-2000. The average rate of loss is fistulosa) 177 acres per year. Habitat Connectedness Index

60 40 20 0 Percent of Habitat

0 to 25 25 to 50 50 to 75 75 to 100 Degree of Fragmentation (0=Highly Fragmented & 100= Highly Connected)

This metric measures how connected or fragmented the land directly surrounding (18 © Jim Vanderhorst (West Virginia Division of Natural Resources) square miles) the habitat is, this the chart shows the proportion of the habitat in each connectedness class.

Southern and Central Appalachian Cove Forest http://nature.ly/HabitatGuide